Micah hesitates before speaking again, voice lower now. “So...the meeting. With Nolan and Alexei. What’d they want?”
I close my eyes. The gentle hum inside me makes it easy to drift, easy to pretend it doesn’t matter. “Sent me after a club owner who—who owes Alexei money.”
Micah stiffens a little. I feel, rather than see, the tension. “Seriously? Alone?”
“Adriana came,” I mutter. “Alexei wanted her there. For some stupid reason.” I muster a breathless laugh.
He swallows another forkful. “I don’t think she understands that she is also in danger.”
“Yeah.” My head lolls to the side, the ceiling blurring. “Whatever.”
“Jude…” Micah’s voice is thin now, worried. “This is getting bad. Being indebted to Nolan was one thing...but Alexei is so much worse. Maybe we should really talk to Nolan about their partnership.”
The heroin swells like an ocean tide, warm and heavy. I let myself sink beneath it, let the worry, the fear, the entire world slide out of focus. “I know,” I whisper. “Yeah.”
Micah’s still talking, but the words blur together as the high
wraps around me like a warm blanket. My limbs go slack, my heartbeat slow and steady. I drift further, deeper.
Chapter twenty-eight
EMMA EASTON
Last night has been in the background of my mind all day. The way Jude made love to me on the beach. How he actuallyslept, peacefully, his arm around my waist. It was beautiful and peaceful.
I keep replaying it in my mind as I sit across from Dr. Cassie at our usual lunchtime booth at the sandwich shop next door. She’s scrolling through her iPad, reviewing notes from a morning full of clients we share—hers first, then mine, in that natural rhythm we’ve built.
“Your teen from yesterday?” she says without looking up. “She came in this morning. Told me she wants to paint next session. That’s allyou.”
I smile, drinking my coffee. “She’s opening up. It’s slow, but she’s getting there.”
Cassie finally glances up, offering one of her bright, grounding smiles. I’ve always admired how easily she balances clinical clarity with warmth. Working with her has been the best decision I’ve ever made—besides Jude.
My phone buzzes on the table. I already know it’s him before I look.
JUDE
Thinking about you. I’m out at a meeting, back later. I love you.
A warm, dizzy flutter fills my chest. He stayed. Aftereverything, he stayed. But a tiny strand of guilt winds around the feeling. I manipulated him with sex. I didn’t mean to, not really, but I know what I did. I knew he was slipping away. He even told me it was okay, that hewantedme. It still doesn’t sit right. I kind of still feel like Adriana.
Cassie watches me soften over the message, eyes narrowing knowingly. “Is that boy on your mind?”
I exhale, nodding. I tell her pretty much everything going on in my life. She’s practically my therapist. “Yeah.”
“Is it going well?”
“Yes,” I say, and it’s mostly true. “We’re...figuring things out.”
She gives me a gentle look. “Wonderful. You deserve good things, Emma. You’re a kind person. This world can be dark, as we’ve seen through our patients. So if you can find a sliver of light in that dark, you hold on tight.”
I smile. If only she knew.
The day rolls on between sessions, notes, and more coffee. Normal things. By the time I get home, I’m finally ready to settle into the evening. I curl up on my couch and text him:
What are we doing tonight? Want to come over? Maybe hang with Heather and Micah?
I wait, watching the three dots pulse on my screen. Then—