“You did what?” Mark shrieked like a schoolgirl.
“It was just a bath, Mark. What’s the big deal? If I remember right you greatly enjoyed it yourself, and not only with me.”
“It’s different, Sarah. He’s not one of us.” Mark’s voice lost its intensity, and his eyes looked introspective.
Earl avoided lurking in his associate’s mind. He knew what he would find, and he didn’t care to delve into it. Mark’s losing his edge, he thought. Something had started to shift since pretty Lia entered their lives, and he hated her with passion for it. The damned woman is going to get me killed. Or worse.
“I don’t understand,” Mark said. “Why are you doing this? Why destroy everything?”
“Because I want my freedom.” Under the cold façade, Earl could feel her anguish. “I have more money than I can spend i
