The sedan's headlights cut through the thinning evening traffic as Ezzy guided them back toward the SACU office. Tommy had settled into the passenger seat with the comfortable exhaustion of a day that had started in a boutique and ended in a hospital room. His eyes were half-closed when the car suddenly veered right, pulling into the fluorescent glow of a twenty-four-hour convenience store.
"Need more coffee?" he asked.
"Better."
She killed the engine and stepped out. Tommy watched through the window as she moved through the automatic doors with the efficiency of someone who had made this exact stop a hundred times. A minute later she emerged carrying a cardboard box stacked with energy drinks, the tall cans with aggressive fonts and promises of extended wakefulness. Twelve of them.
Tommy raised an eyebrow as she dumped the box into the back seat. "You know those aren't good for your health, right?"
