't walk hom

Queens. Every black SUV that passed made her stomach lurch. Her breath hitche

g. The lobby smelled of boiled cabbage and mildew. She took

out as she unlock

le

e show. Usually, she'd hear the rattle of

a Ro

in the hallway and rushed

was on t

ly stopped. For a second, the b

an

g shade of gray-blue. Her lips were parted, gasping for air that wo

ts kicked in before her

he faint, wet crackle of fluid in her lungs. Circul

per's voice shook, but her hands were s

or her phone

's seventy-two. History of angina." Harper barked the informati

tic of radios, and the terrifying sight of paramedics lo

spital Emer

o Harper's temples. The waiting room was a sea of misery-crying

that dug into her spine, stari

of Ros

rubs stood there, looking exhausted

nddaughter.

Harper's eyes. "But her coronary arteries are ninety p

llowed instantly by a wave of

her insurance. It lapsed three months ago. And Medicaid won't cover this specific procedure at t

r asked. Her voic

and the OR is forty thousand. The

d to drop out f

in installment

Hospital policy. We need the d

lked

her face. Forty thousand dollars. She had three

s humid, sticky. She leaned against the brick wall

buzzed in

. Unknown number.

el

er So

torted, metallic.

is

o can save you

tightened until the plastic

your me

ne wen

a picture of Nana Rose, taken from inside the ER curtain

ted into a knot. Some

entrance. 9:00 PM. Ask for the Mana

ed at the t

he danger, or the legality, or the fact that the Vesper Club wa

ck to the

grease-stained jeans. She dug out a box from

s that caught the light like embers. It was a relic from a brief stint she did with an und

on. It fit lik

, contouring her face, smoking out her eyes until the girl in the reflection looked nothi

d slid in a small, leather roll. It contained a few essential

r her head and steppe

as Phoenix. And she would burn the world