The motel room was silent, but Sarah’s thoughts weren’t. Lying on the stiff mattress, she stared at the ceiling, the dim glow of the bedside lamp casting long shadows across the walls. Her pulse still hadn’t settled.

She had done the right thing.

Hadn’t she?

The sheets felt suffocating, tangled around her legs as if trying to hold her in place. She kicked them off, rubbing at her arms, but the chill in her skin wasn’t from the air conditioning. It was something deeper.

A sharp ...