Page 6 of Fire in Stone

He rolled back his shoulders. “Of course it is. There’s some good money in what we do, baby girl. Much better than what that realtor dude was paying you. Cheap bastard.”

So much was true. I would’ve had to work close to a decade in that realtor’s office to earn the same amount Chris was offering me for a few days of my time.

“Two hundred thousand dollars,” I said softly.

“That’s right.” He looked at me like a cat at a mouse clasped in his paws. “Plus, all expenses paid.” Reaching inside his leather jacket, he produced a thick envelope and placed it on the table between us. “Three thousand euros, baby doll. To get you to Germany. A nice European vacation that pays for itself and then some.”

I stared at the envelope stuffed with cash and tried not to think what it meant in terms of meals, warmth, and comfort.

“You deserve a break. That realtor asshole overworked and underpaid you,” Chris scoffed.

Maybe. But with no education, no references, and with my sketchy past, I considered myself lucky to have that job. I’d felt so elated when I got the call that the position was mine. It’d been as if the door had finally opened to a life I’d only ever glimpsed from the outside—the normal, honest life I’d had no access to since my grandma’s death.

For almost a year, I didn’t have to invent lies when people asked me what I did for a living. I’d had a future ahead of me. I’d proudly told anyone who cared to listen about my work and my college plans. It’d felt like my past was firmly behind me.

Now, my past was sitting across the table from me again, with the familiar all-knowing smirk.

“No, Chris.” I shoved the envelope back to him. The spark of excitement at the sensation of the thick stack of money under my palm flashed and went. “I’m done with this. Thanks for breakfast.”

I got up from the table.

His eyes followed me with the dangerous glimmer of temper, the temper I knew way too well. But he remained in his seat.

“Suit yourself, baby girl.” He leaned back, casually draping an arm over the back of the bench seat. “You know where to find me if you need me.”

I prayed I neverneededanything from this man, ever again. Leaving the diner, I closed its door firmly behind me.

With every step I took along the parking lot on my way to my car, however, the worry pressed harder and harder on my chest. All the panicky questions of earlier had returned. The one pulsing most anxiously in my brain was,“Now what?”

I was back at square one. Jobless and penniless. The only difference was the feeling of fullness in my stomach. But I knew it’d be empty and gnawing with hunger again way too soon.

The door of the diner opened and closed behind me. I forced my head not to turn in that direction, but I felt Chris’s stare on my back.

He watched me. Waiting.

Putting as much confidence in my step as I could muster, I approached my car, opened the door, and slid into the driver’s seat.

“I can figure it out,”I kept saying again and again in my head, turning the key in the ignition.“I don’t need Chris or his money.”

The dead silence of the engine chilled me with dread. The damn car made no sound, no matter how many times I turned the key. I stopped trying, dropping my hands into my lap.

Fear—cold, paralyzing terror—spread through my limbs. Without the car, I truly had nothing. I couldn’t even get to an interview, provided I somehow managed to get one.

Taking small, shallow breaths, I lifted my gaze. Through the windshield, I saw Chris. Leaning against his large, black motorbike, he was turned to me, his arms crossed over his chest. With his face hidden behind the glass of his helmet, I couldn’t see his eyes, but he appeared to be waiting. My fire-red helmet conveniently lay on the seat next to him, as an invitation for me to join him.

Knowing Chris, he might have something to do with my engine not starting at this very moment. Though, my car was old enough to fail on its own, too.

At the end of the day, did it really matter how it happened? One thing was clear, it didn’t take much to crush my life completely and turn my situation from bad to desperate.

I was tired. So tired of fighting every little thing that always went wrong while waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tired of constantly strategizing which of the bills piling up to pay first. Tired of not having a reliable roof over my head. And I was scared because I knew things would get worse, much, much worse now that I had no jobandno car.

Chris might take a lion’s share of the proceeds, but he always paid his people what he promised. At this point, two hundred thousand dollars was life-changing for me.

Maybe I needed to take that one step back to be able to move forward? One brief trip to the past to ensure my future?

I blew out a breath, taking a moment to gather my resolve.

I couldn’t see his face, but IfeltChris smiling when I got out of the car and headed his way.

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