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I didn’t want Owen to hatein his sleep and rolled over onto his back I hesitated, then bent forward and traced ers down the side of his face A hint of dark stubble pricked my skin, but not in an unpleasant way Owen leaned into h it co to wake him or think too much about the warm softness that flared in ed, deter more and more to squash-or at least contain before it infected what little was left of my cold, black heart

Donovan had hurtOwen the sa to think that ht just break me completely

Still, I stared at Owen aout of the bedroo at the Pork Pit, the barbecue restaurant that I operated in don Ashland Then I went hoa, the Ice ele for ht, I pulled ression

As its nahtclub was located in the heart of Northtohere it catered to some of Ashland’s wealthiest citizens-or anyone who had enough cash or plastic to pay for the hedonistic delights offered inside Blood, drugs, sex, set it all at Northern Aggression, in whatever quantities or coht price

The outside of the club wasn’t much to look at, just another ordinary, warehouse-like building with a sign over the front door, that grayed out and faded into the rest of the immaculate Northtown landscape If you’d driven by Northern Aggression during the day, you ht that the club was so in their tiny cubicles and talking on their headsets

But at night the place and the people inside it came alive in all sorts of ways

I parked ot out, and headed for the front door An enoriant heart with an arrow through it Roslyn Phillips’s personal rune and the sylowed red, then yellow, then orange in the night, bathing the dozens of people waiting in line below it in its bright, suggestive light

Xavier, the guy as Roslyn’s ot into the club and as left standing out in the cold The giant bouncer stood roughly seven feet tall, with a strong, lealare of the neon heart-and-arrow sign Xavier held a large clipboard in his hands, checking off na the occasional C-note bribe to lift the red velvet rope and allow people to go inside the club

I strolled to the front of the line, past all theas little as they could bear given the chill in the Deceave me pointed, dirty looks, especially since I wasn’t dressed for a night of clubbing

Instead of a thigh-high miniskirt or a leather bustier, I wore -sleeved T-shirt, and a black fleece jacket Since it was almost Christmas, I’d donned one of my more festive T-shirts to celebrate-thick criiant candy cane in the h that Vinnie Volga’s blood wouldn’t stand out on it-much Happy holidays

And, as always, I carried my usual five-point arsenal on me as well Two silverstone knives up my sleeves, two more in my boots, and one tucked away in the small of my back Never left home without ’em Not even if I was supposedly retired these days So far, this so-called taking it easy had been farthe Spider full-time ever was

I stepped in front of Xavier "Hey, there, handsoht?"

Xavier grinned, his white teeth gleaht "I thought the party was alherever you were at, Gin"

I grinned back at hiht Can we talk a second?"

I jerked my head at Xavier and walked a few feet away froiant followedin line let out soft curses, but one look at et thelowered and cracked his oodin our direction,under their breath about the delay None of the rich yuppies standing in line wanted to iant Especially not with Xavier, who also hted as a member of the Ashland Police Department As fate would have it, he also happened to be et iant in a low voice "He was supposed to ht to talk to Vinnie"

Xavier nodded, his face dark and serious The giant was one of the people who knew that I was the assassin the Spider A feeeks ago, I’d helped Roslyn Phillips deal with Elliot Slater, the sick, twisted, giant bastard who’d been stalking her Slater had been working up to raping and killing Roslyn, before she and I hadthat had ensured that Xavier was my friend for life, since he cared about Roslynwas probably the last thing that I was going to do with Vinnie, but he didn’t even blink at the subtle threat in my words

"Yeah," Xavier said "Finn called Roslyn earlier and told her about the situation Finn’s already here, and Roslyn’s inside waiting for you too"

I hesitated "How’s she doing?"

Shadows further blackened Xavier’s eyes, and worry tightened his face "She has good days and bad days, you know? It’s still too soon to tell, I think"

I still reht that I’d found her tied to a bed at Slater’swomen, and he’d already reduced Roslyn’s beautiful face and body to pulpy e that he’d already done to the va her beforehand Roslyn had been bruised, bloody, and utterly broken-and about to be raped by one of Slater’s e that I’d never, ever forget

I’d killed theRoslyn, cut her free, and then used so supplies to patch her up enough so she could walk out of Slater’s bedroo the bastard who’d been about to rape the vaht, even if it had been only to rub healing oints I’d ever done Because I knew that being touched was probably the last thing in the world that Roslyn had wanted then, especially since I was the reason she’d been beaten in the first place But it had to be done to save her, and I’d made myself do it