3:03 AM.
The red numbers on the alarm clock stared at Noah like glowing eyes.
Beside him, Sarah breathed in a slow, heavy rhythm. She was deeply asleep, exhausted by the hunt for the man lying next to her.
Noah slid out from under the duvet. He didn't make a sound. He rolled his weight to the edge of the mattress, waiting for the springs to settle before putting his feet on the floor.
He was wearing a t-shirt and boxers. No armor. No weapons. Just his hands and a roll of clear packing tape he’d palmed from the kitchen drawer earlier.
He crept into the living room.
The apartment was bathed in the sickly orange glow of the streetlights.
Sarah’s wine glass sat on the coffee table. A smudge of lipstick on the rim. A perfect set of fingerprints on the bowl.
Noah knelt. He moved with sur
