rn through her for a moment before forcing it down, bank

g list, once constrained by the physical world, was no

was run

rp, rapping her knuckles on the plexiglass

bill passed through the payment slot silenced him. He swerved acro

th crammed into a single city block. Hasidic Jews in black coats and hats hurried past arm

ows. Diamonds were for fools. They were a marketing gimmic

ere for r

xchange." The door buzzed open only after a man behind bulletproof glass had given h

VIP counter, bypassing the to

with tired eyes and a practiced, professional s

he bright, clinical lights of the showroom, the gold glowed with a deep, warm, almost living l

in her head. She had roughly f

n one-ounce gold bars. Half in o

He blinked. "Two... two million dollars?

minutes," Adria finished for him, sliding her bl

a blur of paperwork and secure authorizations. He kept asking about

rivate security is waiting outside. Just pack

the exchange, carrying three black canvas bags that were deceptively, impossibly heavy. Each one weighed nearly eighty

ing alley between a kosher deli and a falafel stand. It wa

ms trembling with relief. Leaning against

or

ight w

e felt the new, dense mass of them settle into a corner of her private universe,

her for the past twelve hours finally gave out. The rebirth, the fight with Frank,

e the driver her Brooklyn address. She collapsed into the back seat, the world d

dy. We'r

r building. She paid the fare in a daze, her body feeling heavy and disconne

floor, a strange

ill. The sharp thwack o

renaline. Her hand went to her pocket, her fingers clo

he hallway, her

dered man in a grease-stained work shirt and jeans. He was expertly fitti

r approach

lived-in way, a smear of sawdust on his che

other bro

ng over her, and ruffled her hair with a large, calloused hand that smelled faint

ands... what they did to his hands...-slammed into her with the force of a physical

dam

e fortress she had built around her heart crumbled to du

face burying itself in the rough fabric of his shirt. She clung to him, her body shaking with

t moods, not this. His big hands hovered awkwardly in the air bef

ppened?" he murmured, his voice laced wi

ked onto her wrist. The makeshift napki

usion vanished, replaced by something d

ice dropping to a terrifying whi

anning the hallway as if looking for a weapon. He to

his chest. She grabbed his arm, her grip su

stop crying. She looked up at him, h

d with a strange, new intensity. "It's so much worse than

ng else in her eyes. Something ancient, and weary, and absolutely terrifying. This wa

nodded slowly, the anger in his eyes

owed her into the apartment, a

she walked around the small living room, pulling every curtain, shutt

ned to

ng. It was the voice of a general about to brief her sol