The doctor gave her an odd look but nodded and opened a door. Ava stepped inside, holding her breath. The shade was pulled and the dim room smelled strongly of antiseptic and something sour. She passed the tiny bathroom and peered around a corner. Jayne slept. Her dark hair spread across the pillow. Relief weakened Ava’s knees. Please stay asleep.

She stepped closer, moving as silently as possible. Jayne looked like a battered doll. Her weight was still too low and her collarbones protruded, creating shadows below her neck. Ava stopped at her twin’s side and firmly kept a lid on her emotions. She noticed Jayne’s nails were bitten to the quick and her pink sparkly polish looked as if a five-year-old had applied it. She glanced at her own too-short nails, remembering Mason’s comment. This isn’t like you.

Her sister lay perfectly still, her chest slowly rising and falling. Ava said a quick prayer of gratitude that Jayne hadn’t succeeded and tried not to think of what that would mean for the next few months of both of their lives.

There was no easy answer. No quick fix.

Do I want to be dragged along Jayne’s path?

She was at a crossroads. Help Jayne or not. Move on with her own life or hold her sister’s hand and share the rocky journey.

Mason or Jayne?

Me or Jayne?

Why was there no compromise? Why was her only choice black or white?

She brushed tears off her cheeks. All her life there’d only been stark choices, but lately she’d tried to pretend she could have everything. Her sister, her job, her relationship with Mason. Over and over she’d told Mason she was done with Jayne, but in the back of her mind she had always known she’d jump when Jayne “needed” her.

Was she ready to choose?

Jayne nearly chose for me.

She touched her mother’s ring on a chain around her neck. Once Jayne had stolen it out of Mason’s home, but Ava had demanded it back. Perhaps Jayne needed it more than she did. She unhooked the clasp and lay the necklace on the bedside table, but stared at it, unable to walk away.

Go!

Her legs followed her command, and she left the room in a daze. Instinct guided her through the maze of hospital corridors until she spotted the sun shining through the big glass doors. She stepped out and welcomed the blinding heat, closing her eyes and putting on her sunglasses. A few deep breaths later, she’d decided she needed someone else to tell her what to do for a while. Suddenly she craved a quiet room where she could stretch and sweat and listen to her yoga instructor’s commands. She checked the time on her phone and noted she had plenty of time to run errands first.

He drove through the strip mall parking lot, doing one of his dozens of drive-bys. He could never overprepare when it came to one of his stagings. This one had the perfect actor and the perfect location. And would eliminate another abomination from his world. The police were confused, trying to figure out why young men were losing their minds and shooting up the public. They sought answers where there weren’t any and Sunday-morning psychiatrists made sweeping judgments from their safe distances. Confused and angry young men.

It really wasn’t that complicated.

Men and women were created differently. There was no equality.

Until society embraced the right roles, there would be chaos. He was an instrument of that change.

He stomped on the brake and his head whipped forward. An electrical company employee had stepped out from between parked vehicles and nearly become roadkill. The employee held up a hand in apology. “Sorry!” he said. A large bundle of orange cord was balanced on the employee’s shoulder, blocking his view of oncoming traffic.

Idiot.

He continued across the parking lot toward the Starbucks.

What the fuck?

Electric company employees moved in and out of his Starbucks. Yellow caution ribbon blocked customers from entering the store. Three utility vans filled the front parking spaces. He rolled down his window.

“Hey,” he said to a passerby. “What’s going on at Starbucks? They open?”

The man stopped. “Nope. Power issue. Can’t grind coffee without power. I’m headed over to the one inside the grocery store.” He moved on.

He watched the employees unload supplies from the vans and stride in and out of the store. He eyed the mailing store next door to the coffee shop. The store’s OPEN sign was lit up. He slowly rolled through the rest of the parking lot, watching the movement of the people. He didn’t see a single green apron in front of the store or inside. The bright-red shirts of the electric company moved behind the coffee counter.

He pulled out of the immediate parking area and into a spot at the adjacent grocery store’s lot. And watched.

Activity. Lots of it.

The time his old office had lost power they’d sent one guy.

Do they know?

Impossible. He’d been too careful. He’d come back to the store in a few hours and observe again. He was about to start the ignition and pull away when he saw a familiar face drive by.

Her. The federal agent.

He watched her park and get out of her car. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and sunglasses hid her eyes, but he’d known instantly who she was. He’d spent enough time with her in his sights to know how she moved and how she tilted her head. She didn’t walk up to the Starbucks—her Starbucks. Instead she simply stood and observed.

The time of this visit deviated from her routine.

After a minute of watching electrical employees hustle, she turned to survey the lot, slowly scanning each vehicle. He ducked down behind his steering wheel, holding his breath. His skin started to heat and his lungs seized.