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I went back to see James—giant weiner who broke my heart—to find out where the rest of my documents were.

To my utter surprise, he was actually remorseful and crying.

Talk about a shock. He seemed so concerned when I told him I lost my ID and immediately called someone to get it taken care of.

That should have been my first clue that something else was going on.

Then, he apologized and told me how sorry he was for breaking my heart.

He didn’t know how he would ever make it up to me.

It was so…weird. It was everything I wanted to hear, yet it felt so wrong.

There was no way he just suddenly decided he couldn’t live without me.

When I told him there was no way we were getting back together, he begged me to come back to work for him and he would prove himself to me.

That’s when I realized what his problem was.

He hadn’t found anyone to replace me, and his office was a disaster.

I called him out on it, and when I turned to leave, he grabbed me.

Enter my palm…That’s right! I slapped him hard!

FYI, I punched him when I found out he cheated on me, but for some reason, this felt so much better. Of course, now I know I’ll never find a job in the city. I have officially been banned from every secretarial position, but I couldn’t ask for a more fitting way to end my relationship with him.

On a side note, I did find a new job, and I even told the female dentist why I had to leave my old job. She actually sided with me! Until I met the other hunky dentist and my ovaries exploded. She fired me on the spot. I had the job for literally two minutes before she fired me.

So, here I am. A jobless New Yorker, desperate for a way to earn money. I even considered becoming a hot dog vendor, to which Jeanie immediately shut me down. Can you believe that? I would make an awesome hot dog vendor.

“Get your chips! Hot dogs for only five dollars!” I can imagine myself with a horn and everything. New Yorkers would race to buy my hot dogs! Best in town! That’s what my banner would say.

Thoughts? I think I would kill it.

Anyway, it doesn’t appear that hot dog slinging is in my future, so I’ll keep looking.

Hope your leg is feeling better.

Yours Indubitably,

Piper

I chuckled as I folded up the letter. I could see it now, Piper standing out on a New York street, calling out for people to get her hot dogs. She would be one sexy vendor. If she was selling them, I would buy them.

“What’s with the toothy grin?” Raven asked, glancing over at me from the driver’s seat.

I hadn’t exactly invited her along, but I needed someone to drive me, and she was desperate to get out and do something fun.

Nick didn’t know she was with me, and would probably be calling any minute to question why his wife was missing.

“A letter from Piper.”

She nodded. “Right, the chick from the woods. So, why is she writing you letters?”

“Because she doesn’t have a phone.”

“Who doesn’t have a phone?”

“She doesn’t have her ID. Well, I guess she just got it back.”

“If she got it back, why is she still writing you letters instead of texting you like a normal person?”

Because it was Piper, and she was quirky like that. Not to mention, she probably saw it in one of her novels and thought it was more romantic. Not that she was interested in a romance with me, but I was her only shot at enjoying the game.

“You’d have to know her to understand.”

“Ah, so it’s one of those situations,” she grinned.

I didn’t know what situation she was talking about, but it didn’t matter. “Can we just focus on the job?”

She nodded, still grinning at me. “Right. The job. So, why are we spying on this guy again?”

We sat across from Edu’s father’s house, waiting for any sign of who the guy was and what his family life was like. So far, we hadn’t seen much. “Because it’s a job.”

“For who?”

I sighed heavily. “Do you always ask so many questions?”

“When I’m on a job? Yes.”

“This is off the books.”

“Ah, so it’s for a secret someone.”

By a secret someone, she meant my teammate, not that I would tell her that. “There’s no secret.”

“Then who is it?”

“Does it really matter?”

“Yes. It absolutely could. If I don’t know who the job is for, I might miss vital details.”

“You’re hardly a super spy.”

“I could be.”

I glanced sideways at her. “You were a thief. I’m not sure how that applies here.”

“You want information. I just happen to be great at breaking into places. We wait for the targets to leave, and then I break in and get whatever information can be obtained.”

It wasn’t a terrible idea, but I wasn’t exactly sure we’d gather any information by breaking in. I wasn’t sure what information you could get by searching for abuse. Wasn’t that usually evident by witnessing it?

“Look, whoever it’s for, I won’t say anything. I just like to know who I’m dealing with. It’s easier for me to look for clues.”

I weighed the options, knowing Edu’s feelings on the matter. But if anyone was qualified to keep this secret, it was a former thief. “It’s for Edu. This is his old man.”

“Wow,” she said, a little shocked by the information. “I was not expecting that.”

“And he won’t admit to it if you say anything.”

“I wouldn’t,” she said fiercely. “But why are we spying on him? What are we hoping to find?”

Again, I knew she wouldn’t be the one to rat us out, so I put my faith in her.

“Edu’s old man killed his mom. His old man told the police it was a break-in.

” I conveniently left out the part about Edu trying to kill him.

That wasn’t my secret to tell. “Now, he’s remarried and Edu is worried his old man might be abusing his next family. ”

Darkness washed over her face as she turned back to the house. “Can I kill him?”

I burst out laughing at that. “I don’t think that’s what he’s hoping for. I think he just needs to know that nothing bad is happening.”

“God, I really hate men like that.”

“Bad memories?” I asked, hoping I sounded nonchalant and not prying.

“No. I just hate men who are douchebags.”

“Fair enough.”

It was quiet for a minute, and I went back to thinking about Piper. I hoped she could get a job, but not as a hot dog vendor. The idea that she would ever stand on a street corner and prepare food was comical at best. However, I could see her working at a zoo.

“What’s that smile for?”

Caught off guard, I hadn’t realized I was smiling at all. “Nothing. I was just thinking of Piper working as a hot dog vendor.”

“Why is that funny?”

“Well, it just is. But I could see her working as a zookeeper. She fought off a bear for me.”

Her eyes moved to my leg. “That’s an impressive woman.”

“I know.”

“And you’re not interested in her.”

I knew that tone in her voice. She was prying, just like my mom, which was why I hadn’t mentioned a word of Piper to her. “Interested in sex? Absolutely. But nothing more, and she knows that. She’s actually in the same boat. She just got out of a relationship, so sex is good, but nothing else.”

“Yeah, that’s what I used to say.”

“It’s really not like that.”

“Sure,” she smirked.

“What is it with women? Why do they all assume that men are just waiting around for a woman to change their lives?”

“We don’t assume that. It’s more like…like being hit upside the head. The right woman comes along and someone needs to beat you over the head with a club so you’ll realize how much you need a woman in your life.”

“Not me,” I muttered.

“Because you’re a lone ranger?

“Because I’m just not interested.”

“Yeah, you and a hundred other men. But let me tell you this. One day, your looks will fade and those muscles won’t be quite as pronounced as they are now. Then you’ll wish you had a woman who already loved you before you got all saggy.”

“I won’t ever get saggy,” I said defensively. “Can you picture any of us getting that way?”

She looked at me carefully and shrugged. “Maybe not, but life has a way of twisting people into something they’re not.”

“Not me. I know who I am and what I want. There’s no way that will happen to me.” Raven didn’t say a word. She didn’t fucking believe me. “I’m serious. I’m not going to suddenly decide one day that I need a woman.”

She still didn’t say a word. “Are you even?—”

“Look,” she snapped, pointing out the windshield.

I watched as a woman stepped outside, covered from head to toe, even though it was warm out. “That’s odd.”

“No woman wears that much clothing in heat like this,” Raven agreed.

“She doesn’t have any kids with her.”

“No.” Raven glanced around, then back to the woman. “There’s no other vehicle there.”

“If he’s abusing them, there might be only one vehicle. Do you want to stick around and find out?”

The woman got in the car and drove past us. Her eyes were slightly panicked, and her hands were wrapped tightly around the steering wheel.

“She’s nervous,” I noted, looking back at the house.

“I don’t like this. I think we should check it out.”

“And what if he’s still in there?”

“I’ll go first. I’ll say I’m looking for someone in the area if he answers the door.”

“And if not?”

“Then we go in and see what we can find.”

It was as good a plan as any. “You know, there’s really no proof that anything is happening.”

“After what you told me, do you really think that’s true? Do you want to take the chance that nothing’s happening?”

Sighing, I had to agree with her. “Alright. I’ll wait for your signal.”

She was out of the car before I could change my mind. I watched as she crossed the street and casually walked up to the front door, knocking quickly. I kept my eye on the windows, but nothing happened. No one looked outside or crept around the back. It was quiet.