Sam stopped at the hotel to grab dinner and then took a shower before walking back to Tony’s place. He left his shoulder holster in the hotel room. While he didn’t feel comfortable without his gun, he didn’t want to give Tony any access to it. He fretted the entire time if Tony had ulterior motives, so he promised himself to ask questions first, screw later. Taking a deep breath, Sam knocked on Tony’s door.

Declan could smell the cigarette before he even opened his hotel room door. A smile stretched across his face as he opened the door. Jude sat on the unmade bed with his work clothes still on and his long blond hair spilling across a blue dress with thin, frilled straps. The sight sent a throb through Declan. Jude took a drag from his cigarette and said, “What took you so fucking long?”

Nikolai stepped out of the car and leaned heavily on his cane while he stared at the house. The small, white house looked different in oranges, reds, and greens of the fall trees and shrubs surrounding it. Everything felt new and different, but it felt more like waking up and not knowing where you are. Every day Nikolai had to push, and he realized that he had been kidding himself that a return to this house would feel like normalcy.

Nikolai stayed sitting in his chair with a file in his hand as Steele made the announcement. He called everyone into the area, and he folded his hands together as he said the words.

Nikolai sat on a stall in Georg Westermark’s bathroom. Hair products of every size, smell, and colour littered his countertop, but they all sat upright, as if they stood at attention, and his counter was clear of any spills or even dust. The smells overwhelmed Nikolai a touch, and he felt like he sat in a cosmetic store, nearest to all the soaps and hand creams.