Ashle

. I wrapped myself in the bedsheet, hailed a

were filled with a mixture of pity and

I felt a wave of dizziness. My key was still in my ruined

breath and used my tremb

her, Sharon Mann, sat opposite him

frowned, his eyes f

wrapped around my body, the tear tracks on my face, the red marks on my ne

haracteristically soft. "My

me. I had braced myself for contem

g. "Someone drugged me last night. Someone took those

r, Sharon was there, catching my arm, guidin

" she said

I knew-the woman who had spent the last year treating me

p abruptly. "Moth

e turned back to me, her expression softening agai

I d

bout the flashes, the man, the pain. About waking up in that hotel

I could remember, ev

eyes never leaving mine. When

o Jefferson. "Your wife-your wife-is telling me she was drugged and assaulted last night.

other, that's not what happen

ng directly in front of her son. "You mean the photos of her unconscious? The one

at. I hadn't eve

ly caught off guard. "Mother, you don't understand the situation. She's been

d in bruises and ask for a lawyer." Sharon's voice was ice. "She a

on made my chest ache. It wasn't warmth, not exactly. B

li

Why didn't you come straight to the ho

s welcome. I thought you

er. "You're a Mann, Claire. No matter what happens in this marria

my chest. A tiny flicker

Jefferson. "I want the trut

a mask of barely cont

wer

saw him calculating, weighing his options. Bu

voice trembled, but with anger, not grief. "I r

Her fingers were cool and smooth, the same hand that had never once touc

ly. "Not until we have all the facts

ce papers." I reached into the folds of the

pers, flipped to the last page, and saw

" Her voice wa

shook

them into her own pocket. "Good. I need to look over

through me. Her reaction had been t

back on her face. She patted my hand. "G

ent up

eard Sharon's voice from below, l

can't fall through. If she talks

eps f

shot up

d my head to l