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else I packed was in place.
There was a tap on the door and a familiar voice whispered,  It s Kevin. We have a
change of plan.
Uh . . . a change of plan? I don t think so. I pulled my One Shot left-handed. The little
gun of holy water didn t require the strength or accuracy the handgun did. All I needed it
was a quick squirt to make sure Kevin was Kevin. Call me paranoid if you will, but it
keeps me alive.
Baker started to position herself behind the door, but I shook my head. She was
strong, but she wasn t going to be strong enough to hold the door closed against
whatever might be impersonating Kevin. Hell, I wasn t positive I was strong enough, but I
had a better shot at it. So I passed her the squirt gun and got in position.
 We need to verify you re who you say you are, I said calmly. I wasn t feeling calm. It
was turning into an icebox in here and several small objects were starting to levitate.
 Damn it, Celia, we don t have time 
That was totally unlike Kevin and I flicked a glance at Helen. She scowled and nodded.
Yeah, we were going to do this. Shit.
 Fine, then. I yanked open the door and Helen sprayed him.
It wasn t an impostor. Maybe we d have been better off if it was.
I heard a soft pffut of sound, barely audible over the sound of the water hitting Kevin.
Baker staggered back, slapping at her neck. Her gun arm rose but too slow. Kevin
slapped it away as he hit the door with all his strength and weight.
Crap. Kevin had been turned. Or was he ever on our side? He d left me a note after
Vicki died that said he d  be back for me. Was I one of his  hard targets ? As a sleeper
agent, he could keep tabs on me and now he was going to kill me. I couldn t decide
whether I was more angry or hurt that he was doing this. Probably an equal mix of both.
I pressed on the door with everything I had.
I d thought I was strong, but I was not as strong as a big, motivated werewolf. He
shoved the door back like it was nothing. I dived out of the way, throwing myself between
the bed and the window, and firing as I went.
I hit him. Square in the chest and hard enough to send him back a pace. But the bullet
didn t do more than piss him off. He had to be wearing a Kevlar vest.
The ghost in the room tried to help. Everything that wasn t held down flew at Kevin s
face. He batted it all away as I scrambled to my feet and turned to flee out the hotel
window.
I d climbed onto the heater/AC unit when he grabbed me by the leg and threw me onto
the glass-strewn carpet. I tried to turn my gun on him, but he had my hand in an instant.
My God, the strength of him. He pinned me with his body and his arms and there wasn t
a damned thing I could do about it. God knows I tried, squirming, fighting, and screaming
for all I was worth. I bit him with the fangs, but he healed almost before I could pull them
out. I was careful not to swallow, though I wanted to.
But nothing made any difference. I struggled helplessly as Warren, the man I trusted
more than anyone else even more than Bruno strode into the room. He pulled a dart
gun from his pocket and shot me. The same way he d shot Baker.
Damn.
I couldn t move. I tried. My body simply wouldn t respond. I could feel my skin resting
against smooth leather upholstery, could feel the movement of a car, but I couldn t even
lift an eyelid. I panicked then, because even though the adrenaline rushing through my
system made my heart race until I could hear my pulse pound like a kettledrum in my
ears, my body remained sullenly unresponsive.
 Please don t struggle. You ll only hurt yourself. Warren s voice was a disembodied
and slightly mechanical whisper in my left ear.  I combined a curse with the drug in the
dart. You won t be able to move a single voluntary muscle until Kevin says the word that
releases you.
I felt a wave of pure unadulterated rage fueled by the pain of complete betrayal. These
were two of the people I held dearest in the world. I would have given my life to defend
them and they do this?
Warren s voice sounded in my ear again. Now that I thought about it, I could feel the
headset attached to my ear.  I m so sorry, Celia. I can only imagine how angry you are
right now. But we had no choice. Irene contacted Kevin through his employer. She swore
she would feed Emma, body and soul, to the demon unless we turned you over to her.
He paused.  I can t let that happen. I can t. He sighed.  But I won t turn you over to that
fate, either. So we ve arranged a rescue.
My mouth wasn t working thanks to the curse. But I was thinking some pretty choice [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]