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CHAPTER
ONE
Kaylie was always afraid, but she’d never quit running. Her life—and not just her life—depended on it. The darkness clung to her like a sinister cloak, the walls closing in as she sprinted down the never-ending hallway. Shadows, twisted and furious, pursued her relentlessly, a cruel laugh propelling her forward, desperate to escape his clutches.
Each step she took only seemed to elongate the corridor, endless and inescapable.
Her heart pounded as she fought the heaviness of her limbs. Desperation fueled her frantic pace as the shadows grew angrier, their forms contorting into grotesque shapes. Breathless and on the verge of surrender, her world shifted.
The hallway morphed into a staircase, its steps spiraling downward into darkness. Her scream echoed as one of the shadows shoved hard into her shoulder. The floor disappeared beneath her, and she was tumbling, clutching her stomach in a futile attempt to protect it.
Kaylie’s eyes flew open, her body tense and her breath coming in short gasps. Her daughter, Cecelia, was sleeping peacefully next to her, her feet pressed against Kaylie’s side as she laid sideways on the bed. Kaylie’s heart slowed considerably at the sight of her daughter, safe and sound.
Just a bad dream. Nothing to worry about. But the echoes of the nightmare still lingered in her mind. Would the effects of her time living under Paul Moreno’s harsh thumb ever truly fade?
Not likely.
Especially since her need to keep her and her daughter hidden from the New Jersey mafia leader fueled every decision she had made since the night Paul had beaten her and then pushed her down the stairs as she attempted to get away.
He hadn’t even known she was pregnant, but Kaylie had been terrified of a miscarriage. The attack had been awful, but it had been the catalyst she needed to finally break away from Paul and his monstrous ways.
She would never hesitate to escape him again.
Kaylie inched out of bed, careful not to disturb Lia. For her own peace of mind, she lifted the bench in the kitchen area and checked the contents of the small duffel bag stored inside. Clothes, cash, and a new cell phone, plus a few odds and ends she’d want to take if they had to run again.
There was a twinge of pain at the thought of moving again, but she dismissed it. If they needed to move on, they would. But for now, they were safe. The nightmare didn’t mean anything. It was probably just all the news coverage about the president’s assassination this week, pulling her thoughts back to the violence that had colored her own life before escape.
But now, her life was simple and predictable. And other than the low-level awareness that her past could find them any day, it was a good life. She worked hard for it.
Her eyes trailed back across the trailer to Lia’s sleeping form. Even in sleep, the little girl clutched her stuffed elephant tightly.
Kaylie would work twelve hours a day cleaning houses if that was what it took to provide a good life for her daughter. And with her newest client paying her to cook and clean when he wasn’t home? Maybe they would even be able to afford a real house, instead of this run-down trailer in a woman’s backyard.
The morning sky was barely beginning to lighten, but she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. Instead, Kaylie grabbed her notebook and started work. The menu for the mysterious Mr. Olson’s week wouldn’t make itself. And even if he’d told her not to come today, she would. Taking his money without doing the work didn’t feel right to her. She might have lived with the Moreno mobsters, but she wasn’t a thief.
Later that afternoon, Kaylie was hanging up shirts in the closet at Mr. Olson’s house. He’d been right when he said there wasn’t much to do, since he had been out of town. But cooking his meals and cleaning up had given her a chance to do one load of laundry as well. All that was left to do was these last few shirts. She’d never met Mr. Olson, but judging by the size of his clothes, he was a big man.
Kaylie turned toward the closet door and found the entrance blocked by a human wall. Her breath caught, every muscle frozen in a split-second of pure terror. Her body screamed for escape, instinctively rebelling against the idea of being trapped. In front of her, there was a giant holding her daughter.
She focused on Lia, noting her daughter’s gentle smile. Her heart rate slowed slightly.
"Ah, you must be Cinderella's mother."
The low tone sent a shiver of awareness through her. The hulking man before her held Cecelia's nearly forty pounds effortlessly. He tried to lower her to the ground, but Kaylie's daughter clung to his neck.
Kaylie's eyes flew back to the man's face. "Kaylie," she introduced herself, the word sounding breathy. He was just so big.
And he looked angry. Oh good grief.
This must be Mr. Olson. She wasn't even supposed to be at his house today since he canceled. But she'd been right to figure there were things that needed done and come anyway. It just didn't feel right to get paid without working. And now he was angry.
What if he fired her?
She looked back at her daughter, softening at the absolute adoration on Lia's face, all of it directed at the man currently holding her. "And this must be...your fairy godmother, I presume?" She spoke to her daughter lightly, since the idea of speaking directly to Mr. Olson was currently making her vocal cords shrivel up in fear. Though, not necessarily of him, oddly enough. He was angry, but he was still being sweet with Lia.
Fear of being fired, though? Definitely.
Lia giggled and squeezed the man a little tighter, though Kaylie wondered if he even felt it through all that muscle. "No, silly. This is Prince Charming!"
