in. I turned it over in my fingers. On the back, someon

ing with every step. The Brooklyn apartment building loo

door. I swiped the keycard through the reader. A

old and stale cigarettes. I found the apartment number and

ng up in every direction. He looked me up and down, his eyes wide

ed from inside the apartm

as his na

y shoulder past his chest

le coffee hit the back of my throat. I c

anding in front of a massive whiteboard covered in complex financial algorit

d a clean towel from the back of a chair and threw it directly at my face. The hea

scrubbed my wet hair, and drop

I demanded, looking

me, the sheer physical mass of him m

flat. "You keep the media off my back and block the a

h. "And what exactly do I get?

he sofa, trapping me between his arms. His face was inches

for the corporate fraud," he whispered

of adrenaline shot straight to my fingertip

Cash. Upfront," I said, my voice ste

y, but he didn't argue. He pulled a sleek black phone from his pocket, tapped

across the cracked screen. The phone was ancient, but the prepaid balance hadn't

les," I said, sitt

slamming pots and pans into the sink. The deafen

led it with terrifying precision. It smashed directly into the w

reamed, my voca

t the smashed apple, an

He picked up a printed Non-Disclosure Agreement from th

y against the thick pap

partment. Someone was kicking the front door with enough force to

He grabbed my upper arm and s

and slid a solid aluminum ba

d. The door flew open,

re cheap suits, but the Washington family securi

h. "Look at the stray dog in his little poun

fear in his eyes. Only the cold, emp

orward, reaching out t

from behind Kayden, grabbed the heavy glass ashtray off the

agged base, the sharp edges biting into my palm, and poin

y house," I snarled, m

t the crazy woman bleeding ont

d dog, swinging the bat in a brutal arc. The sickening crack of break

's belt, flipped it open with a flick of his wrist, and drove the steel tip directly in

bleeding partners, turned, a

loor. He turned slowly, his chest

ld barely keep my grip. I dropped the glass. It shattered into smaller pieces

. "I want hazard pay

d in a dark, almost imperceptible smirk. He

business with yo

only bedroom down the narrow hall.