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The ring was suddenly like a heavy weight on her finger now For the first time since her father had pushed it on, Storme wanted to take it off

It was no longer a re she didn't have, and everything she wouldn't have in her life

"A little hed

"Hey, whichever works at the ht of her backpack and headed for the kitchen

"You won't need the bag," he assured her

"My bag goes where I go," she told him firmly "If it stays, I stay"

"Why? What's in it, Storme, that you feel you have to have?"

For a second, her gaze flickered with a vulnerability he hadn't expected

"You never knohat can happen, Styx," she finally stated, the edge of disco in her scent

Styx realized that her statement, that one never knehat could happen, was far too true in her life For ten years she had never knohere safety lay, or if the next day would be her last

Styx watched her back as she disappeared out of the bedrooh

The backpack was a symbol of security, perhaps As she had said, she was never seen without it But that didn't er any weapons in it, and there was nothing that would indicate the data chip was hidden there

The backpack and its contents had been scanned, run through an x-ray and every conceivable electronic i device that would have revealed the data chip

There was nothing hidden there, he illing to bet his ass on it Nothing but her need to ensure that no matter what happened, she was prepared He could live with that

Shaking his head at the wonder and the confusion this woht to his life, Styx followed behind her to the kitchen and watched as she poured herself a cup of coffee