The plastic chair was hard and cold against Elianna's back. She shifted, her new black jeans stiff, the tags cut off a simple grey sweater only an hour ago. The New York City Marriage Bureau was a study in bureaucratic misery. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a sickly green pallor on the couples waiting in the rows of chairs.
Elianna checked her watch. 3:15 PM.
The man she was supposed to meet, the elusive Baldwin Armstrong, was nowhere to be seen. The room was full of nervous excitement, tearful joy, and resigned duty, but none of it belonged to her. She was just another transaction in a room full of them.
She pulled out the burner phone Nexus had provided and dialed the number for Armstrong. It rang once, twice, then went to voicemail. No greeting. No identification. Just a generic automated voice.
A knot of frustration tightened in her chest. Her plan was precise. It was meticulous. It depended on variables lining up perfectly. If Armstrong was a no-show, the whole thing collapsed. Without a marriage license, she was still a ghost. Still vulnerable. Still deportable.
"God, Ricky, you're so cheap!"
The shrill voice cut through the low hum of the room. Elianna looked up. Two seats down, a young woman with pink streaks in her hair was glaring at a nervous-looking guy in an ill-fitting suit.
"I told you, Heidi, I can't afford a ring right now," the guy, Ricky, stammered. "The rent is due, and my car-"
"It's always something with you!" Heidi crossed her arms, her face twisted in anger. "You don't care about me! You don't care about this marriage at all!"
Elianna looked away, trying to block them out. She needed to think. She needed a contingency. If Armstrong didn't show, she'd have to find another way. A work visa? Too slow. Asylum? Too public.
"What are you looking at?"
Elianna realized she had accidentally made eye contact with Heidi. The girl's anger had found a new target.
"Nothing," Elianna said, her voice flat.
"You've been sitting here alone for an hour," Heidi sneered, looking Elianna up and down. "Did your guy stand you up? Figures. You look like a block of ice. Who'd want to marry that?"
Ricky grabbed Heidi's arm. "Heidi, come on. Leave her alone. Let's just go."
"No!" Heidi pulled away, leaning toward Elianna. "I hate bitches like you. Acting all high and mighty when you're just pathetic."
Elianna slowly raised her eyes to meet Heidi's. She didn't move a muscle. She didn't raise her voice. "If you don't shut your mouth, I'll sew it shut for you."
The words were spoken softly, almost gently, but the menace behind them was absolute. It was the tone of someone who had seen real violence and wasn't afraid of it.
Heidi's eyes widened. The color drained from her face. She shrank back, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. She stumbled backward, nearly tripping over her own feet.
Ricky mumbled a quick, "Sorry, sorry," and dragged Heidi toward the exit. The door swung shut behind them, leaving a heavy silence in their wake.
Elianna exhaled. The petty distraction was over, but so was her patience. She stood up. Plan B was dead. It was time to improvise.
Just as she slung her purse over her shoulder, the burner phone buzzed in her hand. She looked down. A text from Nexus.
"Situation changed. Target spotted at JFK Airport, Terminal 4. Kiana Solis is also present. Move immediately."
Elianna's blood ran cold. Kiana. Here. With Armstrong. It couldn't be a coincidence. It was a trap. Or a complication. Either way, it was a threat.
She didn't hesitate. She moved through the rows of chairs, her pace quick and purposeful. She burst through the heavy doors of the bureau and stepped out onto the sidewalk. The noise of the city hit her-horns honking, sirens wailing, people shouting.
She spotted a yellow cab pulling away from the curb. She sprinted for it, cutting off a businessman who was reaching for the handle.
"Hey!" he yelled.
"Emergency," she snapped, yanking the door open and sliding inside. She slammed the door shut. "JFK. Terminal 4. Step on it."
The cabby, a large guy with a thick accent, looked at her in the mirror, saw the look in her eyes, and decided not to argue. He pulled out into traffic with a screech of tires.
Elianna leaned her head back against the seat. The city blurred past the window. She had been so sure she was in control. She had the documents. She had the leverage. But now, Kiana was in the mix, and her carefully laid plan was falling apart.
Was Nexus compromised? Was Armstrong playing her? Or was Kiana just being Kiana, sticking her nose where it didn't belong?
It didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was getting to that airport. She couldn't let Kiana Solis ruin the first move of her comeback. She wouldn't let it happen. She stared out the windshield, her jaw set, as the car crawled through the congested streets toward the airport.
