CHAPTER 47 —

They called it a pop-up because it sounded nicer than “drop-in shell”—a little gray storefront wedged between a laundromat and a vape shop, blinds half-closed, a neon sign that never fully lit. Anders kept saying the word like a curse: pop-up. It sounded like something that could vanish between one heartbeat and the next, and that was the point.

Nicole sat in the hospital waiting room with Julian beside her and a stack of court copies in her lap. The air smelled of ...