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Need to get over it. Move on.
Sighing, I start walking. There’s a public library not far from here where I can check online for any ads. It’s perfect for people like me who can’t afford laptops, smart phones, or a wi-fi connection at home.
Lost in thought, I start when a shadow detaches itself from the alley right ahead and steps in my path, forcing me to halt.
Shit, I’m about to get mugged. It’s not the first time, and I take a step back, wobbling on the thin layer of snow, fully aware I don’t even have pepper spray. Wouldn’t matter. Better give them what they want and escape unscathed. It has worked before.
I unsling my purse and extend it toward the tall teenager standing in front of me. “Here, take it.”
“Oh, I’d hold on to that,” he says, a crooked grin twisting his thin face. He lifts a dark brow. “Hi, Megan.”
“Who are you?” I take another step back, and clutch my purse to my chest. My heart is hammering furiously in my chest. “How do you know my name?”
He shrugs.
“Stay away from me,” I say, my voice strangled with nerves, cold sweat trickling down my back.
“Whoa.” He lifts his hands. He’s wearing a blue cap on his head, black cut-off gloves, and his black jeans are worn and holed. He can’t be more than sixteen. “I’m not your stalker.”
His words are like a punch to my stomach. “And who… Who told you about that?” I’m shaking from head to toe.
He shrugs again, a roll of his skinny shoulders. “I just came by to tell you to head over to Crescendo. You got a job.”
?
??Says who?” I know that café-bar. I passed by two days ago and asked, but I was told they didn’t need more hired help.
“The boss says so.”
“Who’s the boss?”
He snorts and pulls his cap lower, hiding his face. “Can’t tell you that.” Unexpectedly, he holds out his hand. “I’m Mage, by the way.”
I take his hand automatically. His grip is firm. “That’s not a name.”
“That’s what people call me.” Again the crooked grin. He’s a cute boy. “Me and Apples, we been keeping an eye on you.”
I pull my hand back, unease creeping back in. “You have? Why?”
“Boss asked us to. Because of the stalker.” He tips his head at me and turns to go. “Crescendo. Today, or they’ll give the job away.”
“They’re keeping it for me?” I call out, but he jogs away, vanishing back into the shadows.
So weird. But that’s not what’s on my mind.
Only one person knows I have a stalker. The person who told me about it, who said he’d look out for me.
I press a hand to my chest. My heart is slamming against my ribs. My lungs can’t get enough air as the pieces fall into place.
A dark-haired boy of about sixteen paid my rent, the landlord said. Probably the same boy who came to tell me I have a job and that there are people keeping an eye out for me, keeping me safe.
The boss. Rafe.
He’s looking after me from afar, making sure I have a roof over my head, a job and safety. Fuzzy warmth surges through me, and I stand on the sidewalk, smiling to myself. He does care. I wasn’t wrong about him.
Oh Rafe…
Now the million-buck question is, why is he pretending he doesn’t give a damn?
