ion. Denice pushed through the doors at 8:47, seventeen minutes lat

ake desk, her eyebrows risin

e fabric worn thin at the elbows, and reached

on a fence, but you know how that goes." Margo paused, st

pen. The ache was psychological-she knew that, had known since the surgery that failed to fix

, screaming while her mother tried to fill out forms in Spanish. A homeless man Denice recognized from previous

She ignored it. It buzzed again, insistently, vibrati

olding two cups of coffee in sty

disposed of the gloves, reached for her cup. The

ime. Then a fourth. A patt

'd call her at 2 AM because he couldn't sleep, when he'd send

d that number before she'd memorized his name, before she'd known that memorizing

ugh the heavy metal door, and answered i

el

ed of everything-greeting, context, pre

concrete wall. It was cold

terial load is-" He made a sound of disgust. "You're compromising you

me out sharper than she intended.

high-ceilinged space with the view of the East River. "You want a child. I want-" Another pause. "I w

f I re

ice he used with terminal patients, she'd learned later. The voice that meant bad news

sion tunneling. He was threatening to withdraw. To leav

onster," sh

ling. "My executive assistant will contact you with the schedule. Clear yo

ne wen

a sterile message from his assistant. She needed to see, needed to know. She opened her messages. She typ

resse

a glitch of his privacy settings or perhaps a forgotten auto

she shouldn't. But her thumb moved without her permission, tapping the name, opening t

nothing like the gray Atlantic she knew. Jasper in a white linen shirt, sleeves rolled, looking down at so

, her blonde hair catching the sun, her smile wide and white

Weekend getawa

at didn't quite fill her lungs. Always you. The words echoed, mocking. She'd thought-she'd allowed herself to

The woman who'd happened to be available when Kira was overseas, and now that

ssion shifting from annoyance to concern. "Denice? We

matic. She wiped her face with her sleev

hand. At the nurses' station, she paused. The resignation forms were in the

IMMEDIATELY. No reason given. She'd learned that reasons were

r, who stared at it, at her, at the

d the locker room, toward her spare c