My stomach feels full of lead.

This is it.

If Savannah is staring at me because she’s terrified of my expression, I wouldn’t blame her. My fists are clenched at my sides, and my brow is furrowed. Things with Hazel are far worse than I expected. When Ruby called me, I expected to find Hazel sick, not days away from death.

When I turn my attention to Savannah, it feels as if the energy in the room has changed. The playful banter is gone, replaced with grief and fear. She doesn’t look any more comfortable with this situation than I am. The golden amber hue of her skin glistens in the light from the chandelier, and I spot the signs of moisture in her eyes as she watches the doorway where the two older women just left through.

Then, as I’m feeling at my most raw and angry, she reaches down and picks up the letter from the city council. Without my permission, she reads it, letting the emotion of her facial features drain away until she’s coldly reading the letter that could seal my fate.

Her deep brown eyes drift up to meet my face as she hands the letter to me. “I believe this is yours,” she says. Her expression is a warning. This news about the shop is exactly the weapon she needs against me. What could she possibly get away with now that she knows I am hanging by a thread?

Without another word, she sashays out of the room, leaving me with the spectacle of her perfectly round hips in that tight dress. She wants me to feel defeated, but there’s no chance of that now. I would not be defeated. I had plenty of cards to play still, and she isn’t going to win that easily.

The next three days go by without incident. Murph spends most of his time at his shop and only shows up for dinner and mostly avoids me. I’ve found that my days consist of stolen moments or peeks of him coming out of the bathroom, shirtless with drops of water, cascading down his broad, muscled shoulders.

If he does catch me watching, which he has, the heated stare between us is dangerous. It’s like he wants me to watch...in the same way I shake my hips in front of him. I want him to be crazy for me. Why? I don’t even know. Just the thought of him panting for me, unable to control himself has me feeling more powerful than I ever felt with Hugo.

When Friday rolls around, I decide to take a walk around town when Hazel goes down for another one of her long, nearly endless naps. My time with her is getting shorter and shorter. On a good note, the doctor came by yesterday and was able to get her to drink an entire bottle of Ensure, which we all took as a very good sign.