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Back Point Last Seen
Chapters (86)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Booklist
  4. Dedication
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
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  20. 16
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  40. 36
  41. 37
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  85. 81
  86. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Rune walked into a corner, almost out of the reach of candlelight. “For some people, my look can create an initial double take. People who visit a psychic want scarves, a trance, the gypsy legend with all its promises and enchantments and dangling gold coins. A little chin stubble doesn’t throw them off. I am still a lost soul, but at least I’m in good company.” She looked meaningfully at Adam.

Adam didn’t believe he was a lost soul. He believed he had lost his soul. A not-subtle difference.

Elle leaned toward Rune. “I like you.”

“I like you, too.” Rune came out of hiding, back to the table, and patted Elle’s hand. Without looking around, she said, “Stop glaring, Adam. I’m not putting the moves on your girl.”

“She’s not my girl.”

“Your boarder, then.”

“I’m not a boarder. I don’t pay him.” Elle’s fierce interruption collapsed into a pile of wretched uncertainty. “I’m a coward who’s afraid to leave. I’m afraid he’ll find me and I won’t know him until it’s too late.”

Rune and Adam exchanged glances, then the fortune-teller assured her, “The trauma and the loss of memory you’ve suffered has naturally resulted in emotional highs and lows, and what you now experience is not cowardice. You’d be a fool not to feel a natural wariness.”

“True,” Adam said. “As long as you stick close, whether you recognize him or not doesn’t matter. I have a nose for trouble.”

Rune glanced toward the window where Adam had earlier been standing. “You do, don’t you?”

“Not always soon enough.” Like Rune, Adam seemed to withdraw into the darkness—but without moving a muscle. “Elle, I have promised to help you. To the best of my abilities, I will keep my promise.”

“I don’t doubt you, Adam. But I don’t want you hurt, not for my sake.” Elle scooted her chair closer to the table. “I’m calmer now. I want to try hypnosis again. I need to know something about that night.”

“I know I can help you. You like the swirl of color in the drinking glass. I’ve got something similar. Let me get it.” Rune went down the stairs into her showroom.

Adam knelt beside Elle, took her hands. “Elle, you don’t have to be hypnotized. Rune said you could answer questions, talk your way through your memory loss.”