in Garrison's Honda. Finley stood, holding onto a pole, the key a hard, real presence i

paper. A husba

t something was different. A fragile layer of hope, thin as ice, had formed over the familiar desperati

friend, Paige Caldwell, she felt like a spy returning from a mission. Paige was s

view?" Paige asked, not tak

mportant job interview. A lie. T

ing both true and false. She forced a tired smile.

as tiny, barely big enough for a bed and a desk piled high with textbooks. It

e in the back of her desk drawer, hidden ben

e polite, contractual thing to do. Then she realized she didn't have his number.

couldn't reach him? What if this

real. The k

rofile. The agency used code names. His was "Riverstone." Beneath it w

ome. Everything is fi

d, her hear

me back almo

lyn]. The door code is []. Move in whenever

. Perfect. It reinforced the natur

nagging at her. She couldn't live in his apartment

my half of the rent and utilities. We can set up a formal

eeling a sense

ok longer. When it came

n

. He must have

for me, she typed back quic

and disappeared for wh

ady handled. Don't worry about it for now. We can discuss th

ommand that pricked at her. She felt a flash of frustration. This was her one rule, the one

r now. She would talk to him

arrison Strickland. It felt too form

you know that tutoring center I told you about? Bright Minds? They call

y. For the move. For the future. For the ten

d immediately.

ghborhood not far from the address Garriso

a handful of clothes, a framed photo of her and her mother from

some

rough her chest. She quickly dismissed it. It was just a

tutoring job and fell in

land lowered his phone. The cabin of the Gulfstream G

a glass of whiskey into his hand. The ambe

mirk playing on his lips. "Though if she's already trying to go Dutch

e. "This is just the beginning. Get a message to the property management in Brooklyn. That building is to be t

his tone sobering. He knew

Bailey from a stack of profiles not just because she didn't ask for a single dollar in

ed a su

e in a cramped city bedroom, dreaming of earning enough to be free. T