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I reared back when I saw a guy with a nose ring and ear gauges standing there. He had tattoos going down both arms and they were definitely not the sexy kind. More like the scrawny, malnourished kind. He started banging on the door again and I jerked it open to make him stop.

“You Jess Carter?”

My eyes narrowed at the question. “Who’s asking?” Any natural politeness I might have had vanished under my newly suspicious nature. I hated it but everyone had become suspect in my world.

“I got a package for you,” he replied, his movements a little too jerky for my comfort. “You don’t even got to tip me. Just take the little bastard.”

My eyes widened at his words and I started to shake my head. “No…..no, no, no, no.”

“Yeah, my job was to deliver him and that’s it.” He dropped a kid’s backpack on the ground, a T-Rex staring up at me from it, and hauled ass.

“I didn’t accept the delivery,” I shouted after him, but he didn’t hear me or more like he didn’t care, and I flipped a one fingered salute at his back.

A throat cleared and I lowered my head, already knowing what I’d see.

“Monster,” I sighed, defeated.

“Sissy,” he said in the exact same tone.

“So, Mom got tired of you since I wasn’t around to keep you from terrorizing people?”

“She hired nannies,” he answered, his little body straight as he stared up at me.

“How many?”

“Seven.”

I let out a low whistle. “That’s a new record even for you,” I answered, trying to keep the admiration out of my voice. Any perceived weakness was blood in the water with the monster.

“Are you going to let me in?”

“Are you going to behave?” I replied, not changing my tone.

“Depends,” he smiled and I suppressed an instinctive shiver. “Do you have cookies?”

“Is Mom a bitch?” I asked rhetorically, shifting so he could come through the door. He stepped inside and I gestured to the backpack laying on the ground outside. “You gonna get your stuff?” He glanced back at me, sizing me up and I held his stare. No weakness, I chanted to myself.

He let out a disgruntled sigh, but moved to the door to grab his dinosaur backpack.

Jess?

Not now, I answered Dom, knowing I couldn’t lose my focus for a second if I wanted to lay the right foundation. Monster had a sixth sense for weakness and he’d exploit it in a second. I’d met full grown adults who couldn’t hold a candle to his five year old canniness.

“Cookies?” He repeated, the arch of his eyebrow a mirror image of mine. In fact, he was a miniature replica of me except for the brilliant copper colored hair on his head. Hair that happened to be the exact same color and texture of Mom’s new husband. Except he hadn’t been her husband when Monster was born. Dad had been.

I fought off a spurt of indignation on Dad’s behalf, knowing he had never treated Monster any differently. Mom was the one who’d done that. Favoring him and making comments to drive a wedge between Monster and Dad and me. It had been her favorite pastime.

I walked to the cabinet praying Dad hadn’t midnight binged on the cookies because there would be hell if Monster didn’t get his damn cookie. Relief poured through me at the familiar packaging. I grabbed it and pulled out a cookie.

“Two,” he demanded, hand out as his lower lip pushed almost as far out.

“One,” I corrected, holding it out of reach. “Did you eat breakfast?”

His eyes narrowed as he considered which answer would get him what he wanted.

“Honesty will get you two. Lie to me and I’ll eat it in front of you,” I told him and his little body seized with indignation.

“No breakfast,” he gritted out. “He wanted to get rid of me.”

“Now, was that so hard?” I handed him the cookie and put the rest in the cabinet. He shot me a betrayed glance and I rolled my eyes. “Easy there, Monster. You can have the other one after you eat breakfast.” I gave him a pointed stare. “I remember how your mind works.” He let out a huff, but accepted my terms with a nod.

I pulled eggs and cheese out of the fridge and started to make him a cheese omelet. I glanced at him over my shoulder, seeing he’d pulled himself onto one of the barstools. “It took you longer than I thought.”

“She thought she could convince you to come back,” he muttered around a mouthful of cookie. “When you refused, she tried to send me to a boarding school.”

“What?” I shrieked, egg flying off the spatula as I whirled around. “You’re five!”

“I know!” He threw his hands up. “They wouldn’t take me. She told them she’d pay them extra but they still wouldn’t.” I narrowed my eyes on him.