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“Can’t Don’t talk to me”

“You can’t work around it” He only tightened his grip when she tried to jerk away “Let it out Let it out,” he said in a gentler tone “I knohat she means to you”

“God” She wrapped her ar her hands up over his shoulders as she pressed her face into his neck “Oh, God Hold on Just for a minute, hold on”

Her body shook, one hard wave of shudders after another She didn’t weep, but her breath hitched as he held her close “I can’t think about what he ht do to her If I think about it, I’ll lose it”

“Then re, and she’s smart She’ll knohat she has to do”

“Yeah” Her ’link signaled inco data “That’ll be the financials”

“I’ll start on them” He eased her back “He won’t win this round”

“Daht”

She worked until her eyes and mind went blurry, then fueled up with coffee and worked some more At just after two AM Feeney shot her more data It told her that he, Peabody, and McNab were all still on the job

“Basically,” Roarke said, “this is just

confir e already have The accounts, the transfers You need to find lanced up to see Eve all but swaying on her feet “And you need to sleep”

She would have argued, but it would have wasted time “We both do Just a little while We can share the sleep chair I want to stay close to this unit”

The caffeine in her syste her eyes, she fell into sleep Where nightmares chased her

Ie mixed and melded with memories of herself as a child, locked in a room Horror, pain, fear lived in both places He would come—Palmer, her father—he would come and he would hurt her because he could Because he enjoyed it Because she couldn’t stop him

Until she killed him