up on a sla

tally hard and cold. It smelled of bleach and regret. Her head

miliar chipped wood of her bedside table. Instea

s snapp

s overhead humming a merciless, flat note. The walls were painted a sterile,

e bar. The tequila.

rm-the stained polo and the grease-spattered apron-was gone. She was wearing a paper-

She was wearing her ow

l. Bronwyn scrambled backward, pulling the blanket up to

walked in, escorted b

w, more like a statue carved from marble. He was wearing a different, equally

s, looking at her with that sam

," he said. "

ew he

was a croak. "Where am

The officer complied, then stood at a respectful distance. Jennings walked in,

to the person who had you scr

ab. Her muscles felt like jelly. She gripp

on some dignity despite wearing nothing bu

vidence," he

blinked.

"The arresting officer was kind enough to quarantine

?" Her voice rose. "

ut a slip of paper. He placed it on th

sider it a severance package for your dignity. And bail money. In return,

asn't just rich; he was the kind of rich that

m to hold her weight. She walked over to the table a

in half. The

flutter onto the gr

ice shaking with rage. "I want to know what

t finish th

g the distance between them in two strides. He towered ove

inches from hers. She cou

n stretch until it was almost unbearable. He saw the f

u think?" h

as a taunt. A punishment

r. She stepped back, her heel

oking bored again. He

e." He paused at the door, turning his head slightly. "And one of my men retrieved your phone from the bar floor. He took the libe

r clanged sh

. She had to get out. She had to get to a phar