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beginning, he’d sometimes caught her scent in the darkness, just as he drifted to sleep. He’d hear her clear her throat softly as she turned the page of the paper.
    She’d never been there, but he’d brought Lisa with him. And in time, she’d gone away. Aiden wasn’t sure when that had happened. One night he woke in the night, knowing that he was completely alone. Abandoned. And he hadn’t even had the tears to grieve anymore.
    He looked back at Annie, and saw more than pain and fatigue in her lovely face.
    “What do you dream about that’s so bad?”
    “What do you think?” Her voice totally lacked the sarcasm she was obviously trying for. She turned to him, the rising sun to her back. It made her glow with gold and pink. “You and I have never talked about it. You read the report, you know what happened.”
    His skin heated. Anger began the slow burn, but it was slower than before, the burn far less.
    “Lisa was attacked and you were too afraid and hurt to do anything.”
    She stood very still for a moment. With the light behind her, he couldn’t see her face. “The thing came out of the water, Aiden. It threw me out of the way like I was a toy. By the time I recovered, it was too late.”
    And then it had gone after her … He pushed that thought aside, trying again to harden his heart.
    She flinched, horror in her expression. “It was a monster. Dear God…it--”
    “It was human, Annie. And you were a trained cop. You could have done something.” His throat was tight, not only at the remembered horror of the mutilated body of his wife, but at Annie’s face. She’d gone pale and drawn.
    She shook her head. “Nobody understands what I saw, Aiden. It wasn’t a he. It wasn’t human, not as we knew humans.” Her eyes teared up, and he ached to wipe them dry. “We now know that it once was human. It isn’t anymore. And it craves blood and flesh from people like you. They haven’t confirmed it yet, but I think it’s a Nano with Hemo disease.”
    “Dammit, Annie, I know your skills! You could have handled a Nano. Even an enraged one.”
    Fury marred her face. She whirled, striking out, shattering a stack of heavy clay pots with one kick.
    “ You know my skills, Aiden. You knew me better than anyone! Think! I did not stand a chance! It disabled me, and then it killed her, and came after me just for fun! It fucking played with me, Aiden! It tossed me around like a cat plays with a mouse. Now I have to catch it and I don’t think I can!”
    The words brought horror, and with the horror, bits of black, toxic memories. “That thing…it held mu underwater till I thought I’d die. Then it’d bring me up…laugh and do it again. Like a game, Aiden. It was covered with oil and blood and filth…it licked me…” She swallowed convulsively, as though she was ill. “It licked me and still had…had--” She broke on a gasp.
    In near panic, Annie scooped up her clothing and dressed, uncaring that he watched. She shoved her feet into shoes, carelessly tying the laces. At a near run, she was at the door, struggling with the locks.
    And then she was gone, leaving Aiden with the bewildered awareness that something was wrong, so very wrong. His hands shook and his knees went weak. With fear and grief and guilt so heavy he nearly sobbed for Annie.
    He’d spent years blaming her for Lisa’s death but he’d been too wrapped up in his own misery to see that his partner had died in that attack as well. She was right. He’d known her then better than anyone. She wouldn’t have stood by helplessly as a stranger killed his wife…her best friend. His partner had died as well.
    This Annie Tanaka was a stranger.

    * * *
    A iden caught Annie in the hall. She’d come to a halt, a meltdown. She sat on the floor, arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes were dry, but they burned. She braced her forehead on her knees so she wouldn’t see him.
    “You aren’t alone, you know.”
    “You’re a victim, Aiden. As far