a piece of trash. The security guard gave her one last p

thin cashmere blanket and her dress in seconds, the cold se

ming into a deep puddle. Pain shot up her leg, and sh

r fingers scraped against the pavement. She patted

r clutch. It landed in a puddle, the contents spilling out. Her lipstick rolled into the

as her old backup,now obsolete smartphones, the ba

mattered. The only person who

And rang.

it would go to voice

ated. The sound of clinking glasses a

Chester threw me out. He fired me. I'm outside in the rain, I

e word was a buck

he rain streami

as devoid of any emotion. It was the voice he used when firing a s

"What? No! Bryan

ws. Logan Group can't be associated with a corpora

physical weight crushing her chest. "Bryan, we

he words crisp and final. "It's over,

ne wen

he screen until it went black. The phone slipped from her numb fingers, but she scramb

dirty water, the rain pelting her

nched her from head to toe. The driver leaned on his horn, shouting

in protest, the pain bringing tears to her

slurred from the sh

eyes were glassy, his grin predatory. H

njured foot dragging behind her. She turned and ran,endure the pain ,or rather,

in grime and old posters. The few fluorescent lights buzzed and fl

er wet bills three times before the machine accepted them. The card popped

illed her nose. She slumped onto a wooden bench, pulling the wet bl

tion, the wind whipping her hair into he

ucking her legs up under her. She buried her face in h

self. Hair plastered to her skull. Mascara running down her cheeks in black

the evidence of Chester's possession. But sh

e got off, she realized she was in an unfamiliar n

-up buildings. Finally, a beacon of light appeared. A 24-hour bo

man behind the counter looked up, his eyes

ked, pointing to the

her the change, his gaze never leaving the bruise on her

still driving down just inches from her shoes. She pulled out th

aylie. Please.

ng thing, gnawing at her fingers and toes. She closed her e

one vi

ome rig

he stepped out into the rain, holding her arm up. A car slowed down. An Uber. She cl

hing. The city lights blurred past, a million windows f