Page 244 of Sins of the Heart

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And Dagan was too late. Too fucking late.

His burned hand had begun to regrow, but it was yet

little more than a limb bud—numb, weak, useless. His

usable hand was too far away.

Gahiji was closer. He had two working hands.

And one of them was now buried in Roxy’s chest

up to the wrist.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“NO!” DAGAN’S CRY WAS WORTH NOTHING. It couldn’t

stop what had already happened.

Spine arched, limbs taut, Roxy froze. Then her head

jerked back and a sound escaped her lips, like the air

escaping from a deflating balloon.

Leaping forward, Dagan closed his one working

hand around Gahiji’s forearm, exerting every ounce of

his control and power. He moved his damaged limb to

Roxy’s back, pressing hard with the flat of his forearm,

holding her in place.

The three of them wove a tight circle, a macabre embrace.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Dagan roared, the

words barely intelligible.

Roxy clawed at Gahiji’s arm, scraping skin, drawing

blood, then she just held on, digging deep. Her eyes

were wide, her toffee-cream skin paler than chalk.

Then she turned her head and her gaze met Dagan’s and

he read all the horror and fear she was feeling.

Lips pressed in a taut line, thick brows drawn low

over his small, close-set eyes, Gahiji glared at Dagan.

“She is our enemy,” he said, his tone reasonable,

calm, detached. Everything Dagan wasn’t. “Let me

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