A Thousand Kisses Deep by Wendy Rosnau Read Free Book Online

asked.
    "And will I be rewarded for my generosity if I show you the way? Do you have the Onyxx file? Do you?"
    Her hands were suddenly on his hips, moving downward over his thighs. When she slipped them into his pockets to find them empty, she said, "Another game player, I see."
    Sly had no idea what she was talking about, but she had used the word Onyxx, and that was good enough for him to play along.
    He said, "I didn't bring the file with me, but let's get out of here so we can talk about it."
    "And so the fox put her trust in the stranger and shared with him the secret passageway out of the labyrinth. And when they had finally escaped, the fox eager for her reward, did receive her recompense. She became the stranger's supper, and he gobbled her up in one fast bite."
    When Sly, again, said nothing, she added, "Have you read them?"
    "Read what?"
    "Aesop's Fables? Have you read them?"
    "No."
    Sly tried again. "Come on, let's go."
    "Come, little fox. Come to me and I will take pity on thee."
    The nearness of Parish's poetry confirmed that he was circling back.
    Sly had been on his way out of the boxwood with Eva in tow. Now he stepped back, pulling her, once again, against him.
    She laid a hand on his chest, whispered, "There is no escape for a fox in this maze. Here, there is only survival by surrender. I have no desire to escape."
    Sly swore softly. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to be hit with an electrical current?"
    "I imagine it's quite painful."
    "If you enjoy playing games, I'll play with you, and I promise it won't be near as painful," he offered.
    "Sorry, but tonight my game is with Simon. If you wish to play with me, when next we meet, bring the file."
    With that, she scooped up her dress and stepped out onto the trail. Before Sly could stop her she was standing in the beam of light coming from Simon Parish's headlamp.
    The minute Parish saw her, he began to laugh. He drew the Taser from his silver Star Wars holster. "You've run out of places to hide, little fox. Say it. Surrender to me."
    "You've won the game, Simon. You've outwitted the fox. I ask you to take pity on me."
    Laughing, Simon Parish aimed the Taser at Eva's stomach. "Request denied, little fox." Then he pulled the trigger.

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    Chapter 5
    « ^ »
    " I hear the voices, Dr. Fielding."
    "What are they saying?"
    "They're arguing. Yelling."
    "Is your father there? Do you hear his voice?"
    "Yes."
    "What else? I've opened the door, Eva. Look inside. What do you see?"
    "Mother is dead, and there are flames around her. Our house is burning."
    "You said you hear two voices. Do you recognize the other voice?"
    "No. He's no one I want to know. He's a monster. He's… No, no one!"
    "Take it easy. I'm bringing you out now, Eva. Five, four, three, two—"
    Sly watched from his seat on the airplane as Eva rubbed her temples. He was listening to tape number eight. Bjorn had titled it "H is for Hypnosis and Hell."
    They were cruising at forty-two thousand feet. The sun was out, and the airplane had been in the air an hour. From his aisle seat in the sixth row, four behind Eva and across the aisle, he continued to observe her. They had left Atlanta at
1:30 p.m.
Destination, Athens , Greece .
    Eva hadn't recognized him in the terminal, but then why would she? He was in jeans and a gray shirt, not fatigues and face paint. Likewise, she was no longer wearing a fox mask and sequins, but a pale-blue shift and matching sandals.
    Simon Parish sat beside her. He looked nothing like a safari hunter, either. He wore black pants, a lemon-yellow shirt, a black hat pulled low over his face, and tinted shades to conceal his unnatural eyes.
    He looked sane. Sly knew different. The man was a lunatic.
    Another hour in the air and Eva pressed the flight attendant button, then reached beneath the seat in front of her for her carry-on bag. The attendant arrived, Eva relayed a message, and a short time later the attendant returned with a bottle of water.
    Eva popped a pill,