Chapter 2

Penny

Four days of living out of my car. Four days of searching for a job to no avail.

Four days of worry.

Four days of questioning everything about my entire life.

By day three, it had become apparent that the Morelli brothers had made a few phone calls, making pretty much everyone involved in clubs, resorts, casinos, and other entertainment facilities terrified to even look me in the eyes, let alone hire me. I'd put in enough applications to fast-food joints I couldn't remember the number. And yet, not a single phone call.

Maybe I should be grateful they hadn't gotten one of their goons to kidnap me, tossing me in the trunk of a car. I shuddered at the thought but knew it was still possible.

I'd dared take a shower at the local YMCA, which had also allowed me to recharge my cell phone, which I needed to keep fully charged and paid for if I wanted any hope of getting a job. However, the last night of sleeping in the parking lot had been terrifying, two thugs coming close to getting into the car. Thankfully, Remington Steele's bark was worse than his tail wags. He was a lover, not a fighter, but the assholes hadn't known that.

I couldn't keep doing this, especially since I had twelve dollars and forty-two cents to my name. And only a day and a half's worth of puppy food left. I sat back in my seat, rubbing his soft fur. I'd yet to cry, but as the tears finally sprang to my eyes, I realized I was in a heap of trouble with little way out.

I didn't even have gas money to return home.

Home to Virginia, the town a world away from here. I'd promised myself that I was leaving the past and the asshole behind, especially after the asshole's last threat.

"If I can't have you, no one can. And if you think your worthless father is going to save you, think again. I will have him arrested for theft."

I had no doubts about what the bastard was capable of. My poor father had been through so much, succumbing to the demons he'd fought so hard to keep away. Sadly, grief tore at a man, forcing him to do things he would have never considered doing before.

I'd felt I had no choice but to disappear. But from the frying pan into the fire. My head ached, my heart even more.

"Oh, baby. What are we going to do? We've been through so much together. I thought things were going to get better." I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his fur. How many times had my baby seen me cry? How many times had he licked away the tears? From day one of being gifted to me with a big red bow around his neck, he'd been forced to be a big boy. An emotional support animal.

I held out one arm, staring at the scars in tiny lines crisscrossing my skin. I continued to be ashamed of my past actions, but I'd had no other outlet. Always the strong one. Always the one to support others, at least behind the cloak of sadness and anger, pain and despondency.

After a few seconds of self-pity, I leaned back, staring out the passenger window at the line of crappy shops lining the ugly street. The back roads were nothing like the glamorous strip.

I had no idea why I'd stopped here, but through the open windows, the dry heat still stifling this time of year, I gathered a whiff of Italian food. My stomach grumbled since I'd had four packages of crackers since leaving Sheila's apartment. I'd brought the tiny bit of food and a dozen bottles of water that I'd had stored in my tiny dresser, but even that was running out.

I was starving.

I noticed the sign for the restaurant in the mirror. It was one of those old-fashioned signs that were usually hung from ancient buildings in downtown locations. Giuseppe's. In a town full of five-star restaurants, posh surroundings meant for the rich and famous, I wondered how the little place had survived.

Closing my eyes, a strange and unwanted thought rolled through me. I'd been a good girl my entire life. I'd followed every rule, achieved straight A's. I'd never considered breaking the law. Until now. I just wanted a hot meal and maybe some plain grilled chicken in a to-go box for my fluff ball. He'd endured far too much over the whole year of his life.

What if this one time I'd eat my fill, grab a to-go item, leave a decent tip at least and walk out?

"What am I thinking, boy? I'm no thief."

Not like my father.

I couldn't believe I was disparaging my father even in my mind. The medical bills had been horrific, his hopes of winning money at the blackjack table leading him to commit a crime. He'd begged me to leave town, to follow my dream. Why had I listened to him?

Because Jake would have killed you and destroyed your father.

My inner voice was still active, still able to cut through the terror. Both whispers were the truth, but it didn't make my decision to flee any easier to stomach.

I couldn't do the unthinkable. I'd find a way to purchase some food for both of us. When Remington whined, I wondered if I was nothing more than delusional in my thinking.

My stomach rumbled again. I hadn't caught a single break since moving here, even though my dance credentials were spot on, and I had recommendations up the yin yang. But that didn't matter in a glamorous town like this. Maybe the little voice telling me to get my butt out of here was right. But I couldn't do that without making some money. My daddy couldn't afford to send me hundreds of dollars to move back to the East Coast. He'd lost almost everything trying to keep my mother alive.

And his butt out of jail.

My beautiful pup licked my cheek and woofed once. It was insane what I was thinking. But maybe I could pay them back when I made some money. I'd demand my paycheck in a couple of days. That would help.

Right.

I was completely out of my mind. There was no way I would ever set foot in the Morelli brothers' casino and shitty dance club again. If I did, I'd likely disappear for good.

I wrangled with the decision whether to break the law or not for another five minutes, my stomach growling the entire time.

"Buddy. I'm going to hate myself for what I'm about to do but I have no other choice. May God forgive me. Stay here and I'll be back in less than a half an hour. The windows are cracked and we're in the shade so it's not too hot. You have water in your bowl. I'll eat fast. I promise." As far as where we'd sleep tonight, that I wasn't certain about. I'd find a place.

Please. Please. Oh, God. Just give me one tiny break.

I climbed out, rubbing my sweaty hands down the front of my jeans, glaring at the entrance to the restaurant while I clutched my purse against my chest. It took me three tries to make it six steps. By the time I reached the entrance, I realized there was no going back. The moment I opened the door, my stomach grumbled so loudly the hostess smiled in surprise.

"Would you like a table?" she asked.

"Please. Anything near the door is fine. I have a puppy in the car I need to watch."

"Aww. Of course. Right this way." As I was led to a table, a group of men sitting at another caught my eye, one man in particular.

Holy mother of God. I was forced to stop in my tracks, doing my best not to gawk at one of the men. Even sitting down, it was easy to see he was a massive expanse of muscle, the black shirt and nearly matching suit adding to his sensual yet dangerous appeal.

He was staring at me in much the same way, the darkness of the man all-consuming.

I was momentarily at a loss, realizing only seconds later I was gawking. I felt cooked in a ‘stick an apple in my mouth and plant my ass on a silver platter' kind of way. He was that good looking.

My normally decent thoughts were interrupted by extremely lurid ones, the kind that would fit in the first pages of an erotic romance book. While I tried to pull my heated gaze away, all I could think about was that he was every woman's wet dream. Whew. Was it some kind of hot in the place or what?

He was without a doubt the sexiest man I'd ever seen in my life and I could only make out his physique from the waist up. But with his short, cropped hair and piercing eyes, his heated gaze following me all the way to the table, I was hungrier than before.

And this time, not because of food.