Chapter 154

Madison

Sunday evening brought the kind of rain that New Yorkers both love and hate—the dramatic downpour that transforms the city into something straight out of a noir film—beautiful from behind glass but miserable to navigate.

I stood under the awning of my apartment building, watching sheets of water cascade from the sky.

“Gonna be a while, miss,” my doorman said, eyeing the deluge. “Weather app says it’s getting worse before it gets better.”

I nodded, pulling my phone from my purse to check the time. I’d promised Hazel I’d be at her place by seven; it was already quarter till. After our awkward encounter with Alexander at the café, I owed her an explanation—or at least some version of the truth that wouldn’t reveal the exact nature of our arrangement.

I stepped to the curb and raised my hand, grateful when a yellow cab immediately splashed to a stop. I darted through the rain, my shoes already soaked by the time I slid into the backseat.