“Sweetie, we’ll—”
Laura shook her head. “Let me finish. My baby is going through hell every single day. And here I am, hiding out in this apartment, letting you pay the bills, go to work, and spend all night on the computer tracking down any lead on Micah. What would he think of me if he came home right now?”
“He’d think you did the best you could.”
With a snort, her sister swept her hand around the room. “We’re living in a piece of shit one bedroom with barely working heat. I haven’t been outside in six months, and this morning was the first time I’d showered in a week.”
Dana was about to protest when her sister pointed to the door. “Go. We’re already late with the rent since I forgot to bring it up yesterday.”
Tonight, they were going to have a serious talk about…well, everything. But Laura was right. The landlord was a piece of shit, and if Dana didn’t get him the check before 7:00 p.m., he’d charge her a late fee she could not afford.
Her pension paid the bills. Barely. She took shifts at Trenton Memorial to pay for food and the search for Micah, but the fundraising ticket had wiped out the last of her savings, and she couldn’t spare an extra fifty dollars right now. Not until she got paid at the end of the month.
She just needed to convince Mr. Stick Up His Ass to cut her a break.
9
Terry
With the bucket of fried chicken balanced on his hip, he knocked on Dana’s apartment door. After a beat, Laura let him in, tears streaming down her face.
“What’s wrong?” Every protective instinct he had in him fired simultaneously, and he searched for Dana, not even bothering to set the fried chicken down before stalking into the single bedroom to find her standing in front of three empty suitcases, a dazed look on her face. “Dana! Talk to me.”
“The landlord is evicting us.” She turned, grabbed a handful of folded t-shirts from the dresser drawer, and carefully arranged them in the first suitcase. “He wants us out by the end of the week.”
Passing the bucket of chicken to Laura, Terry reached for Dana’s hands. “Tell me what happened. Or give me his apartment number so I can go have a long—violent—talk with him.”
She let him link their fingers but refused to look him in the eyes. “You can’t threaten everyone who hurts me.”
“I’m not going to. Not everyone. But your landlord…? Did he serve you notice while I was gone?”
“No. But he will. I can’t afford to go to court anyway. He said if we were out by Friday, this wouldn’t go on my rental history and he’d give me a decent reference.” Dana released his hands, her voice dropping so low, Terry didn’t think she was talking to anyone but herself. “Not that I can afford first, last, and security anywhere else.”
Glancing between the two women, Terry prayed he wasn’t about to scare Dana off completely. “Dana, you’re exhausted and probably starvin’. Come eat. After, I’ll help you and Laura pack as much as you can before I find a hotel for the night. In the mornin’, the three of us are drivin’ up to Boston. You can stay at my apartment until we find Micah. It’s a two-bedroom place, and I’ll either take the couch or stay over at Mac and Devan’s for a while.”
“What? No.” Dana shook her head, her black curls tumbling free from her bun. “We’re not moving in with you. I told you last night—I’m not helpless.”
“Fuck, darlin’. You’re the opposite of helpless. But even the strongest people need help sometimes. You told me that.” He took a risk and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Do you have anything keepin’ you in Trenton? Either of you?”
“Nothing,” she whispered. “We moved here because it was cheap.”
“Then come to Boston with me. You can take the T to five different hospitals in under thirty minutes. Give it a month. If you hate it, I’ll help you and Laura move anywhere you want.”
“I like Boston,” Laura piped up. “With the subway…maybe I could get a job again. Eventually.”
Dana sank against Terry, resting her head on his chest. “I’m outnumbered.”
“Darlin’?” He cupped her cheek, forcing her to look up at him. “If you don’t want this, say the word. I’ll never force you. I hope you know that.”
After a quick glance at her sister, Dana waited for Laura to shut the bedroom door so the two of them could be alone. “I love Boston. Mom used to take us at least twice a year. I used to think that when I retired from the Army, I might like to move there.”
“Is that a yes?” Terry desperately wanted Dana in his life. In his apartment—even if he couldn’t be with her—because she was sure as shit firmly entrenched in his heart.
“I won’t take charity.” Her shoulders straightened, and she tilted her chin, challenging him.
The growl, low in his throat, wasn’t intentional, but Terry did nothing to stop it. “This is not charity. It makes sense for you to stay with me. It’ll be a hell of a lot easier if Xavier needs more information about Micah, my apartment is big enough for both you and your sister, and Mac—he was my lieutenant in Afghanistan—lives less than two miles away. If I stay with him and Devan, I can still be there to help you and Laura with anything you need.”
She pondered his words, still pressed against him, and fuck, he ached to have her in his bed. With him next to her. Or on top of her. Or under her. He didn’t care. He’d take whatever shreds of her life she was willing to share with him.
