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He took in a lot of air and let it out slow, as if he was thinking about our options because it wasn’t just my life on the line Yes, ht die if I died, but that wasn’t all Edas right about Olaf probably starting with killing hi to kidnap, rape, torture, and kill Edward’s girlfriend and live through it, then he had to start by killing Edward It was just logical, and underneath the pathology, Olaf was cold, dispassionate, and logical, just like Edward and me Practical, ere utterly practical about survival ical for Edward to have tried to pretend to be ical of e on his part would ical that Olaf had been willing to coet to a point where I’d been willing to agree to a kiss

“I thought he’d cross the line with you before it got this far, Anita It never occurred to me that he’d try this hard”

“Me either, but he is, so what the fuck do we do now?”

Edward shook his head “I don’t know”

New out far louder than it should have for what he said “Yes, Duke, Marshal Ted Forrester just arrived Blake is filling hi us that the sheriff was about to get us in his sights We weren’t doing anything we didn’t want him to see, but Newman

I whispered fast, “What do I do e go inside?”

“Did you kiss him in front of everyone?”

“No, of course not Told him no romance in front of other cops”

“Then act like nothing happened and stay in sight of other people until we figure so out”

I ht have said more about theacross the gravel of the parking area He was almost here; we’d have to talk about the personal uys

39

WE MOVED OUT fro toward Leduc as he ca toward us

“Newround since the start of this case, Marshal Forrester We can fill you in on things that Blake wasn’t here for” Leduc erent and helpful, as if he was ready to cooperate or fight The choice was ours or, rather, Edward’s

Edent into full Ted rin, a hearty handshake, and an accent that was so down-hoht cowboys from Texas would sound like, that it seehty kind of you, Sheriff Just let et my hat”

He reached in and pulled out a cream-colored cowboy hat that matched the rest of the outfit I refused to call it a white hat—it was off-white at best—but it ell-loved and orn, the brim shaped just so by his hands Molded to his head by years of use, the hat fit him perfectly The first tiht it had been going too far He kept it even when everything else he as black When he’d been just Edward, he hadn’t even liked hats, and if he had, it would have been a black one Edas not a white hat, but strangely Ted was, as if the hat was to hilasses were for Clark Kent and Superman