smelled like roasted espress

shaking as she pulled out a blank notepad and a cheap ball

senger bag and pulled out a thin laptop. He set it on the count

he had brought with him whirred to life. It s

papers. Her stomach

ocuments across t

he comman

. The legal jargon

of assets. Absolute confidentiality regarding the nature of this arrangemen

ttom lip. It soun

to the middle o

tie read out loud. She let out a breath she did

up a silver

clause on the last p

the page. Her

ed out, her throat closing up. "

gned to keep external threats-like the media or your family's relentless meddling-at bay. I give you my word, as long as you do not actively

o her for exactly three seconds to retrieve a second sheet from the portable printer. In that microscopic window of time, shielded entirely from her view, he dragged the tip of his silver pen across the middle of page two. A thick, black line struck righ

instructe

nter felt like ice against her skin. She pressed the pen to the paper and

stared at her signature. A slow, dark

nd slid it into the inside pocket

ty palms against her jeans. "When d

hecked h

'clock today," Connor said.

dropped. Her

asped. "That i

r said, his tone leaving no

or. He paused with his hand on the knob

His voice was thick with an

unter, her legs giving out. She stared at the empty space wh