stroyed her life r

I don't pu

slightly dangerous. It was the kind of voice that cause

stem of her wine glass was Victoria Lane, even though that wasn't her name tonight. Her

ou have never encountered a

e's lips

of establishment that exuded wealth. Dim lighting. Jazz melting through the speaker

e sure

se," he said, eyes gleaming like dark wa

d. "Still watching me like you'

y what I want

h. She leaned forward, just slightly, letting her perfume, a f

he women who fake bumping in

ones who wear red heels

back just enough to give him a glimpse of

eyes locked on hers.

he habit of following ju

brow. "You f

makes you think it wasn

pty. It pulsed. Her heart drummed softly beneath

augh that made men lean closer, she was remembering blood, Sirens, and

He didn't remember the crash. Didn't remember

rk, his car. The way he stepped out, c

her wine. She would make him fall in lov

eaking the moment like a man testing the

w and soft like a secre

knees, the gold of his cufflinks catchin

d, reaching for her clutch. "I

like a man who hadn't been turned down

ished floor as she stepped toward t

n't tur

elt his eyes burning into h

. Jaw loosened. Her breath slipped out in a single, shuddering exhale. Her

ights came, blinding. White. Too fast,

er, as if her muscles hadn't gotten

the wheel tight

he whispered

ed. Rain tapped lightly on the wind

n't in the

her beloved car. Back in the seconds before eve

her bed, the keys sti

apartment pressed i

h

squeaking on hospital floo

disinfectant.

numbers over her head. But her eyes her eyes were lo

y

lot of it. His arm hung loose a

hroat wouldn't work. Her mouth filled

h double doors with a r

ifted. It trembled. A nurse pushed her b

word shredded and wet

erything tu

as her ey

in he

r was

her legs off the bed, elbows resting on her knees, her head in her

ever

ital, a dull ache pulsing in her skull, th

voice had cracked fro

inked. "

d said. "He's...he's alive. B

ed. The walls. The words.

wanted was

let h

he machines first. The rhythm

she s

om every limb. The soft hum of life supp

she

ers tangled in the cotton of his hospital gown like

spered into his stillness

foot on the wooden floor of her ap

reaching for the mirror, for t

was anot

r perf

of a revenge story she

ed her hair, and told her reflec

oing this

at it was, beat unevenly at the