Twelve hours before Rob fucked up, he was actually in a pretty good mood. It was a starlit night and the hills rolled forever onward. To his left he could hear the beating waves of the Pacific Ocean. There was something pleasant about the way they tumbled over the sand. Plus there was the smell. He’d never breathed ocean air like this, even when he’d been living next to one.

Between them was Si Liao. The man’s head was bowed, rocking with the motion of his mule, his eyes were all . . .

Twelve hours before Rob fucked up, he was actually in a pretty good mood. It was a starlit night and the hills rolled forever onward. To his left he could hear the beating waves of the Pacific Ocean. There was something pleasant about the way they tumbled over the sand. Plus there was the smell. He’d never breathed ocean air like this, even when he’d been living next to one.

Between them was Si Liao. The man’s head was bowed, rocking with the motion of his mule, his eyes were all . . .