Atlanta drums her fingers on the counter. The Vitamin R hasn’t taken hold yet. She wants it to because she’s tired, and tired means sleep and sleep means erasing eight hours from her life—and when tomorrow comes . . .

Tomorrow’s going to be a bad day. No way to change that. The fights are horrible. She’ll be wading into murky waters thick with moccasins and copperheads, all lookin’ for a taste.

Still. If everything goes to plan—and the plan is so simple it’s foolproof—then the bad day will at least end on a good note. It won’t fix everything. But it’ll go a long way toward doing what needs doing.

She’s lost in the thought of it when she hears the scuff of a shoe behind her.

Atlanta doesn’t move fast enough.

She turns—

A shadow standing there. Reaching for her.

She starts to cry out—

A mouth finds hers. Lips. Teeth against her teeth. Schnapps breath.

Her skin crawls. Her brain screams. She shoves the person back hard. Cries out. Kicks. Connects with his gut.

Chomp-Chomp oofs and doubles over.

When she sees it’s him, she cries out in frustration and rage and shoves him again.

“Ow,” he says, holding up his hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“Shit!” she says, breathless, skin still feeling like every inch is swarming with ticks. “You stupid asshole.”

“I swear I’m sorry.”

She rubs her face. “The hell were you thinking? Don’t you know who I am? You think cornering me in a dark kitchen would be a good idea? I hate to be touched, Steven. Hate it. Because it makes me think of . . .” She can’t finish the statement. Won’t. Doesn’t want to. Whatever. Suddenly she feels a blanket of shame settle over her, hot and smothering. She hates this. Makes her feel weak and woozy. Like she’s a victim—or worse, like she wants to be a victim, like this is the costume she wears. It’s real. It’s not fake. It’s no costume. But that doesn’t change how she feels. Steven keeps apologizing, but she can’t even hear him.

Her body resists. Every part of her wants to run the other way. Feels like she’s stepping toward the ledge of a building and is about to step off. As she reaches for Steven, vertigo overwhelms her, but she pushes past it.

She pulls him close and kisses him back.