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“No, only nu, quiet look, then guided Carly away

“Look what you’ve done to her You’re no better than Richard Abusing her, exploiting her Do you know the nightrim, Areena faced Eve “I would have spared her from that I could have spared her from that”

“You killed hi her Why did you wait until it was over?”

“Because it wasn’t over” Areena sighed, gave into her tres, and sat “He ca He was alwaysHe threatened to take her back If I wanted him to keep his distance, I’d have to take her place So I did It was only sex, it ”

But her hand shook as she dug into her purse, found a cigarette “I should have pretended to be hurt, outraged, terrified Those emotions would have stimulated him, satisfied hiust and disinterest He retaliated by suggesting a threesoht He reveled in tellinghe’d done to her, with her How he’d enjoyed it, how exciting it had been for hi she was his blood, his daughter He was a monster, and I executed him”

She got to her feet “I have no reht when he stood in h to take on both hter at once”

There was a ski Eve’s throat “Why didn’t you?”

“I wanted to be sure And I wanted, somehow, for it to be just And…” For the first tiht I would I thought I had”

When she began to fight with her lighter, Roarke crossed to her, took it from her chilly hands Her eyes met his over the flame “Thank you”

He laid the lighter back in her palers around it “You’re welcome”

With her eyes closed, Areena took her first deep drag “Of all my addictions, this is the one I’ve never been able to beat” She let out a sigh “I’ve done s in my life, Lieutenant I’ve had my bouts of selfishness, of self-pity But, I don’t use people I care about I wouldn’t have let Kenneth be arrested I would’ve found a way around that But ould suspect quiet, obliging Areena of cold-blooded murder? Such a public one”

“That was your cover, doing it right here, onstage”

“Yes, surely I wouldn’t commiteliht away And naively, I believed none of the others, being innocent, would face ”

Shethe Frankly, Lieutenant, I didn’t think any investigator looking into Richard’s life to solve his death would work overly hard on the case once they discovered the kind of man he was I underestimated you, even as Richard underestimated me”

>“Until the mo you”