25

Milli was up before dawn. Peeking in Lloyd’s room, she saw sprawled out on the bed in his boxers. Empty bottles from the mini-bar covered the night table. On one shoulder was a military tattoo, and in the center of his chest was a heart with a lettered ribbon. ‘ANTONIA’ was written there. It looked like an old tattoo, one that had spent years over his heart. She scowled as he rolled over onto his side, exposing his back. He was covered in scars and a few had come from bullets. She had grown up in the Vegas ghetto until she was 6, then had a close friend who was a cop and another who was a cop’s son, so she knew what those wounds looked like when they healed. She was glad Lloyd was out of the military and working in a county as small as Pagosa. His life was safe now, but his spirit was another story. Tonia had crippled it.

Sitting by the bed, a plan quickly formed in her mind, Milli logged into the hotel’s wi-fi. She found the shop she was looking for in minutes and snapped a