And she doesn’t even know my name.
God, what would she think if she found out? If she knew who Ireallywas? If she knew the hands she’s brushing are the same hands that have snapped necks and signed off on bloodshed?
If she knew I’ve been stalking her since the day I met her?
She’d run.
As she should.
But some twisted part of me would rather die than let her go.
Or kill.
3
ERIN
Idon’t think I’ve sat down once tonight.
My legs ache, my spine is one long, burning line of tension, and my stomach is twisting itself into knots I can’t untangle. But it’s fine. I can keep going. Ihaveto keep going.
The room is warm. Maybe too warm. Or maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s the exhaustion finally catching up. I blink a few times, trying to clear the fuzz behind my eyes, and I’m heading to the kitchen when my phone buzzes in my apron pocket.
I shouldn’t check it. IknowI shouldn’t check it.
But I do.
And when I see my brother Jack’s number, the world starts spinning before I’ve even read the words.
“I messed up. Need 5k by tomorrow. Viktor will kill me if I don’t pay.”
I stop walking and freeze.
The screen dims, but I still see the words. Five thousand?Tomorrow?
My mouth goes dry. My knees wobble. I have to grab the edge of the bar counter to stay upright.
“Erin, move!” Donald snaps behind me, and I jolt into motion.
Right. Move. Smile. Serve.
But the world is spinning slightly, tilting at the corners. My breaths feel shallow, like I’m sucking in air through a straw. How am I supposed to find five thousand dollars in less than twenty-four hours?
I can barely cover rent.
Viktor. I have never met the man, but I know it’s a name whispered in fear. Jack said he ran a gambling den. Said he was “strict.” That things went bad fast if you didn’t pay up.
I can’t let him get hurt. Jack’s my only brother. Stupid, reckless, sweet Jack who always thinks he can win it all back. Who thinks he can give us a better life. After we aged out of the system, it was always just the two of us, but my brother always resented that we had less than others. He dreamed of balancing the scales.
It never works out, but he never stops trying.
Maybe that's why I keep covering his debts. Why I keep pulling triples just to keep our heads above water. Because I know, deep down, he's doing it for us. For the only family we've got left: each other.
And family watches each other's back.
Which means that, somehow, I need to come up with five grand by this time tomorrow.
My hands are shaking when I pick up the dessert tray. I head toward Clive Bernardi’s table on autopilot, the weight of the world pressing down on my shoulders.
