Chapter 48: The Art of Forgiveness.

The rain beat out a constant, hypnotic rhythm, but Chloe stared sightlessly through the glass, the rain cascading in rivulets. On the other side of the driver's seat, Max's hands remained clenched on the wheel, his jaw locked in a terse line. Smears of red and blue light flickered in the downpour in the rear-view mirror, slowly eating the distance between them. A grim countdown is marching them ever closer to the unknown. Chloe swallowed hard, hyperaware of the bead of perspiration trickling down her temple. There will be no turning back now. This was it. After weeks of meticulous planning and dead-end surveillance, their gambit had finally paid off. Just for once, however, perhaps those flashing lights were a harbinger of the denouement of their crusade, a reckoning at last with Liam and all the unresolved turmoil of his betrayal. Either they would finally cut the cord or be dragged under for good by the festering burden of vengeance. "Max." Her voice cracked with disuse. "Are you