The bullet entered beneath her arm and crossed three ribs.”

He went on.

“Her identity and her commendations were sealed, because surviving members of that network were still at large.

That operation freed twenty-seven victims and convicted fourteen offenders.”

He did not tell the room the rest, and I was grateful for it, because the rest was not for a beach club.

He did not tell them about the fourteen months I had spent undercover before that final night, living a false life so completely that I sometimes forgot which parts of me were real.