APTER 12 —

They left the storage unit with their heads bent low as if they’d been outside in brutal sun. The fluorescent hum did not let them pretend the world was gentler than it was. Anders moved like a man still wearing his professional armor; Camille walked on nerves and adrenaline; Nicole walked as if she always did — the geometry of someone who had learned to make her silhouette a question.

Back in the car, the city smudged past windows. Nicole didn’t speak for a long time. ...