nscious, mumbling incoherent strings of numbers and insult

inical. He knelt in front of her and began to wipe the smeared makeup from her face

r head lolling to the side. "I'

. It was a cheap digital Casio. He

urmured to himself. "Ten-M

n he opened them, the cold indifference was gone. His eyes were soft, pooling with a warm,

cold, limp h

ice dropped an octave. It was

him. She saw the way he was looking at her-like

woman I have ever seen," he lie

er head wea

behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her cheekbone. "He was a

She was starving for this. She dra

strength, the way her mind worked. He used generic romantic tropes

asn't the ugly, angry crying of bef

an it?" sh

dead in the eye. "

seconds in his head. Five hundred

tch vibrated silent

e as if a light switch had been flicked off. His posture stra

, Ms. Lowe. I wil

affection was like a physical slap. She reached for him

n. He placed a glass of water and two aspirin on the nightstand-liability pr

ed his hand as h

" she

discussed in the contra

nd away. He turn

e wiped his hand on his pants, scrubbing the skin as

hit his face. He took a deep breath, expel

all of them,

n. The money from the Parker termination had cleared. Th