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.Trees surrounded the house, tall and majestic, as if guarding her property.She kept everything neat and orderly.There was no lawn, but she had terraces of plants, bright, colorful flowers and shrubs in every shade of green.The rockwork on the terraces was beautiful and obviously done with care by someone who handpicked each stone.“Tell me about that night.Did you hear a noise? Did you see anyone? Were your parents acting different? Worried maybe?”She was silent a long time.He waited patiently, giving her space, letting her work out whether she trusted him enough to give him something that personal.The wind rustled the tree leaves overhead and birds flitted from branch to branch.A squirrel chattered and another answered.He noted it all rather absently as he watched in the distance for the telltale dust rising that would indicate a car on the road leading to her house.Rikki was utterly still, no squirming, no sound, she simply stared out into space, her face averted, her eyes hidden behind her dark glasses.She hadn’t pulled her hand away, and Lev pressed his thumb into the center of her palm and closed his eyes, feeling his way.Immediately he “saw” numbers in his head.She was counting to herself, and she was on seventy-eight.She took off her dark glasses, turned her head to look him straight in the eyes.The jolt was like a powerful punch straight in his gut.Hard.Encompassing.She did something to his insides, where he was tough as nails, strong and impenetrable.She slipped past his guard and managed to penetrate deep.His reaction to her bordered on primal.“You think my entire family was a target and whoever killed my parents missed me and is still hunting me.”He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her close, but her entire demeanor screamed “hands off,” so he continued to stroke caresses over her open palm, satisfied that she hadn’t pulled completely away from him.“If it was a contract hit, they wouldn’t stop, not until they were dead, and even then, the contract could be given to another hit man.”“Are you a hit man?”A day earlier he wouldn’t have been so certain.“No.” He kept his gaze on hers.“I don’t know exactly what I did, and I’ve certainly killed, but I’m not certain why.My memory is coming back in pieces, but it’s definitely returning.” And he wasn’t all that happy about it.She moistened her lips, shoved her dark glasses back on her nose and turned to look out over her trees again.“If someone is trying to kill me for whatever reason, why the gaps between fires? And why fire? Wouldn’t that be an unusual choice for a hit man?”“Yes, very unusual.My memory is coming back slowly, so maybe I’ll eventually remember someone who uses that method.It isn’t in any way familiar, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.Were your parents different? Upset? Was there anything unusual that you can remember in the days or weeks before that night?” He pressed her because he was certain he was on the right track.“You have the instincts of a bodyguard,” she pointed out.He didn’t allow his smile to surface.She had no idea what instincts he had, and he wasn’t going to enlighten her and risk getting kicked out—but they sure as hell weren’t that of a bodyguard.He remained silent, waiting.She chewed on her lower lip for a few moments.“My mother was my stability.Without her I was lost and all I really remember is being alone with my father.He tried to understand me, but he was disappointed that I was so different.Don’t get me wrong.He loved me and he tried to do all the things Mom did, but he was stiff and annoyed most of the time.He tried to hide it, and when Mom was in the hospital, we both were so miserable that anything else would have been impossible to notice.”“The car accident when she was hurt.Could that have been deliberate?”She shook her head.“It was one of those pileup things, where everyone is sliding into everyone else.A couple of the cars caught on fire and the rescuers pulled everyone out fast and made us stand as far away as we could get, even those injured.There was such chaos that if someone wanted us dead, they could have killed us right there and no one would have noticed.Several people died in that accident.It was horrible.”“What happened to your mother?”“Her leg was smashed.She was in the hospital for a week and I remember my father crying, afraid she was going to lose her leg.He was there the first night, with broken ribs and a concussion as well, but then they allowed him to come home with me
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Tematy
IndexChristine Amsden [Cassie Scot Cassie Scot ParaNormal Detecti
Christie Craig [Divorced, Des Divorced, Desperate
Moore Christopher Ssij, mała, ssij (II)
Stasheff, Christopher Wizard in Rhyme 6 Haunted Wizard
Cidney Swanson [Saving Mars Saving Mars (epub)
Stasheff, Christopher Rogue Wizard 04 A Wizard in Peace
Stasheff, Christopher Warlock 01 The Warlock in Spite of Himself
R. Murray Thomas Manitou and God, North American Indian Religions and Christian Culture (2007
Fry Leslie, Waters Flowing Eastward The War Against the Kingship of Christ (1988)
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