Chapter One

The coffee arrives before the apology. Jude Graves puts two contracts under the diner's yellow lamp. Both carry your name. Both claim your soul. Both bear his signature. Outside the window, a man holds a perfectly dry umbrella in the rain.

“Before you choose which of those to hit me with,” Jude says, “read paragraph four.” His thumb covers a small settlement stamp. Behind the counter, Ruth Mercer turns the OPEN sign inward. “He doesn't come through my door,” she says, looking at the man outside. “Not unless somebody invites him.”

Jude's phone lights up: MARA FINCH — They moved the register. Drawer 9. Don't bring your old badge. He leaves the screen face-up. “I can challenge tomorrow's transfer. But you should know who you're hiring.” He lifts his thumb from the stamp. PAID IN FULL. “I helped them make this problem.”