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‘Jasmine protected me,’ MaryAnn told her father breathlessly. ‘She was a tiger.’

‘I got my strength from you,’ said Jasmine. ‘You were so very brave. You remind me of my own daughter.’

More tears sprang to Jasmine’s eyes as she moved away from MaryAnn and returned to her husband.

‘Where’s Mom, Dad? I thought I heard her crying, but . . .’ MaryAnn paused at the pain that crossed her father’s face. ‘She died, too, didn’t she?’

Sam nodded, his face wet with tears.

‘Why did this happen?’ MaryAnn asked.

‘No reason.’ Sam thought of the two men rotting in the tunnels beneath their feet. ‘No good reason at all.’

THE END

Acknowledgements:

My agent, Amy Moore-Benson, for believing; my editor, Selina Walker, for saying ‘Yes’; Danielle Weekes for her infectious enthusiasm; Emma Musgrave for her skill and support; and Sally Riley for telling the rest of the world to climb aboard. I would also like to thank the wonderful people at Transworld who embraced the book from the beginning and expressed their continued excitement about it. And to you, the reader, who has taken a chance on a new author. You’ll never know how much that means to me.

a cognizant original v5 release november 02 2010