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Contents ( 114)
  1. THE HOLLOW SERIES BOOKS 1–4
  2. Contents
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Acknowledgements
  40. THE GOOD, THE BAD,
  41. AND THE UNDEAD
  42. Dedication
  43. Contents
  44. One
  45. Two
  46. Three
  47. Four
  48. Five
  49. Six
  50. Seven
  51. Eight
  52. Nine
  53. Ten
  54. Eleven
  55. Twelve
  56. Thirteen
  57. Fourteen
  58. Fifteen
  59. Sixteen
  60. Seventeen
  61. Eighteen
  62. Nineteen
  63. Twenty
  64. Twenty-One
  65. Twenty-Two
  66. Twenty-Three
  67. Twenty-Four
  68. Twenty-Five
  69. Twenty-Six
  70. Twenty-Seven
  71. Twenty-Eight
  72. Twenty-Nine
  73. Acknowledgements
  74. Dedication
  75. Contents
  76. One
  77. Two
  78. Three
  79. Four
  80. Five
  81. Six
  82. Seven
  83. Eight
  84. Nine
  85. Ten
  86. Eleven
  87. Twelve
  88. Thirteen
  89. Fourteen
  90. Fifteen
  91. Sixteen
  92. Seventeen
  93. Eighteen
  94. Nineteen
  95. Twenty
  96. Twenty-One
  97. Twenty-Two
  98. Twenty-Three
  99. Twenty-Four
  100. Twenty-Five
  101. Twenty-Six
  102. Twenty-Seven
  103. Twenty-Eight
  104. Twenty-Nine
  105. Thirty
  106. Thirty-One
  107. Thirty-Two
  108. Thirty-Three
  109. Acknowledgements
  110. A FISTFUL OF CHARMS
  111. Also by the Author
  112. About the Author
  113. Copyright
  114. About the Publisher

I took a slow breath, watching her pretend not to notice my eyes on her as I let the pieces fall into place. I couldn’t leave. It was more than not wanting to lose the only real friend I had had in eight years or my desire to help her win the war she fought against herself. It was the fear of being turned into a plaything by the first vampire I ran into in a moment of weakness. I was trapped by convenience, and the tiger with me was willing to lap cream and purr, betting she’d find a way to change my mind. Great. I’d have no problem sleeping tonight.

Ivy’s eyes met mine, her breathing hesitating a bare second as she realized that I’d finally figured it out. “Where’s Jenks?” she asked, turning to her screen as if nothing had happened.

I exhaled slowly, coming to grips with my new outlook. I could leave and fight off every lustful vamp I ran into, or I could stay under Ivy’s mantle, trusting I’d never have to fight her off instead. As my dad was fond of saying, a known danger was far better than an unknown one.

“At Trent’s helping Glenn,” I said, my fingers trembling as I reached for another cookie. I’d stay. We had an understanding. Or was Nick right, in that I really did want her to bite me but couldn’t accept that my “preferences” had slid a little? Surely the former. “I’m off the case. I found a body and word got out a witch was helping the FIB.”

Her eyes met mine over the screen between us, her thin eyebrows high. “You found a body? At Trent’s compound? You’re kidding.”

I nodded, slumping with my elbows on the table, unwilling to delve any deeper into my psyche right now. I was too tired. “I’m pretty sure it’s Dan Smather’s, but it doesn’t matter. Glenn is more uptight than a pixy in a room full of frogs, but Trent’s going to walk.” My thoughts shifted from what I was going to do about Ivy to the memory of Dan’s mutilated body strapped to the chair. “Trent is too smart to leave anything to connect him to the body,” I said. “I don’t understand why it was on his property to begin with.”

She nodded, her attention going back to her screen. “Maybe he put it there.”

A wry grimace crossed me. “That’s what Glenn thinks. That Trent is the murderer but wanted us to find it, knowing we couldn’t link it to him, and therefore making it twice as hard to catch him if he makes a mistake later on. It fits with Sara Jane’s reaction. She doesn’t know Dan Smather better than her UPS man, but something …” I hesitated, trying to put my feeling into words. “Something isn’t right.” I thought back to the picture she’d given me. It had been the same photo as the one on his TV. I should’ve known then that their courtship was contrived.