Page 8 of Healer’s Betrayal

“Oh yeah. Thursday.” Her day off is Wednesday.

“I’ll be here at five-thirty on Thursday.”

“Thanks, Jessie.”

She waves and takes off, and I start the walk to the apartment building. I keep a wary eye out for the guys from last night but thankfully don’t see them. There are a few other suspect people I keep my distance from, but thankfully, nobody bothers me. I make the trek up to the third floor and use my key to let myself in. “Hey,” Renee says when she sees me.

Noah pops his head up from his iPad, and I smile and wave at him. He gives me a small smile and goes back to his iPad. “How’d it go?” I ask.

“Fine.” She packs up her bag, and I remember the brown bag I’m carrying. “Oh, I brought dinner.”

Renee waves me off. “I have plans; you eat it.”

“Are you sure?”

She nods and throws her bag on her shoulder. “Yep. Thursday? Same time?”

“Yes. Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” She waves off my thanks and leaves a moment later.

I set the bag on the table. “Noah, come eat.”

He comes over to the table, iPad in hand. “Uh, uh. No iPad at the table.” He scowls but puts his tablet on the kitchen counter. I grab a water bottle for each of us and pull the burgers and fries out of the bag.

“McDonalds?” It’s a question, not one I really want him to have the full answer to.

“I grabbed it as a thank-you to Renee. But she didn’t want it, so now I get to eat it,” I tell him with a grin. He takes a massive bite of his cheeseburger, and I copy it. "Mmm.” We make quick work of the burgers and fries and clean up our trash. “What’d you do today?” He just shrugs. “Please tell me you do more than play on your tablet all day.”

“I did my school work,” he says quietly.

“Are you sure? Do I need to check it?”

“No. I did it.”

“Good. Go ahead and set out a few of your workbooks.” He gives me a look. “I trust you; I just want to make sure you’re getting the material, especially grammar and math.”

“Fine.” He trudges over to the crate where we store his schoolbooks and comes back a moment later and hands his math workbook to me. A knock at the door pulls my attention. A quick look through the peephole shows it’s the guys from last night.

I spin around. “Go into the bathroom and lock the door,” I tell Noah. He frowns at me and opens his mouth; I know he’s planning on arguing with me. “Go; hurry.” He must catch on to my urgency because after a moment of silent debate, he does what I ask. I grab the white envelope off the table and take a deep breath before answering the door.

“You know why we’re here,” the more talkative guy from last night says with a cruel smile.

I don’t bother trying to carry on a conversation. “Here.” I thrust the envelope into his hand. “Now go.” I start to close the door, but he shoots out a hand and stops it from closing.

“Hey,” he all but croons. “We haven’t had a chance to talk yet. Let’s be neighborly.” He steps past me, and the other guy with him follows him inside. I try to keep my breathing even. I realize that I am a single female with two dangerous guys in her apartment and my little brother only a few feet away. I try to keep my breathing steady as I face them down.

“What do you want?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

The talkative one smirks. “I just want to have a little chat, make sure you’re up to date with things.”

I nod at the envelope in his hand. “That’s what you’re looking for, and you have it.”

He fingers the envelope while looking at me. “All the money is in here?” I nod. “Good.” He turns around, taking in the apartment for a moment. “So, we’re good here? You know how much you owe and when you owe?”

A bad feeling forms in my gut. “When I owe?” I question.

He smiles, but it’s so cold, it hurts. “Every month on the first of the month.”

I feel the air knocked from my chest. “You want me to pay you three hundred a month on top of my rent? That’s crazy!” He gives me a dark look, and I regret my words immediately. I put up a hand. “But, I’ll figure it out.”