Breath left my lips in a curl of moonline-lit steam as frigid air gripped my entire body. The soles of my feet burned where they touched the compacted...snow.The alpine meadow we’d encamped in was a smooth, shallow bowl of white nestled at the base of a valley in the bow mountain’s mid-elevation, about as high as we could climb unassisted. To my right the peaks continued to march upwards, layer upon layer, the arrowheads of rock becoming less defined under the moonline until they disappeared. My hand is stroking the nape of Jenny’s neck as she sits at my feet. I run the knuckle of my forefinger up towards the crown of her shaven head. Jenny arches her head back in response. ?Mmm,? she says, ?that’s nice.??Good,? I reply, as I cup my palm on her head. Jenny pushes against it. I press her head gently so that she bends forward at the waist. I move my hand and trace the edge of the dragon design tattoo which sprawls across Jenny’s back. ?Is it finished?? I ask her.?Not quite,? she. He was married, but only to the place where he worked. The first year of our marriage was good, but not great. We struggled to make ends meet. I was just hired by an ad agency in Phoenix, and Rob continued to bust his balls for a promotion that would never come at the accounting firm. By the end of our eighth year of marriage, I realized it was ending and I desperately grasped at straws to keep it together. I would have done anything for Rob. I would have done anything to keep us together. I. That will keep the escapee in front of us. Hustle so you have time to set up."I said to Bud, "You know the trick, no sound, no gun, just silence the ones from the back to the front. If they see us, start shooting."The escapee and nine men walked past us fairly quickly. The alley was narrow enough that the men were single file. The last one through quietly fell with a broken neck as Bud let him down. The next one up had the same consequence, and Bud stepped up to the third man.As I pulled the.