"You know… I have to be honest," Parker started, steepling his hands as he stared at the woman lying helplessly in the hospital bed. He felt powerful just by looking down at her. "At first, I thought I could never do it without your help. For years, you've done a lot of good things for Shadow and I will never forget that."
Senator Jones's chest heaved up and down, seemingly having trouble breathing even with the oxygen mask already attached to her. She looked ashen and terror was evident in her eyes when she glanced at him sitting next to her bed.
She didn't respond, but Parker could tell that she could hear him clearly with the way she gripped the blanket—her grasp looked weak despite the obvious effort that she was trying to exert. But that didn't matter to him. Raising his chin, he added, "It turns out, I don't really need you after all… Not anymore. You have paved the way for me so so well—now I'll give you that." He pointed at her as he complimented.
