il

plate was the only sound at the breakfast table.

erfulness. A little tune hummed while a piece of bacon was

tween me and Donovan was a thick, suffocating blanket. He refused to look at

her lips, her eyes sp

the city for some shopping?" Bright. Sparkling. "I'm in d

a hard, unyielding line. He didn't want me to go

te. Careful. "But I have some work I need

commanding gaze on her grandson. "And you, Donovan, will be joining us. You can b

as a frozen lake, locked with his gr

enevieve-the kind that promised

l

is feet. "I'll be in the truck." Bitten out. No e

on't you mind him." Soft but fierce. "He's just a spoiled boy throwing a t

s house" made a warm b

he wallet, a single card was extracted. Black metal, completely matte

s pressed i

t has no limit and no password. It's wha

pt to push it back. "No, I

ow how to treat his mate. So, I am going to teach him." A conspiratorial whisper as she leaned in. "Do me a

her. A test. But n

rom the Ford pickup outs

g nod, the heavy black card

es white on the steering wheel. From the backseat, Genevieve kept up a lively stream of ch

r? You have such a sh

got sick, and... well, algorithms and data structures don't pay the bills overnight.

g understanding. "Dreams don't die, m

anating from the driver's s

e city I only ever saw in magazines. The streets we

an trailed behind us like a thunderous storm cloud, his p

d the sales staff cooed, dressing me up in silks and cashmeres I w

vieve's declaration, gesturi

professionally gleaming smile. "And ho

e burning into my back. This

. A tiny, almost impe

into my pocket. The black

, icy points of focus the moment he saw the card. He knew it. The Bla

leswoman. Face pale. Expressi

vidence. The nail in my coffin. The bait h

h lifted in a small, c

d in his mind, I had