ra

te, my movements as silent as a

e from the bedside table. My fingers were st

e thick with sleep. "Elara? What is it? It

t of razors. I couldn't speak. I cou

the Don. "Is it Brendan? Has some

lat, devoid of all emotion. It sou

d to escape me, a sound that would have shatter

d about this. It's a hypothetical. It's radical, irreversible. It could trigger casc

"I don't want to be this person a

l theoretical, funded by one of my legitimate grants. "What about the Bla

leepiness completely gone. "My

imply. "I'll be your first h

two in the morning, fueled by God know

red, the finality in my own voice

ar him breathing, weighing the ethics again

row afternoon. Promise me you won

mise,"

n. Brendan slipped into the room, a shadow moving with p

snore. A sickeningly sweet cloud clung to his skin-Kiya's perfume, a s

t back, my resolve hardening

begin the proces