cedar and that strange, clean antiseptic scent. Althea clutc

al mask firmly in place, but Althea saw the flicker o

om the stench of garbage clinging to them, but his ja

ed. "We'll mes

, his voice a low grow

her into the plush leather interior, tr

to Leo. Althea gave him the address to her building, a rundown pre-war walk-up on the edge of a

in the car as she helped Arthur

her voice stiff, direct

gone for a week." His gaze was intense. "If you find yourself

m away. The SUV pulled away from th

shoulders a strange and confusing comfort. She shook her head and turned

he grime from his skin and hair. She helped him into clean pajamas and coaxed him to eat a small bowl of

w herself to feel the

haustion. She opened the refrigerator. It was nearly empty,

long, desperate swallow. The bitter l

led out a thin silver chain. The locket was worn smooth from years of touch. She clicked it ope

he walls she kept so carefully built around her heart. A singl

to the tiny photo, her voice breaking.

elt foreign, absurd on her tongue. "He's a monster. A cold, controlling, paranoid

y mind. Feeling safe with a man who's probably one s

llic taste coating her tongue

her chest, over her heart. The tears stopped. Her

faces in the locket. "I will find out who put you on that yacht

e a bed of her own. She pulled her thin mattress onto the floor next to Arthur's be