COLE
Victor Raines lived in a penthouse on East Lake Shore Drive that cost more than my entire contract.
I knew this because Victor had mentioned the price during my first meeting with him three years ago. Not bragging. Victor never bragged. He simply stated facts in a tone that made you understand the distance between his life and yours, and then he smiled like the distance was a gift he was choosing to close by letting you into his orbit.
The elevator opened directly into the foyer. White marble floors. A chandelier that looked like it had been stolen from a European cathedral. Floor-to-ceiling windows framing the black expanse of Lake Michigan, the water indistinguishable from the sky at this hour, just darkness stretching out in every direction.
Nova stepped out of the elevator bes
