Ashle
. I wrapped myself in the bedsheet, hailed a
were filled with a mixture of pity and
I felt a wave of dizziness. My key was still in my ruined
breath and used my tremb
her, Sharon Mann, sat opposite him
frowned, his eyes f
wrapped around my body, the tear tracks on my face, the red marks on my ne
haracteristically soft. "My
me. I had braced myself for contem
g. "Someone drugged me last night. Someone took those
r, Sharon was there, catching my arm, guidin
" she said
I knew-the woman who had spent the last year treating me
p abruptly. "Moth
e turned back to me, her expression softening agai
I d
bout the flashes, the man, the pain. About waking up in that hotel
I could remember, ev
eyes never leaving mine. When
o Jefferson. "Your wife-your wife-is telling me she was drugged and assaulted last night.
other, that's not what happen
ng directly in front of her son. "You mean the photos of her unconscious? The one
at. I hadn't eve
ly caught off guard. "Mother, you don't understand the situation. She's been
d in bruises and ask for a lawyer." Sharon's voice was ice. "She a
on made my chest ache. It wasn't warmth, not exactly. B
li
Why didn't you come straight to the ho
s welcome. I thought you
er. "You're a Mann, Claire. No matter what happens in this marria
my chest. A tiny flicker
Jefferson. "I want the trut
a mask of barely cont
wer
saw him calculating, weighing his options. Bu
voice trembled, but with anger, not grief. "I r
Her fingers were cool and smooth, the same hand that had never once touc
ly. "Not until we have all the facts
ce papers." I reached into the folds of the
pers, flipped to the last page, and saw
" Her voice wa
shook
them into her own pocket. "Good. I need to look over
through me. Her reaction had been t
back on her face. She patted my hand. "G
ent up
eard Sharon's voice from below, l
can't fall through. If she talks
eps f
shot up
d my head to l
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