Chapter One
Ashopping basket hungon Adalyn’s arm, filled with the items the customers didn’t want.A handful of scrapbooking decorations.Hot glue sticks.Sewing thread.A watercolor kit.It was close to closing, so she hurried to return everything to its proper place.Then she finally made her way back to the front, where her coworker and boss, Marilisa, was finishing up a sale.
Two years ago, Adalyn had entered the store with a racing heart and sweaty palms, inquiring about the “help wanted” sign in the window.She had absolutely zero retail experience, but she desperately needed a job.Perhaps the bruise on her cheek had painted an ugly picture or maybe it was the way her hands shook.Regardless, Marilisa had hired her immediately, then promptly became the mother figure she never had.Offering kindness and support that slowly put her broken pieces back together.
The little craft store had become Adalyn’s salvation, giving her a way to earn money and the means to support herself.Her half-sister, Lori, loved beating her, and her weapon of choice was the wooden handle of a broom.They might have shared a father, but that apparently meant zilch because Lori excelled at making her life hell.The incident that prompted her to seek an escape was when Lori brought home a man who tried to rape her while she watched and laughed.Adalyn managed to stab the man with scissors, but Lori beat her within an inch of her life.Playing dead, the ruse had worked so she could get away and run.That’s when she moved into a local shelter.The “help wanted” sign in the craft store was like a message from fate.
“I’m done,” she told Marilisa.
“Thank you, dear.”The older woman patted her hand.“If you want, you can head upstairs now.There are only a few minutes left until closing.”
“That’s okay.I’ll stay.”
Marilisa patted her hand.“You’re a good girl.I’m lucky I hired you.”
Gratitude welled up in Adalyn.She didn’t know the words to accurately express her gratefulness, so she hugged Marilisa.Then, the door opened, and in barged two large, brutish men.Adalyn doubted they were shopping for a craft project.
The one in front had a Mohawk with piercings everywhere.Nostrils, eyebrows, ears, lips.Tattoos decorated about eighty percent of his face.His cold, dead stare landed on her, and a salacious grin lifted the corner of his mouth.The second man was almost a carbon copy of the first.Malice radiated from them both.
“May we help you?”Marilisa asked.
The leader pointed to Adalyn.“She’s ours.”
Fear filled Adalyn, her gaze bouncing between the two men.“What?N-no.”
“Listen, bitch.Your sister owes our boss a lot of money, which she claims she doesn’t have, so she told us we can have you.”The man grinned, showing his teeth had been filed into points.“A deal is a deal, so you’re coming with us.”
“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Marilisa said firmly.
The leader took a step closer and the leather he wore creaked as he moved.“You don’t understand, cunt.She now belongs to our boss.”
“How much?”Marilisa said, lifting her chin.
Adalyn was so scared she couldn’t say a word.Couldn’t even breathe.She didn’t want anything to happen to her friend, but she wasn’t able to form any words.
“Much?”the man asked.
“Yes, how much does her sister owe this boss of yours?”
“Fifty grand.”
Marilisa inhaled sharply and shot a quick look at her before focusing back on the man.“If you get your money, will you let her go?”
“You expect me,” he pointed to himself, “to believe this skinny-ass slut can come up with fifty grand?Or, do you have it, Granny?”
“No, I don’t.”
“What if I sent my man here on a shopping spree and he accidentally destroys everything.Would you have it then?”
“No, I wouldn’t, but I’ll guarantee you’ll get the money.Isn’t that more valuable than her?”
“How about this,” he said.“She gets the money by ...let’s say, tomorrow night and I don’t burn this fucking store to the ground.”
Marilisa lifted her chin.“Deal.”
The man shot an evil grin at Adalyn.“You run.You hide.If I don’t get the money the next time I’m here, she’s dead.Understand, bitch?”
Adalyn nodded, unable to say a word.
