LITMIR.BIZ

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walk right up to my front porch.”

      “But you let him in. What happened to your so-called training? You fell for the oldest trick in the book—a lost cat. So lose the attitude, would you? We’re just trying to help.”

      Sabrina turned away, stung by the truth. It was the oldest trick in the book.

      Johnny had stood there on the porch, with that radiant smile and hunky broad shoulders, and all her training had flown out the window. That was the part she hadn’t shared with Theo and Zack, although Zack had clearly picked up on it. She had been instantly attracted to Johnny, for reasons that had nothing to do with Zorro’s leg. Her lonely body had reacted to the handsome stranger like a child reacts to Christmas.

      “Hey.” Zack came up behind her. “I was out of line. Again. Sorry.”

      “You were right,” she countered, turning to grace him with a cool smile. “I thought he was the world’s greatest guy. Apparently you did, too. Best friends—almost like brothers, right? Dad liked him enough to hire him. Uncle Theo trusted him enough to send him to the Canary Islands to guard our most valuable client.

      “We were all conned by him,” she finished with a flourish. “So let’s just move on. Hypnotize me now and get it over with. Then you can hit the road.”

      “Maybe you should just leave now, Zack.” Theo gave his employee a withering look as he patted Sabrina’s arm. “I can hypnotize Sabrina myself. If we learn anything of value, we’ll call you.”

      Zack spoke between clenched jaw muscles. “I have the most training. And we both know you’ll go too easy on her. What’s the point?”

      Theo shrugged. “To be successful, she has to be relaxed. And she has to trust the hypnotist. I don’t see that happening with you here.”

      “I want Zack to do it, Uncle Theo.” Sabrina touched her host’s cheek to soften the interruption. “He’s right. You would be too careful. We have to be thorough, for Shell’s sake.”

      Theo shrugged again. “I want to okay the list of questions then—”

      “No way,” Zack said with a growl.

      “I agree,” Sabrina murmured. “He needs to follow his instincts. That’s what Dad would say if he were here, right?” Turning to Zack, she insisted cheerfully, “Let’s do it.”

      “One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven…ninety-two… three…” Sabrina yawned, losing interest in the numbers as she succumbed to an uncharacteristic feeling of peace and tranquility.

      “Sabrina Sullivan?”

      “Yes?”

      “How do you feel?”

      “I feel good.”

      “Good.” Zack cleared his throat. “I’m going to ask you a few questions. Just do your best, okay?”

      “Okay.”

      “If you start feeling uncomfortable—for any reason—just let me know and I’ll wake you up. Okay?”

      “Okay.”

      “Good. Now tell me about John Derringer.”

      “Johnny?”

      “Right.”

      She sighed. “I liked him. A lot. Now I hate him.”

      “He has that effect on everyone,” Zack assured her. “Do you remember talking to Johnny the way you’re talking to me now? In this kind of a mood? Calm like this?”

      “I don’t know.” She squirmed in her chair. “I don’t remember.”

      “Johnny gave you some instructions. Do you remember that?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “He told you to forget about your little chat with him. And you forgot it, just like he told you to do. That was good, Sabrina. But now I want you to try and remember what he said. Just a few words. Can you do that for me?”

      She shook her head. “I don’t remember any words.”

      “Okay, shh. It’s fine. Let’s talk about your sister for a few minutes instead. Is that okay?”

      “Yes.”

      “Do you want me to call her Michelle? Or Shelby?”

      “Her name is Shelby now.”

      “Okay, that’s fine. When Shelby talked to you about Johnny, did she mention what they talked about?”

      “Everything.”

      “Right. Everything. But did she mention anything specifically? Do you think he asked about your father?”

      “Dad?”

      “Right. Did Johnny talk to Shelby about him?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “Did Johnny ever ask you about him?”

      “I don’t remember! I don’t want to talk about Johnny.”

      “That’s fine. We won’t talk about him anymore. Let’s talk about your father instead. Would you like that?”

      “Yes.”

      “Did he ever talk to you the way I’m talking to you now?”

      Sabrina nodded. “Yes.”

      “Okay, good. Do you remember what he talked to you about?”

      “We talked about Shell,” Sabrina murmured.

      “What did he say about your sister?”

      “He told me to protect her, because I’m the oldest. It’s my mission,” she added proudly.

      Zack laughed. “How old are you right now?”

      “I’m nine.”

      “Did your father tell you anything else? Maybe when you were older? Did he share secrets with you when he talked to you this way?”

      “No. He just told me to protect Shell. But I didn’t,” she admitted unhappily. “I let a bad man take her away.”

      “Sabrina, listen to me. I don’t want you to think about that right now. Do you understand? I want you to think about Theo Howell.”

      She felt the sense of calm return. “Uncle Theo?”

      “Right. How do you feel about him?”

      “I love him.”

      “Do you have any other feelings? Feelings you can’t explain? Any desire to hurt him that confuses you?”

      “Hurt him?” She shook her head. “No. Never.”

      “And what about Perimeter? Do you want to destroy it?”

      “No.”

      “Do you want to hurt anyone?”

      “Yes.”

      “Who do you want to hurt?”

      “I want to hurt Adonis Zenner. I want to kill him.”

      “Okay, shh. That’s fine. What about Johnny? Do you want to kill him?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “You told me you hate him. But you don’t want to hurt him?”

      “I want to find him,” she explained carefully. “And I want to pay him back for taking my sister. But I don’t want to kill him unless he makes me do it.”

      “Okay, I understand,” Zack said, his tone soothing. “You hate him and you want to find him.”

      “Yes.”

      “Do you trust him?”

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