the marble floors of the mansion like silver silk. Jessica stood at the edge of

d warmed, but her mind stayed sharp, replaying every

tarting

seen him retreat. She hadn't yelled or cried, she only said a name

temperature, but because of the quiet. The kind that made a person feel like they weren't truly alone. She crossed the room and o

n't do anything without y

d imprisoned her. But she was tired of being scared, tired of crying

e'd plant a

aymond S

g loosely from his fingers. The flames licked the air in front of him, casting flickers of gold across

pered. The name taste

dn't watched the way his hand froze. Like she hadn't meant to hit a

amonds, money, but that wasn't enough to satisfy her greedy family. They used her as a spy, collecte

d him she was studying as an excuse to protect her. She didn't bother call

beneath her grief, a fire that hadn't dimmed even when he'd tried to extinguish it wi

allow and set the glass down too

e pool area. It was empty now, she'd gone back inside. He stared at t

receiver. "Discrete. I want to know where she g

s,

he silent phone. What the

That N

ankles and the dim nightlights in the corridor cast long shadows on the floor. Sh

ice. She tried to open it b

s were lined with paintings, some dark, abstract, others of women she didn't recognize. At the end was a heav

ibr

t her attention, it was the desk at the far end. Messy, cluttered, nothing like Raymond's usual style

king drawers and flippi

money being funneled quietly, offshore and hidden. Her pulse quickened. She didn't

me and a few numbers onto her notepad,

she heard footst

ly backed into the shadowed corner, heart po

k neatly, wearing a black dress

ch other for a he

her voice calm but firm.

She studied Jessica with

, she nodded.

urprised. "Do you,

leave, she said over her shoulder, "No and we like

n she w

g as she shut the drawer an

aymond's

side of the bed hadn't been used in months. He never invited her here, not yet. He'

he was changing, smarter and bolder by the day and d

as dangerous; Joyce

nd over his face, then reac

till but his mind wasn't. He looked out across the garden an

? Who w

but whatever he sa

o no one. "Fire can burn...