cked shut, the sound sealing Vivia

d the cold, professional ar

sweater and leggings, the simple

Mason set up his laptop at the kitchen island

ith their presence, fin

peatedly. Dr. Coleman's name flashed on the screen aga

tion to the refrigerator, pulling out fr

h aroma of searing beef, began to chase away

tuary. This was a

, Sterling's voic

d not known where she landed, how she survived, or who had slept in he

would take. The Carlisle name could open courtrooms, buy experts, frighten witnesses

hile stealing another woman's marriage would n

on the table and

n, with a thoughtful precision that was so lik

rs. Dubois, and ask if the boys could spend the weeke

e living room floor, assembling a

e warmth of their small bodies pressed against

.

of the Four Seasons Hot

the wall, the porcelain fragments sca

makeup had smudged into ugly dark crescents beneath her eyes, an

dare that woman humiliate us like this, Sterling? I

she is? She hears your name and suddenly she plays hard to get. I know that trick. Pre

more than she intended. It was, afte

her face contorting in a mask of pa

ng out at the city lights, a glass of whiskey swirli

, and the day had been filled with

patted Kara's shoulder, a perfunctory gesture of comfort. His eyes,

ling said, his

s internal firewalls, sir. We have Dr. Vivian's h

arrowed. "What ki

listed has no record of her residency. Her credentials are impeccable, board certifications, published re

words hit Sterling l

out of his life. Four years ago, Viv

e surgeon had materialized out of

w tigh

It had to be

f her voice refused

second. Bare feet on marble. A raised c

Sterling's lips. A woman with som

," he said, putting a sardonic emphasis on the w

turned, and l

hooed the boys off to brush their teeth and tucked them into bed

self a much-needed glass of wine when she noticed the empty milk cart

our convenience store downstairs was stil

oat over her sweater, grabbed her

lway, a cold draft from the

the end of the corridor. The st

ed across the street, its engine idling,

unease ran do

g didn't know where she lived. He couldn't. She

ge Rovers pulled into the shadows across

his team emerged, moving with

ence store, Vivian picked up tw

ss door, and she shivered, an inexplicable s

wen and his men stepped o

e her apartment

ulling a compact hydrau

vice were placed around

ce impassive. His or

or. Eliminate

the other side of that door were an