Chapter 27 The Only Woman

• The basement garage smells of cold concrete, engine oil, and rain dragged in on tires hours ago. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, turning every parked car into a hard-edged shape of metal and shadow. My heels strike the polished lane between the columns in quick, uneven beats as Victor keeps one hand at the middle of my back, guiding me forward with steady, infuriating certainty.
• I make it halfway across the garage before I come back to myself.
• The heat leaves my face all at once, replaced by something sharper. I stop so suddenly that his hand slides off me.