The next morning, Raven gulped down painkillers and a strong cup of coffee before heading into work. The day was a thin, hazy kind of summer heat that felt as if it clung to her skin as she walked. She cursed the heat and the early hour for the weight of the hangover pounding in her head. That was partly what the painkillers were for. The rest of the reason was the deep, distracting ache on her inner thighs where she knew bruises were forming.

It wasn’t the first time, and ...