trendy cocktail bar downtown. The kind of place
corner of the bar and ordered the m
asses. She was an island of quiet despair in an ocean of manufactured joy.
ng swallow. The burn in her throat was a wel
the bar. It was he
re you okay?" Jaida's voi
her own voice raspy and unfami
You sound like you're dying. Don't move, I
ender for another. She traced the condensat
nize. Probably Don's lawyer, or a reporter he'd sicced
Hope Hill clinic paced his floor. "She's not pickin
ne screen lit up, then went dark. She was
he sharp edges of her pain were starting to bl
ath down her cheek. She wiped it awa
urgent matter from Hope Hill Clinic regarding the results of your recent procedure. Pl
second. But the battery icon was a sliver of red. B
th it, the message that wo
bled toward the restroom, bumping into a man in a tailored suit. He shot her
s glassy and unfocused. She looked like a stranger. She splashed cold water
heir predatory smiles making her skin crawl. She didn't have the e
omach heaved. She leaned against a lamppost, g
, the neon signs across the street blurrinilent as a shark,
o saw her. A lone, pathetic figure, slumped
e opposite seat. "Ayleen Ramirez. L
dette's lips. "Rough night? She's cele
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