attered yellow taxi on t
unclasped the Patek Philippe watch from her left wrist-a gift from her late mother, th
" Emaline said, her voice
he heavy gold timepiece. He sl
hone from her wet pocket. She dialed Clayton's private
d again.
n-dollar Upper East Side penthouse, keeping his precious
rled into a cold,
retly coded an encrypted backdoor into the smart-home infrastructure for all their luxury real
e bypassed the advanced firewall through her hidden pr
enthouse. With a second tap, she locked out the emergency b
d it into her purse, leaning he
Crista was curled up on the plush velvet sofa, crying so
elier above them went pitch black.
ng shriek, burying her
he darkness, his arms wrappi
is completely out. The backup generators aren't kic
s were aggressively mounting the curb. Dozens of paparazzi were swarming the lob
his neck strained against his colla
uded estate in the Hamptons. Emaline had bought this property y
an umbrella. She gasped when she saw Emaline li
! Oh my god, l
teeth, waving off the woman's hands. "Just bring a m
irst-floor bedroom. The heat wa
Her hands shook as she rolled up
oaked fabric had caused the silicone liner to slip entirely. The har
roke with a wet hiss. She pulled the heavy mecha
and covered in deep, angry blisters.
the edge of the tub and turned on the warm water. She grabbed a w
e bit down hard on her lower lip to keep from screaming, the metallic taste of blood f
medical kit Brenda had left. She didn't reach for painkiller
the asylum to survive the phantom pain
eedles into the nerve clusters above her knee. Her breathing s
he front of the house. The heavy oa
's furious roar shook t
hick gauze. She grabbed her prosthetic, shoved her limb back into the socket, and lo
m, her gait perfectly smooth, betr
e bar cart, poured two fingers of amber
coat was wet. His chest was heaving. He looked lik
eyes burning with ra
d a pleasant trail down her throat. She looked at him ove
appetizer, Clayto
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