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found him at all. Jeremy had crisscrossed the house, from top to bottom, laying enough trails
that they d eventually get frustrated and give up trying to track him. Then they d check the
obvious spots he might have passed out his bedroom, his studio, the bathroom but he wasn t
in any of those. I had at least fifteen to twenty minutes before they began to suspect that Jeremy
wasn t asleep at all.
I forced myself to count off five minutes before I peeked. By that time, Andrew had
retreated to Jeremy s armchair. He sat there, staring at me, unblinking, as if I could wake up and
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pounce in the millisecond it took him to blink. The stink of fear wafted from him. That was
why Wally had left him behind, because if I did wake up, Andrew would make damned sure he
called for help instead of trying to take me on by himself.
After another couple of minutes, Andrew began to relax and, as he relaxed, his gaze
wandered to the bookshelf. Two more minutes passed. Then he eased up from the chair, gave
me one last look, and turned toward the bookshelf.
I sprang the moment his back was to me. My hand was around his mouth before he realized
I d left the sofa. I could have killed him then. But of the three Santos boys, Andrew had given
me the least reason to hate him. I didn t like him, but he wasn t enough of a threat to warrant
killing. So I wrapped my free hand around his throat and squeezed until he passed out. Then I
lowered him to the floor and crept from the room.
As soon as I walked into the rear hallway, Jeremy slid through the back door. He motioned
me to silence, cocked his head and listened. Footsteps sounded above. Jeremy waved me closer
and I whispered what had happened so far that Andrew was unconscious in the study, and
Wally and Stephen were searching.
Time to let them find me, Jeremy murmured.
Of all the parts of Jeremy s plan, I hated this one the most. But Jeremy insisted we play this
to the end, that we had to know, beyond a doubt, what they had in mind.
Jeremy pointed to the kitchen. When I hesitated, he met my gaze and jabbed his finger
toward the room. I muttered under my breath, but obeyed.
I slipped into the kitchen, half-opened the pantry door and stood behind it. In the hallway
something crashed and the footsteps above stopped.
Clay? Jeremy called, his voice weak, as if sedated. Clayton?
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A softer bang as he knocked into the hall-stand. Overhead the footsteps resumed, quieter
now, heading for the staircase. Jeremy s unnaturally heavy footfalls thudded toward the kitchen,
interspersed with the odd thump as he stumbled into a wall. By the time he threw open the
kitchen door, Wally and Stephen were on the stairs, moving fast now.
Clayton? Jeremy called into the kitchen. Damn it, where are ? The squeak of his
shoes as he turned. A soft intake of breath. Wally? Stephen? What are you ?
A thump. I dove from my hiding spot as Wally pounced on Jeremy. Not seeing me,
Stephen raced across the room to join his uncle. I slammed into him and we sailed into the far
wall. Stephen s eyes went wide.
Surprised? I said. You wanted to fight me, you got it.
He swung, but in his haste didn t aim, and I didn t even need to duck to avoid it. I grabbed
his arm, ripped it backward and heard the bone snap. Stephen howled. I put my face to his.
What? Can t fight me with one arm? What about Jeremy? Care to test that boast now?
He drove his good hand into my stomach. The air whooshed from me and I stumbled back,
but when he brought his hand up again, I grabbed it and threw him over onto his back. Still
holding his left hand, I took the forearm between my hands, met his wild eyes and broke the
bone. While he screamed, I leaned down and whispered in his ear.
I could stop here, I said. You re not fighting anyone with two busted arms so, really, I
should just stop. But I m not going to. And you know why? Because you wouldn t if it was me
lying there. Sooner or later, it s gonna come down to this, and I m not taking the chance that
you ll go after Jeremy again in the meantime.
He opened his mouth, but I grabbed him by the neck and snapped it before he could say
anything. Then I tossed him to the floor and raced across the kitchen to where Jeremy and Wally
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were fighting behind the table. Jeremy had Wally in a headlock, but before he could tighten his
grip, Wally managed to kick Jeremy in the stomach and wriggle free. I jumped in and grabbed
Wally by the back of the shirt. Jeremy stopped. He looked up at me, met my gaze and, very
slowly, shook his head. It took every ounce of will, but I forced myself to let go of Wally and
step back. Jeremy sprang at him and they went down fighting.
That was the longest five minutes of my life. I knew Wally was at least as good a fighter as
Jeremy, yet I also knew that Jeremy had to do this himself. So I welded my feet to the floor and
I watched. Finally Jeremy got Wally back in that headlock and, with a sharp thrust on Wally s
chin, he ended it.
Jeremy struggled to his feet and wiped his sleeve across the blood streaming from his split
lip. His left eye was fast swelling shut.
You okay? he asked.
I managed a laugh. Yeah, I m fine. Let me grab some ice for that lip. Looks like you
might need some stitches for it, too. I looked him over. Is that it?
He nodded. Silly question. He could have a dozen broken bones and he d still wouldn t
admit to any injury I couldn t see.
He stared down at Wally and Stephen and, for a moment, looked as if he might be sick.
It should never have come to this, he said. I don t know where He paused, eyes
closing. We re Pack. We don t kill Another glance at the bodies and a long, slow shake of
his head as his eyes filled with a quiet grief.
Yeah, it shouldn t have happened, I said as I took a bag of frozen peas from the freezer.
But you can fix that now.
Hmmm?
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I shot a pointed look at Wally and Stephen. Three to five. You won.
Jeremy took the peas and shook his head. Not like that. I won t take power by killing off
the other side.
But
I have an idea, he said. One that I hope will settle this for good. You said Andrew s
alive?
I just knocked him out.
Good then. I ll call Antonio, see if he can get back here sooner than tomorrow night, and
we ll finish this.
Nine o clock Friday morning. We met at Stonehaven. When Malcolm arrived, Antonio ushered
him into the living room with Raymond and Daniel. Seeing Andrew alive, Raymond s eyes lit
up, but any remaining hope for his brother and eldest son died as Jeremy explained what had
happened. When he heard the news, Raymond walked quietly to the sofa and sat down. Daniel
flew at me, as if it was my fault Wally and Stephen had tried to kill Jeremy. Antonio intercepted
Daniel before he got to me, then led him to a chair and signaled for Peter to guard him.
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