open directly into the

acket onto the floor without looking back. The air in the apartment was

he smoothed the fabric, her movements practiced and quiet. She

ws, looking out at the city. The lights of Manhatt

tes," he said. He

middle of the room

ace was flushed with alcohol and a simmering aggression that had been build

twitch. She forced it to rel

lked toward the bar cart. "You

. He didn't need to. The smell of the scotch from earlie

," she said softly.

en I say you go t

mmed the glass down on the marble counter.

u stand there like a statue. Do you feel anythi

on it. If she cried, he won

from the previous night. She picked it up. She didn't look at him.

wn her chin, staini

le and looked at him

better?"

ated when she acted broken in a way he hadn't orchestrated.

vy crystal tumbl

t!" he

e glass acro

directly. It smashed again

as

rystal expl

ood there, the wine bottle dangling from her hand

kin. It welled up and began to trickle do

m went

ists. He looked at the blood. His anger seemed to e

runch of glass under his dre

face. His thumb brushed over

eeding," h

d. Her voice was d

tilting her head to the side to insp

omatically. It was a refl

hand. "Go clean yourself up. Yo

fa. He picked up the remote and turned on the

o the bathroom. She clos

the cut. It wasn't deep, but it was lo

red at the blood. It was bright red. It was real. It

buzzed in

was a secure message

lene Horne connection. The ledger me

. The PR crisis manager. The woman who w

ed back

on it. He's vo

blood off her face with cold water. She

, Grayson was on the pho

haven't kicked her out. She's a consultant, technically.

doorway. The wor

sul

n friend. A consultant. A line i

The shards of crystal were sca

began to pick them

her thumb. She watched

something else. A cold, hard resolv

e Horne's secrets. And she would use every shard of thi