Page 49 of Already Lost

“She’s fine,” he said stubbornly. “Tonighteverything will be better.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late,” Laura said,and he stopped dancing as the final chorus of the song played, looking down ather. “I wish there was an easy way to say this, but there isn’t. Artur, yourgrandmother passed away this afternoon.”

It was such a gamble. There were anynumber of ways in which he might see through her story. Laura focused onremaining outwardly calm, using all of her training and experience to controlher face, putting on that mask of authority that made people trust her as anFBI agent.

“No,” he said. His grip on her armtightened, squeezing so hard it hurt. “I was with her this afternoon.”

“It was just after you left,” Laura said.“She went downhill very quickly. They didn’t have time to call you. I’m surethey tried to contact you at home, but you must have already gone out by then.”

“She can’t be dead,” he said. “She wasgetting better.”

“You didn’t complete the circle,” Laurasaid, using his own words back at him. “You didn’t complete it, and now it’stoo late. You see, she was still vulnerable right up until the moment youfinished your task. You didn’t move fast enough.”

“That can’t be true,” he hissed, his voiceshaded with distress. “I did everything as fast as I could. I was just about tofinish! You’re the last one!”

“It was all a waste of effort,” Laurasaid. “Everything you did – it was pointless. You couldn’t do it fast enough tosave her. It’s too late, now. Nothing you do will make a difference. She’sgone, and you can’t bring her back even with the circle.”

“You’re lying,” he said. He dropped herabruptly, sending her crashing to the floor. Laura managed to land on her sideand her arm, avoiding a knock to the head or any serious damage, quicklyshifting and bending her body so that she could look up at him again.

“I’m not lying,” she insisted. “I knowit’s hard to hear, but she passed in the hospital. I’m sure the doctor told youhow little time she had left. It just came sooner than expected.”

“No.” He turned, pacing away from her,rubbing his hand across his chin. Laura bent and arched quickly, trying to getinto a better position to defend herself. “No, this is wrong. All wrong. Shewas getting better because of the others. She wouldn’t suddenly die just likethat.”

“It must be terrible to hear,” Laura said,trying to give him as much sympathy as she could. Trying to sound like she wasthere for him. “I’m sure you weren’t expecting it.”

“It’s not true,” he said. He turned, andhis voice grew stronger. “It’s not true. You’re lying to me.”

“I’m not lying,” Laura insisted, but shecould see on his face it was too late. The bluff had run out. He was callingher on it, and he was serious.

“You’re a liar,” he shot back, and she sawhis face transform, going from worry and fear to pure anger. He opened his longjacket and pushed it aside, and then Laura saw what she hadn’t before – thescabbard strapped to his side, lined up perfectly with his leg, the darkleather of it hidden easily in the length of his coat. The large stab woundthey hadn’t been able to figure out. It wasn’t just a big knife.

He was using a sword.

And if she didn’t get away from him…

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Nate raced into the warehouse with his gundrawn, only slowing down once he was close enough that he knew his footstepswould give him away. There was no use in getting himself caught, too. Thatwouldn’t help Laura at all.

His own heartbeat was pounding in his earsas he stepped further inside, sweating in spite of the cold, his eyes dartingin every direction. He had to get this right. It was likely he would only getone chance.

He almost tripped on a loose cable thatwas trailed across the floor, cursing himself inwardly but not daring to sayanything out loud as he caught his balance. It had only made a small noise.There was a good chance the killer hadn’t heard anything.

The fact that Nate couldn’t hear any music– something that would have covered his entrance – was both a worry and arelief. A worry, because it might mean that he was in the wrong place. Arelief, because if he was in the right place and the music wasn’t playing yet,then Laura was still alive.

He’d already tried three different places.This had to be the one. It had to be.

Goddamn Dean still hadn’t called him back,and there were far too many warehouses and abandoned places to check byhimself. He could have called the local cops, but he didn’t trust them to do itright. Didn’t have time to give them full instructions. He needed to find Lauraby instinct, and this warehouse had looked like a good place to hide up with avictim you really, really wouldn’t want to get away.

An FBI agent. He had to know that if shesurvived, he was going to prison for a very long time. He had to know. Andbecause he knew, he wasn’t going to let her get out of here alive if he couldhelp it. He would kill at the first chance he got.

The only thing Nate could rely on, the thingthat was making him sweat not quite enough for the gun to slip through hisfingers, was the fact that he had this weird-ass ritual to follow. Maybe hewould get distracted by that for long enough that Nate could actually get thisdone. Find Laura. Shoot the bad guy. Get her out of there.

There was a sound – something up ahead.

Nate froze to listen, the grip of the gunwarm under his hand as it adjusted to his body temperature. He felt like hecould hear the seconds ticking by, and then – yes, there it was again! A humanvoice, he thought, though he couldn’t be sure. It was coming from somewhere upahead. The warehouse was almost completely dark, shrouded in half-fallen oldplastic curtain dividers and rotting piles of crates, water dripping from a fewholes in the ceiling from where it must have rained last. But somewhere upthere…

Nate inched forward slowly until he couldhear it better. Someone was… humming? Yes – humming! Someone was humming outthere, low under their breath. Some kind of tune.

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