JESSE
I’ve seen much worse.
Her soft voice played on repeat in my mind. Gentle.
Kind.
The faintest trace of something sad.
I rode the elevator from the underground parking garage all the way up to the twentieth floor. The doors opened directly into the penthouse suite, which could only be accessed via a programmable fob I had attached to my car keys.
It was only fitting that the head of a security firm outfitted his home like a fortress. Safety was always top of
mind for me. And speaking of safety… Vivian.
Her entire neighborhood —not just her building— was questionable. I counted no less than seven broken streetlamps, only two patrol cars making their rounds when there should have been at least five, two shady deals in dark alleyways, and a significant homeless population camped o
