Free Come Undone by Jessica Hawkins

door, exhaling my relief.
Bill had never mentioned the name Lou Alvarez, or if he had, it wasn’t enough
that I remembered. I dug my cell phone out of my purse, located his name and
stared at the screen until it went black. How would I explain being out so
late? I’d never had a reason to lie to Bill before, aside from the occasional
fib, but the thought of telling him the truth gave me pause.
    I headed straight for the bedroom, stopping only long enough to
kick my shoes onto the carpet before climbing into bed. I lifted the comforter
over my shivering body and thought about what the man had said. What would he
have done if he’d found Bill instead?
    ~
    I
awoke with a start when I reached across the bed for a body that wasn’t there.
I sighed when I remembered Bill was away and then again when the night’s events
flooded over me. I sat up and looked around the room, softly lit with the
rising sun, and found I was still in my blouse but had removed my pants sometime
in the night.
    Scrambling out of bed, I fumbled to the couch where I’d flung my
stuff the night before. I retrieved my phone and prepared to place the call to
Bill but froze as my thumb hovered over his name. Sleep had brought no answers
and in fact, I felt more confused than before. I threw the phone back in my bag
and decided it could wait until after my shower.
    As hot water poured over my face, soaking my hair, I let the
questions filter in. Who is Lou Alvarez, and what is his connection to Bill?
Did it involve one of his cases at Specter & Specter? I wondered if I
should just not say anything to Bill, so I wouldn’t have to lie about where I
was. Or rather, whom I was with. David .
Would I ever see him again? Was he upset with me? My mind flashed to the eager
waitress. How easy was it with him? Would she need to make the first move? I
stopped myself. Someone tried to attack
me last night and might be back. He obviously knows where we live. And I’m here
alone for the next week. I shook my head and decided that worrying wouldn’t
help.
    I was feeling gloomy and, without Bill, alone, so I picked out a
cap-sleeve, fitted charcoal dress and a cropped black cardigan to mirror my
mood. Concealer helped me to cover the dark circles from the night’s halting
sleep. I brushed on mascara in an attempt to open my sleepy eyes, but the
effort of trying to make myself presentable was too great, and I gave up,
tossing the make-up back in the drawer.
    ~
    Serena
followed me to my new office with two cups of steaming coffee.
    “Thank you. How was your weekend?” I asked, sitting down to face
her.
    “Awesome!” she replied with big eyes. “Brock and I saw Enter the Dragon downtown with his
brothers.”
    “ Enter the Dragon ?” I
wrinkled my nose. “What’s that?”
    “It’s a martial arts classic,” she said excitedly. “There was a
special showing at the Music Box Theatre.”
    “Oh,” I grinned. “Is martial arts an interest of yours?”
    “Chinese cinema is, absolutely! Brock too.”
    “Huh,” I replied. “When did you get into that?”
    “Hmm,” she closed one eye as she counted silently. “Eight –
no, seven – no, eight months ago.”
    “And you have been dating Brock for . . . ?”
    “It will be a year in a few months,” she offered a wide grin,
seeming proud.
    “Cool. Well, thanks for the coffee.”
    “Oh a couple things. Mr. Beman wants you to refer to yourself as
associate editor for now. He said nobody will take you seriously otherwise.”
    “Sounds like something he’d say,” I mumbled.
    “Also.” She pulled a folder out from under her arm and handed it
to me. “One of the guys for Most Eligible is available to meet today, but it’s his only time. He sounds very busy.”
    “Busy is good,” I said, opening the file. I scanned the profile
sheet and nodded approvingly. “He sounds great. Is he good-looking? Can you get
me a photo?”
    “Oh, trust me, he is,” she said. “All the girls gave him a ten.
And Lisa already