Ipulled up to Shanice's apartment building at midnight, my hands still shaking on the steering wheel. The image kept replaying. Olek. That woman. The little girl with his eyes. The kiss.
The fucking kiss.
I pressed my palms against my eyes, willing myself not to cry. Not yet. Not until I was alone. The apartment was on the third floor, and I took the stairs because the elevator was broken again. The hallway smelled like someone was cooking curry, and I could hear a baby crying through one of the doors.
Normal. This was normal life. Not mansions and Russian mob bosses and contracts that were supposed to be simple. I knocked softly.
Shanice opened the door immediately, like she'd been waiting. "Jesus, Kat. It's midnight." She stopped when she saw my face. "What happened?"
"Is Zara asleep?"
"Yeah, went down around eight. Come in." She pulled me inside and locked the door behind us. "Talk to me."
"I just," My voice cracked. "I needed to see her. Make sure she's okay."
"She's fine. She's always fine." Shanice studied me. "But you're not. What happened at work?"
"Nothing. Everything. I don't know." I headed toward the small bedroom where Zara slept.
My baby sister was curled up under a princess comforter, her stuffed rabbit clutched to her chest. Seven years old and still so small. So innocent. So dependent on me to keep her safe. I sat on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair back. She stirred but didn't wake.
"I love you," I whispered. "I'm going to figure this out. I promise."
Behind me, Shanice cleared her throat softly. "Let her sleep. Come talk to me."
I kissed Zara's forehead and followed Shanice to the living room. She poured us both whiskey—cheap stuff that burned going down.
"Now," she said, settling onto the couch. "Tell me what's really going on."
"I told you. Nothing."
"Bullshit. You don't show up at midnight looking like your world just ended over nothing." She sipped her drink. "Does this have something to do with that money?"
Everything had to do with that fifteen thousand dollars. Because he’d kept his word and given me the other half.
"It's complicated."
"Then, uncomplicate it."
I wanted to. God, I wanted to tell someone the truth. About the contract. About Olek. About how spectacularly I'd fucked up by falling in love with a man who was never supposed tobe more than a transaction. But I couldn't. The contract had a confidentiality clause. And even without it, how could I explain?
"I just needed to see Zara," I said finally. "Make sure she's safe."
"She's safe. She's always safe with me." Shanice set down her glass. "But actually, I'm glad you're here. We need to talk."
Something in her tone made my stomach drop. "About what?"
"About Zara. About," she took a breath, "about me going back to school."
"That's great, Shanice. You've been talking about it for years."
"I enrolled for the spring semester. Classes start in January."
"That's amazing. You'll do great." I nodded to her.
"Which means I can't watch Zara full time anymore."
The words hit like a physical blow. I don’t know why it took a minute for my mind to catch up to the fact that she couldn’t do both–go to school and keep Zara.
