The box sat on the bathroom counter between them like a third presence.

Elena had bought it that afternoon on the way home from campus, heart hammering the entire time the clerk scanned it. She had not told Marcus she was going to. She had simply walked into the master bathroom after Victoria left for an evening event, set the small rectangular box on the marble, and waited for him to follow the quiet click of the door lock.

He stood behind her now, close enough that she could feel the heat of his chest through her sweater. Neither of them had spoken yet. The bruises under Elena’s clothes ached...