jerks to a halt

ulling the brim of her black baseball cap down low over her eyes. She pays in cash, turns her back t

t hard to breathe. She finds the discreet, resident-only side door. Her

it against

green. The heavy magn

hallway is dimly lit, smelling of expensive fl

tailored suit is walking around

. She immediately drops her head, digging her hands fran

The guard's voice i

out of the freeze response. When she looks up, she tilts her chin at an arrog

my lip gloss for ten minutes. Tell the front desk the lighting in thi

ment radiating from her. He lowers the flashlight

nd walks

e button for the penthouse. The doors slide shut. The elevator shoots upward with a sickening speed that makes he

dark foyer. She swipes the card one more t

teps

reeks of Bvlgari perfume. Zara's signature scent. Acid burn

She turns on her phone's flashlight, keeping the beam pointed at the floor. The living room is

over the armrest, is a pi

ght her nails dig into her palms through the gloves. She wants to scream. S

base of the massive crystal chandelier hanging in the center

. She forces the tiny device inside. The sharp edge of the metal f

dark. It hovers, about to fall strai

nd catches the blood drop mid-air. She wraps the tissue tightly around her bleeding finger,

checks the feed. A crystal-clear, wide-ang

o a battlefield. The king-sized bed is a tangled mess of sheets. Used condoms

-the one with the audio bug-behind the eye of a m

feed when a sharp ding echo

elevator h

her phone flashlight instantly. She darts across the room and shoves herself into the massive

ains loudly. The clack of high heels echoes on the hardwood

Jeannette's face. She presses her back against the back wall of the closet, burying her face in a row of

are heavy. She starts stripping the bed, muttering under he

ciating, a sharp tearing sensation in her muscles. She bites down o

traight toward the closet. Her hand reaches out. Her fi

Her thumb hovers over the t

humb flies across her own screen, quickly dialing his secret number. A second later, a loud, o

their alarms," she mutters, turning away to find the source of the noise

nd hurries out. The heavy front d

through her black hoodie, sticking to her spine. She gasps for air,

the door handle, checks the camera feeds o

of dawn is bleeding into the New York sky. The freezing morning wind dri

pulls out her phone, and presses the activation