After the shower, Charley inspected her naked body in the mirror. The dark circles beneath her eyes had faded, but her shoulders and collarbone were raw, the pale flesh swollen and red. Dark, fingertip-shaped welts had risen to the surface, and no amount of scrubbing would erase them.
Fresh tears welled in her eyes, but a jarring knock on the bathroom door broke through her despair.
“Charley?” Sasha rattled the locked doorknob, her voice high and edgy. “Let me in.”
“Um… Just a sec!” Frantic, Charley grabbed her bathrobe from the hook, yanking it around her body just as Sasha popped the lock and pushed open the door.
“What the hell is going on?” Sasha asked, gripping the butter knife she’d used to break in.
Charley forced a smile. “What are you doing home? I thought you were staying wi
