Jake stood in his office at the Apex Plaza, watching the late afternoon shadows stretch across the city. The digital clock on his desk flickered to 16:00. His first instinct was to call Catharine and see if she wanted to grab an early dinner, but then he remembered the empty spot in his private garage. She had the RS 6 today, navigating the sharks at Johnson & Associates with six hundred horsepower at her disposal.
He didn't want to go back to the Zenith alone. The silence there was starting to feel heavy. Instead, his mind drifted back to the image of Aliya curled in a ball on her bed. She was drowning in that room, surrounded by the ghosts of her own secrets. She needed air.
He pulled out his phone and dialed her. She picked up after the fourth ring.
"Hello?" Her voice was thick, the unmistakable rasp of someone who had spent the last several hours crying.
"Get up," Jake said, his voice firm but devoid of any sharp edges. "Put on something nice. I'm taking you out."
