n in seven-inch heels was rushing towards him, her face a mask of p

ing with gratitude. "I can't thank you enough. Please-let me know

is voice flat. He didn't break stride. He walked past her and down

ed, then turned and burst into the hospita

y impeccable makeup was slightly smudged, and her seven

oversized hospital bed, a thick white bandage wra

e grabbed Stella's hand, her own fingers trembling. "Are you okay? I heard about the fi

ad felt in hours. A knot of tension in her chest loosened sligh

like expensive cologne in here. Cedar and something...smoky." Her eyes narrowed, landing on the glass of wate

ranger. He pulled me out of

need to find him. Pay his medical bills if he was hurt, a reward, a thank y

in Stella's mind. The dismissive way he'd left th

. "I don't think he's the kind of person who wants to be

ed into a familiar scowl. "Fine. Then let's talk about the person who

r screen and then shoved t

e image was sickeningly clear. Preston, his face a mask of heroic concern,

robbing ache. Her fingernails dug into her own palm, the sharp pain a welcome distracti

arbage. I'm calling Page Six. I'm calling the Daily Mail. By morning, every person in this city will

N

t cut through Megan's tir

sed. "What do you mean, no

back. The hurt was still there, deep down, but it was now overlaid with a sheet of ice. It was a col

, her voice devoid of emotion. "It's messy. It

accommodating woman who had spent the last three years trying to fit into

asked, her tone shifting from conce

ons, not the Lanes, no one. I want every record of my

t. She had the best PR crisis team in the city on retainer. Wi

er the side of the bed and gritting her teeth ag

o support her. "Your apartment with Preston

set foot in that apartment again." She looked at Megan, her eye

e apartment on the Upper East Side that

ready moving towards the door. "Me

e in the silence. Her gaze fell on the whi

ps. She ran her thumb over the embossed name, the memory of

your life

r head against the cool glass of the window, watching the city lights blur into streaks of gold

ng faintly of dust and disuse. It was a minimalist space of glass and steel, the complete

fa, the soft leather a welcome c

issed calls. A

e her heart flutter. Now, it just made her stomach

simply turned the phone over, placing it screen-down on the

ing, indifferent skyline of Manhattan. The city was a beas

They would pay for every second of terror, ever