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Chapter One
Mia
The wind whips through my hair the moment I step off the bus. It is filled with wintery chill and the smell of the city. A shiver runs down my spine from the coldness. My nose twitches from the stench, but I still can’t help the big smile that breaks across my face.
“You finally made it, Mia Caldwell,” I applaud myself.
“You going to move it or just stand in everybody’s way,” a man gripes behind me.
“Oh, sorry,” I apologize and quickly step to the side.
The rest of the passengers rush off the bus. They make their way to where our bags are and begin rummaging through the compartment. Not me. I’m too busy looking around at all the bright lights, people on the sidewalk, and the tall buildings surrounding us.
“Chicago,” I smile.
“Lady, you going to stand there all day, or are you going to grab your bag?” a familiar male voice asks.
My smile fades for a moment but then I think about how many odd and end jobs I had to do to save up enough money to move from Minnesota to Chicago. I earned my right to be here, in my dream city.
I turn and face the bus driver– Roy. He’s glaring at me. He had enough of my shit ten hours ago when I kept asking a million questions. I told myself to leave him alone but I couldn’t help myself. I was filled with too much excitement.
“Thank you for getting us here safely, Roy, ” I smile and then walk past him to grab my bag.
The other passengers have already grabbed their bags. My hot pink duffle bag is the only bag left. I grab it out from the compartment and make my way to the sidewalk.
I have a hotel rented for the night; however, after tonight, everything else will be on a whim. A very scary, nerve wracking yet exciting whim.
My parents are pissed at me for leaving. They expected me to just live out my days in our small ass town. My shot of going off to college was ruined by our family being pretty poor and unable to afford my tuition. Hell, it took me nearly six years to save up enough money to confidently move to Chicago.
I fish my phone from my pocket and pull up the address to the hotel. It isn’t anything fancy, but it looked a lot better than some of the other sketchy hotels I found online. It’s just a place to rest my head and catch up on some sleep. The bus isn’t the best place to sleep. I barely slept a wink because I was too busy worrying about how one of the passengers could rob me or cop a feel if I slept.
I shudder at the thought of those things happening and then look around at all the people passing by me. Any of them could be thieves or perverts. Or maybe even worse.
Get it together, Mia. You’re a lone female, at night, standing in the middle of a sidewalk!I yell at myself.
I hitnavigateon my phone, memorize a few of the turns, and then begin my venture to my hotel. If I’m lucky, I’ll make it there in one piece… alive.
Chapter Two
Nico
“I appreciate the heads up. I’ll see to it that things are taken care of,” I reply into my phone.
The one phone call I never would have expected to take. My cousin, Adrianna– Godmother of the Romano Family– isn’t one to ask for favors. In fact, she’s usually the one people call to ask for help, not the other way around.
“Are you even listening?” Adrianna huffs.
“Sorry. What?” I ask, shaking away my thoughts.
“I was saying that I’m sorry to ask for a favor. Usually, I’d just hop on a plane and handle things myself, but Savio has this thing about me flying while pregnant,” she sighs. “He’s a real pain in the ass.”
“Cut the man some slack, cuz,” I chuckle. “He just wants what’s best for you and the baby.”
“Yeah. Yeah. You sound just like him,” she complains, making me laugh. “Look, I would have called your father to ask for this favor but I know he isn’t feeling too well and didn’t want to bother.”
She’s right. My father has been in and out of the hospital for heart problems for the past few months. Two weeks ago, he was rushed to the hospital and has been there since, leaving me in charge of the family.
“No worries. I know you would have respected the food chain,” I tease. “Hard to believe you’re like forty years younger than him and in the same position.”
