(Cole)
I was in my kitchen pretending to read email when the front gate alert came through.
Her name wasn't attached to it, but I knew anyway. No one else would make me check the time twice in ten minutes and then stand up too quickly when a screen lit. I set the tablet down, straightened nothing on the counter, and walked toward the foyer like a man with complete control of himself.
I didn't have complete control of myself.
The house was exactly how I'd wanted it. Quiet. Clean. No staff moving through rooms asking questions I didn't feel like answering. The study had been cleared, the adjoining sitting room opened up, and every unnecessary object removed.
It looked less like my life than it had yesterday.
That was probably a good sign.
I reached the front hall just as the bell rang
