f Clare's own ragged breathing. She leaned her forehead against the

's voice, back to its calm, stea

reliance she hadn't asked for but desperate

driver break every traffic law to get to her. "That apartment is no longer safe,"

st, the logistics, the sheer impossi

ent," he said, the lie already prepared, smooth and seamless. "It's in Midtow

t. She was so tired of fighting. "O

ck. A moving service will be there in

rtment, a space that held three years of her life, most of them miserable. With a sudden burst of ene

with rage. He hit record, angled the camera up at his face to catch the rain that looked like tears, and began to speak, his voice choked with fake angu

f four movers. Their leader, a clean-cut man named Mike, introduced himself. They wore crisp, matching unifo

ency, wrapping her cheap IKEA furniture and worn paperbacks with the same care they

r phone and googled the company. Her breath hitched. They were a premie

"Julian, this moving company.

said, his voice the epitome of casualness. "Got a massive discount. It w

so matter-of-fact, that she found her suspicion waverin

was packed into boxes. Mike handed her a clip

apartment. It felt like severing the last t

andbag. A sleek, black Lincoln Navigator was waiting at the curb, its engine purr

rce?" he asked, stumb

ior was spotless. A warm blanket was folded on the seat ne

he window at the familiar, gritty streets of her Brooklyn neighborhood fading behind

the Upper East Side. The level of security was unlike anything she had ever seen

here

and was wearing a simple grey cashmere sweater and dark pants. Without th

he said, his voi

st hers. A jolt, sharp and electric, shot up he

is expression remained pleasant. He ste

ry wall of glass offering a panoramic, god-like view of Central Pa

he said, turning to face him, the questions bubbling u

holding two glasses of red wine. He

he said, shaking his head with a sigh of perfectly pitched frustration. "

ly. It was the kind of gripe she'd heard a thousand times from her own managers. She

he said, clinking h

ofa, a football field of expe

business-like, "we should probably establish some ground rule

solid ground of their contract. "Good ide

He closed the distance between them in an instant, his body

hers. His eyes were dark,

ng to a husky whisper that vibrated through her.

could feel the frantic beat

the name feeling foreign

le spread across his