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CHAPTER 1
MARY
The call came in the dead of the night.
Mary’s head almost hit the wall when she reached for her phone on the nightstand. Then she remembered that her bedroom no longer had space for a nightstand, since it was so tiny. Three months in her new home, and she still hadn’t gotten used to the lack of size of the apartment. After having lived in big mansions all her life, it was quite the adjustment.
She reached for the window sill above her to pick up her phone. Britney was calling. Her friend calling this late was never a good sign.
“Britney. Everything okay?”
“I… I’m so sorry, Mary. I couldn’t stop myself.” It was all she croaked out, and then she started sobbing.
Oh, no.
“I tried… I really did…”
Mary pushed her legs over the side of the bed and switched on the lights. “Where are you?”
“I can’t do this anymore,” Britney rambled on. “It’s too much. I’m tired. So tired. Zoe deserves a better sister than me. She deserves someone like you. Can she… can she stay with you for another night?”
“Of course she can.” She grabbed her jeans from the dresser and put them on, which was no feat with one hand. “Please tell me you’re home.”And not in some dirty alley.
Another sob. “I’m home.”
Mary had known that the “Kicking your Addiction” program would be hard on Britney. Though, she hadn’t expected her to take to the needle this quickly again.
“Okay, sit tight, I’m coming over. I just need to find someone to watch over Zoe.” Even though her goddaughter liked to think of herself as all grown up—and part-time superhero—she still was a six-year-old.
She ended the call, finished getting dressed, and went to Zoe’s room. The girl was sleeping in a bed that seemed to disappear between stacks of boxes that cramped up the place. Once again, Mary wished that her sister Gina would pick up her stuff that mostly seemed to consist of apparel and shoes. Gina wouldn’t want to be caught dead in Mary’s apartment, but she sure liked to use it as a storage unit.
She was debating on who to call at this hour. Her cousin Jazzy or her friend Tommie would usually be her first choice, but they were at a convention until tomorrow. Jazzy had given her a number for emergencies, though. Not having another option, she called it.
“Yeah.”
Mary froze and dropped back onto the bed. She would recognize that deep, grouchy voice that sent delicious tingles down her spine any time of the day. What was Hector doing answering Jazzy’s emergency number?
“Um… this is Mary. I’m looking for Jazzy.”
“This is an emergency number that connects to Diaz Security.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t sure how to continue. She knew Hector provided the security for Jazzy’s husband.
“What’s the emergency?”
The sarcasm in his voice couldn’t be missed. The man really didn’t like her and for the love of God, she had no idea why. “I need a sitter.”
Silence. Then, “Excuse me?”
That came out wrong, so she tried again. “I just got a call from a friend. She’s not doing well, so I have to go over there. Her little sister is staying at my place and I can’t take her with me, so I need someone to look after her.”
“Call someone else.”
She silently prayed for patience. “Don’t you think that if that had been an option, I would have done so already?” His attitude was starting to piss her off. He was the only person who could get under her skin so fast.
“Shit. Fine. I’ll be there in fifteen.”
“In fifteen?” she asked, but he’d already hung up. She didn’t know where Hector lived but she didn’t think it was in her part of town.