elids flut

ndow, stabbing at her retinas. She squeezed her eyes sh

clear IV tube snaked into the back of her

epped into her line of sight. He clicke

he private ro

a perfectly tailored navy suit, his

his expensive cufflinks. He no

ried out, pullin

f the bed and sat down. "I'm Kellan Rhodes.

at was raw.

ment his lawyer walked into that delivery room that you were marked for disposal. My team was s

she rasped, her throat burning. "The man in the water... the one who pulled me under and dragged me u

"You were drowning and hallucinating from severe hypothermia and blood loss," he deflected s

r omitting something crucial, but the pounding

jacket. He tapped the screen

en. Bank accounts frozen.

dropping to a serious octave. "If you stay in the States

ivery room crashed over her. She reached down and gripped

"A European passport. A spot in a premier medical fellow

grief was gone, replaced

ped the embossed logo on the top sheet. "The fellowship requires cross-border data access, so they set you up with a remote research clearance at Langford. You'll hold a digital authorization

Medical Institute faculty ID, and a separate plastic card stamped with the Langford Res

said, her voice still ho

member-Adrian's people monitor everything. Don't log in. Don't order so m

Her voice cracked on the name. "My brother

eable. His bills will keep getting paid. Adrian's people

stayed, she was dead. If she was dead, Caleb was alone f

ded her a heavy gold fountain pen and a sing

ssed the nib to the paper and wrote a three-line

r left hand and grabbed the massive dia

metal scraping her skin, and slammed

d. He snappe

walked in carrying a garment

the assistant said, sett

r hand. A drop of blood welled up, but she ignored it

black trench coat. She slid oversized dark su

into an underground parking garage. They cli

ic, crossing state lines until it pull

the runway, its engines whining. Ther

he cold wind whipped the hem of

l stairs of the jet. A

oked skyline of Manhattan in the distance. She dug her

sed the city. And I will bu

SUV, raising a han

d stepped into the cabin. The h

into the leather seat as the plane tore