LOGINShould I drop the next update today? Is Anastasia a suspect?
I huffed. “Well, you and Connor. You two must have the most exhausting text threads.”“We don’t text much.”“Of course you don’t. That would be too straightforward.”The corner of her mouth moved again. “You’re funnier when you’re irritated.”“I’m a delight in all emotional states. You’re just seeing the limited edition late-night road trip version.”She actually almost smiled at that. Almost. Then it was gone. Her focus went back on the road like the moment hadn’t happened.We drove in relative quiet for a while after that. I watched the dark shapes of trees slide past. I tried not to think too hard about the fact that the boy I’d met at twelve in a Seattle orphanage might have already been carrying an entire second life I knew nothing about. Hayes. Whitaker. Archivists. Stepsister who carried guns. It was a lot. Too much for a head that still felt like someone had rung a bell inside it.Anastasia eventually broke the silence without looking back. “You’re silent. That’s weird.”“I’m
Claire~Anastasia sighed. The sound was short, like she had practice ending conversations before they got messy.“I’m not about to unpack anything right now. You’ll get to know enough soon.”I stared at the back of her head. The dashboard lights painted the side of her face soft blue. For a second I wanted to lean forward and shake the rest of the answers out of her. My head still throbbed where it had hit the seat earlier. The pulse was dull and stubborn. It refused to settle. I pressed my fingertips against the sore spot again and hissed under my breath.“You know what’s exhausting?” I said. “Sitting in a car at whatever-o’clock in the middle of nowhere in a new city. Almost getting introduced to the business end of a roadside welcome party. And still getting half-answers. It’s like every single person around here has a PhD in incomplete information.”Anastasia’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror. “You’re dramatic when you’re annoyed.”“I’m dramatic when people keep handing me puz
Claire’s POVBefore I could get a single word out, Anastasia was already out of the car.She slammed the door shut behind her and pulled something dark and solid from under her blazer. A gun. Compact, matte black, the kind that didn’t need to look flashy to do damage.“Oh my God,” I whispered, pressing back against the seat. My head still throbbed from the earlier impact, vision soft at the edges like someone had smeared Vaseline on the world. I had not signed up for a military zone. And I definitely did not want to die tonight. Not when I still hadn’t lived enough of the good parts. Not when everything was still this tangled, unfinished mess.I looked out through the tinted glass.Men in black emerged from the trees and the dark stretch of road. Bulky. Huge. The kind of broad-shouldered, thick-necked builds that made normal door frames look like they’d been built for children. There were four of them, maybe five, standing with the kind of stillness that said they were used to people
CLAIRE~“You haven’t forgotten that you’re an internal medicine doctor, have you? You made a deal with Morana and I think your work just started now.”The words landed like someone had thrown a handful of rocks straight into my skull. I blinked up at Anastasia, confusion cutting through the leftover haze of the day.“What does me being a doctor have to do with Morana?”She sighed and shook her head like I was being deliberately slow. “You made a deal with Morana to help her with your medical license, didn’t you?”I nodded, the memory clicking into place with an unpleasant snap. Back when everything still felt like temporary chaos instead of permanent disaster, I had offered. A favor. Something small and professional. I hadn’t expected it to be called in this fast, or like this.“Now she needs that favor you offered her,” Anastasia said. “I got her text. She wants you brought.”“Brought where?” I asked, panic skimming through me.Anastasia was quiet for a beat too long. Then she droppe
CLAIRE ~I still had the question hanging on my lips when Anastasia stood up and let out a short, dry chuckle.“I’m not about to start spilling every detail of your best friend’s life,” she said, smoothing the front of her blazer like the conversation had already reached its limit. “You’ll find out gradually. That’s how it works around here. People who push too hard for the full story usually regret it.”I sighed and clenched my fists in my lap. Regret was already crawling up my spine, slow and annoying. Should I call him? The thought showed up uninvited. I shut it down immediately. No. I was definitely not doing that. He should be the one to apologize first. After everything he’d thrown at me—and the whole king-of-the-Midwest performance—he could sit with it for a while. I wasn’t about to chase him down just because my chest felt tight.Anastasia watched me for a second longer, like she could see the argument happening behind my eyes. Then she tilted her head toward the door.“And we
CLAIRE ~ I dropped the words and chewed on my bottom lip the second they were out. Had I gone too far? Definitely not. He started it. I looked away and swallowed hard. He stayed silent for a while. I could still feel his gaze on me. Okay, maybe I had pushed hard, but I was not apologizing for what I said. Not after what he threw at me. The door pushed open just then and Anastasia walked in, glanced between us, and spoke directly to Connor. “Mason called. He needs to see you. It’s urgent.” Connor spared me one last look without saying a single word. Then he turned and walked out. The moment the door shut behind him I let out a long breath I didn’t even realize I had been holding. Anastasia raised an eyebrow at me. “You know, I didn’t know you had a mouth this deep.” I gulped, not sure what to say. I was damn sure Connor was mad—very mad—but right then I didn’t care. “You really do have some nerves, Claire. I quite like you.” I stared at her. Shouldn’t she be lecturing me abo
Claire~I didn’t wait. I turned around and ran down the hallway. Tyler yelled my name behind me, but I didn’t stop or look back.Tears ran down my face as I pushed open the front doors and stepped outside into the cool night air. I had never felt so humiliated. My chest hurt from everything that ju
I yelled, “YOU MONSTER!”The words came out raw and loud. My throat hurt. For a second, I thought my heart might stop from how much this hurt.I clenched my fists hard. My nails dug into my palms, but the pain kept me grounded while everything else fell apart.Tyler stood there looking shocked. Beh
Claire's POV There was only one person I knew that bear that name.I should have turned around right then. Instead, I stepped closer and looked through the narrow opening like I wanted to destroy myself.And the image I saw burned into me instantly.Tyler bent over the edge of our bed, sheets tang
Claire's POVI watched Connor stride out of my office, his broad shoulders rigid beneath that crisp white coat he wore. He didn’t glance back as he left and the door clicked shut.I stared at the closed door longer than I meant to.Connor had always unsettled me in ways I didn’t like thinking too m







