Page 19 (1/2)

As Rehv&039;s Bentley pulled off Route 149 North and eased onto a narrow dirt road, John leaned forward toward the windshield The headlights hit bare tree trunks as the sedan snaked closer and closer to the river, the landscape overgrown and unwelco cabin that was revealed was absolutely, positively nothing worth noticing Se, it was rustic, but in perfect condition

He had the car door open before the Bentley was in park and he alking for the front entrance before Rehv was out froot was actually a good sign He&039;d felt the sa up at the symphath camp and it made sense that she would protect her private quarters with a similar force field

The sound of his boots was loud in his ears as he crossed the packed earth of the drive and then all went quiet as he hit the scruffy brown grass of the shallon He didn&039;t knock, but reached for the knob and willed the lock free

Except it didn&039;t budge

"You&039;re not going to be able to get in there with your head" Rehv ca to use, and opened the way

As the stout, solid door was pushed aside, John frowned into the darkness and cocked his head, expecting an alaro off

"She doesn&039;t believe in the John as he went to rush in On a louder note, the un down --it&039;s ht soht

And there was no reply

Rehv hit the lights and released John&039;s ar but a stretch of galley with the bare essentials: gas oven, older refrigerator, stainless-steel sink that was functional, not chic But everything was spotless and there was no clutter at all No azines No weapons left out

Musty The air was still and e room with a bank of s that faced the water Furniture wasbut ticker chairs, a rattan couch, and a short table

Rehv walked right through, heading for a single closed door to the right "Xhex?"

Again with that voice And then the male put his pal his eyes

On a shudder, Rehv&039;s huge shoulders lowered

She wasn&039;t there

John strode forward, and went for the handle, pushing his way into her bedroom Empty And so was the bathroom beyond

"Goddamn it" Rehv turned on his heel and strode off When a door slauy had gone out onto the porch and was staring at the water

John cursed in his head as he looked around Everything was neat and tidy Nothing out of place No s cracked for fresh air or doors that had been recently opened

The fine dust on the knobs and the fastenings told hione now And if she had co or doneof her scent

He felt like he&039;d lost her all over again

Christ, he&039;d thought that her being alive would be enough to carry hih--but the idea she was soely crippling Plus he felt blinded by the situation; he still didn&039;t know the hows and whats and wheres of any of it

Flat out sucked, to be honest

Eventually, he went out to join Rehv on the little porch Grabbing his pad, he scribbled quickly and prayed to hell the sy from

Rehv looked over his shoulder and read what John held up After a moment, he said, "Yeah Sure I&039;ll just tell theo eat at iAood three, four hours of space minimum"

John put his palm over his pec and bowed deeply

"Just don&039;t go out fighting I don&039;t need to knohere you&039;re going, that&039;s your biz But if you get yourself killed, I got ninety- nine probleest one of them" Rehv looked back out to the river "And don&039;t worry about her She&039;s done this once before This is the second time she&039;s been taken away like that"

John&039;s hand snatched out and grabbed hard onto the ain, there were ru because of what he did to control his symphath side

"Yup This is nuether--" As John&039;s fangspassed No need to worry there But she ended up heading to the colony for fah, and wouldn&039;t let her out When Murhder went up to get her, the syot critical I had to et theht out froned without thinking To who?

"Huh, just like she did this time And then she went away for a while" Now Rehv&039;s ah, but after whatever those huot hard"

When, John o" Rehv resu in thatin and being her hero with Lash She&039;s going to have to do that herself You want to help the situation? Let her come to you when she&039;s ready-- and stay out of her way"

Yeah, well, she probably wasn&039;t going to be in a hurry to text his ass, John thought And as for the Lash thing? He wasn&039;t sure he could let that one go Even for her

To cut off his own thinking, John put out his pal and then John dematerialized