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"Thanks, Erin" Again, his voice vibrated behind Jana

Erin stopped next to them "It doesn’t matter what others think about you," she told Jana "It doesn’t matter if they think you’re a freak or a monster …"

What if I am?

"They don’t know you" A wisp of a sone

"Let’s get out of here" She didn’t like the sht hold on her as he led her froue They hurried down the hallway, raced up the stairs and--

He pushed her back against the hard, stone wall of the stairwell His eyes glittered down at her "You’re holding back on me"

Jana sed His eyes were so dark Really, a demon’s eyes shouldn’t have been sexy Scary maybe, sure Not sexy

But his were So sexy her knees shook and her panties were getting wet

He slapped his hands on either side of her head "What aren’t you telling oing to turn on you"

Her breath caught "I do trust you" A painful admission She’d never trusted anyone fully Certainly not those assholes at Perseus-and her wariness had sure paid off But she’d never trusted her handful of lovers or her so-called friends

"No, you keep waiting Keep watchingto screw you over" He shook his head, and she saw the muscle flex in his jaw "What do I have to do? How do I prove to you--"

He didn’t have to do anything "Beth offered me a deal in that shithole" She’d told him that part already But noas time for the full confession "If I walked away and left you on your own, I could get my life back"

"Hoere you supposed to--"

"She said she could take away the fire The witch was right Laura was psychic She just had to touch et the fire …" Do it, tell him "And transfer the power to someone else"

His whole face hardened "Beth" He shoved away fronitor" And she hadn’t been "But that night, she got ot it, and she used it to attack you and everyone else in that place" She’d burned Perseus to the ground Even though she hadn’t gotten the full rush of fire-not like poor Laura-Beth still hadn’t been able to control the flames Only Jana could control the fire

Beth should have realized that as soon as the psychic burned

He turned away His shoulders were raht, and the fury rolled off hiainst the wall

"I knew there was soure out…" A harsh laugh "And you shot the vamp You didn’t incinerate the asshole You shot hiue over them and forced herself to step forward "I tried to call up the fire when he attackedtraded your fire and me for your freedoht you …"

He thought she-what? Her heart slammed into her chest "Zane, it’s not like that!" Her hand reached out to hilanced back at her, his face a hard mask "I pulled you out of that fire at Perseus I went back for you before I helped anyone else" Disgust had his lips tightening "And you’d already screwed me over"

Then he walked away Zane marched up those stairs Walked Away

No "I went back for you, too!" He kept walking "Zane! I went back into the fire, when I didn’t have any power, for you I wasn’t leaving you, da to let you burn!"

But he was still leaving her and her heart seemed to burn in her chest Don’t leave me She ran up the stairs after him He was close to the exit, the one that led to the back parking lot She grabbed his arm and forced him to stop She yanked him around-and made him look at her "Where’s your trust?" she whispered

His eyes were as cold as black ice

Damn him "You think I sold you out so easily? You think I tossed you over to be da into his ar that has saved me over the years First from that bastard who tried to break ht and watched , I knew, and I prayed for soan to crack Screw hi

"My mother didn’t believeot worse, and worse, and I knew he had so ed her throat "I prayed, and I got my fire I stopped him" Over the years, the fire had kept her safe Always "When the assholes in the dark come after me, they’re the ones who run away scared because I control the fla for mercy Not ertips Her nails had dug in too deep Her hands lifted, and her fingers balled into fists "I stopped wanting to be noro"

His nostrils flared "But you still sold h was brittle "Would it have killed you"-she asked hi toward the exit now because it was her turn to leave hireat sex Maybe that was all they’d ever had Why had she expectedat me" She didn’t look in his eyes as she spoke now She couldn’t "Beth was shouting so all I had to do alk away" Laura … the girl’s eyes had been wide Sad Tears had glittered behind her glasses "I didn’t want to hurt Laura She didn’t seeed closer to her

"I thought … I thought Perseus was using her, just like they’d used ain as the ed at ers skim down my side

And it had felt like the woman sliced her open with a hot knife

Jana tossed back her head "If you don’t believe me, look" Her eyes held his "Look "

She felt the hard psychic push against herHell, where was Zane? "Don’t take another step" Laura froze

"What happens when she takes the fire away? Where does it go?" Jana asked

Beth didn’t answer and the girl wasn’t speaking Her eyes looked so big behind the glasses, and her skin was stark white

An alar alarm Beth jerked and swore "Dumb bitch She should’ve just done her damn part"