Loud, laughing people stumble past, arms linked.They travel in a pack, obviously club-hopping.After they pass, the sidewalk is deserted.
I slowly straighten and take another deep breath.I won’t be sick—I’ll be just fine.Damiano Romano is merely another asshole in a long line of assholes I’ve known.It’s a good thing I found out about his wife as early as I did.I haven’t had time to get attached.
Who am I fucking kidding?I’m attached.I was falling for that man.One minute he’d be saying the filthiest things, and the next, the most romantic, sweetest words would come out of his mouth.He looked at me like I was the most important person on the planet.
And it was all a lie.
I put my hands over my eyes, pressing hard, trying to keep the tears inside.I won’t cry—I refuse to fucking cry.
Except, I absolutely need to cry.Not here, though.First, I’ll get home.I have to arrange a trip to the other side of San Esteban.I find my phone in my bag and order a ride.
As soon as I finish with my phone, someone slams into me from behind.I yelp in surprise.
I barely catch a glimpse of him as he grabs me by the throat.I flail, defenseless.He pulls my wrists behind me, then presses me against the building.
This night is the worst.
4
MADISON
Iyell in surprise, kicking back at him.“Stop it—help!Someone, help!”
But the street is quiet and dark.Can nobody inside the Nove building see what’s going on?I’m next to a window, but not directly in front of one.
“Help!”I yell again.
My attacker spins me around so I can look at him.He stares into my face.Confusion fills his dark eyes, and his brows pull together.
Without a word, he lets me go, turns, and strides away.
“What the hell?”I whisper.I want to yell at him, but I don’t want to push my luck.
I stand there, shaking, watching as he rushes off.My throat is sore from where he grabbed me.What the fuck just happened?Someone attacked me, then let me go.Why?
A moment later, a car pulls up to the curb.Is it him?Is he coming back to take me somewhere?I start for the door to Nove when the passenger window rolls down.
“Are you Madison?”
Oh.It’s my ride.I send another fear-filled glance after the man who attacked me, but he’s far down the block.He’s nothing more than a retreating shadow.
The ride home is a blur.I’m shaking with adrenaline as I watch the city go by.My wrists feel bruised and tender after the guy grabbed me.I rub the star sapphire jewel on my ring, trying to focus on anything other than the feeling of that man’s hand on my throat.
Instead of having the driver drop me at the gate, I give him the code so he can take me all the way up to my house.I don’t want to walk down the dark driveway, and I can always change the code later if I’m worried about security.
And yeah.I’m worried about security.The past couple of months have been awful.I guess I could blame the inheritance.It changed my life, but can I really say it’s for the better?Sure, I could move out of my crappy apartment, and I can afford food and health insurance.But my cousins tried to kill me, I somehow hooked up with a man who ismarried, and a random guy on the street just accosted me and shoved me into a building.
When I get inside, I lock the door after me and punch in my security code.I am completely done with this night.I want to lock everything out for the foreseeable future.
A buzzing sound comes from my purse.I fish out my phone and find twenty-seven unread text messages and ten missed calls.All from Damiano, of course.
“Fuck you,” I say under my breath.“Fuck you with a wire-bristled brush, you complete and utter asshole.”
I switch my settings to “do not disturb” and take my laptop upstairs to bed with me.Season Two ofFlesh and Teethis my comfort watch of choice.I listen to the mournful moans of zombies and pretend I’m crying for the grizzled old cowboy who just became the zombies’ latest meal.
I’m not crying for him, though.I’m crying for me.
* * *
