pink as Gwen emerged from the hospital. She didn't go home. She walk

Her eyes were red and swollen, her makeup smeared. She loo

the damage, layering it under her eyes until the dark circles of grief and exhaustion were masked. She reapplied her lipstick, a bold red that felt like armor. Whe

e street and tilted her head back, her eyes tracing the sleek, imposing lines of the Crawford Group h

st fumes and cold ambition. Then she pushed thro

and brushed chrome. It was designed to intimidate, to

clicking an unnervingly loud rhythm on the floor. S

" she said, her voice steady, betraying

mile, glanced at the card and then back at Gwen as if she were something

, b

" the woman said, her tone final. She had already

of private elevators, cordoned off by a velvet rope. A sign in p

over there!" the re

mediately moved to intercept her. They each took

e marble floor seemed to drop away beneath her. The sounds of the lobby warped and faded. Cold sweat pr

r lips, a soft ding echoed through the lobby. The

d Kingston

wore a charcoal grey suit that fit him like a second skin, his expression one of bored, untouchable power. His gaze

. He tilted his head slightly, a slow, predatory smil

small, almost imperceptible fl

the guards

he floor, landing hard on the cold marble. She gasped for air, her

pping just inches from her. She looked up, past the perfectly creased trousers,

ing its fallen prey. His voice, when he spoke, was a low, velv

cruel amusement in his tone. "Are

ecutives behind him shifted uncomfortab

nd desperation won. This was her

fabric of his trousers. She clung to him li

to help me. My sister... she needs Dr. Colt Turner. They s

cutives. They stared, horrified, at th

eg. He looked surprised, she thought. As if he'd expected h

ngers, cool and firm, gripped her chin, forcing her to look

ce so low only she could hear it. The scent of cedar and cle

She tasted blood. "Anything," she said, her vo

He seemed pleased with her answer. He released h

ually neutral expression. "Jenson, contact Dr.

it felt like a physical blow. She slumped forward, her forehead touching the cold floor, si

He walked toward the main entrance where a black Maybach was waiting. Just

o'clock tonight," he com

ppearing into the chaos of Wall Street. Gwen pushed herself

looked at the scree

I can forgive you for last night i

e, shoved the phone back in her bag, and walked out of the build