The scent of antiseptic and white flowers was so overpowering that it made me open my eyes before my body was ready to wake up. The morning light in the private hospital room was soft, filtered through expensive linen curtains. I felt a dull weight on my left shoulder, a sharp reminder that the casino bullet hadn't been a dream.

I tried to move, but a warm, firm hand gently stopped me.

—Don't do it, Zola. Stay still.

Marcus was sitting in an armchair beside my bed. He wasn't wearing his crisp s