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Portia releases a string of curses. “Those fucking assholes. They were flush this week. I wondered why but thought they had a good few days picking pockets. But no, they fucking sold you out.”
“But Portia, they wouldn’t. Markus and Paulie are family,” Nell implores. “Surely you know that?”
Portia doesn’t answer her, but it’s clear that she doesn’t agree with Nell. On the streets, it’s every man for themselves, and I get it. They didn’t know me, and when the opportunity for money came along, they took it. I can’t say I would have done the same, but that’s just me. Everyone is different, and I don’t blame them for it.
“What’s the plan?” Nell asks as we stop outside the gated entrance to the apartment complex. “You’re going to go ahead and marry him?”
I wring my hands together. “What choice do I have?”
There’s no way out for me. There’s only death, and that’s not something I want. I have fought hard over the years to be where I am. I will not fall at the first hurdle. No way.
“Then we’ll be with you,” Portia promises me. “No matter what, we’ve got your back.”
Tears sting the backs of my eyes. God, what am I going to do without them? I hate that we’re going to be apart, but I’m not losing them. They’re my friends and they care about me, just as I care about them.
“Go,” I tell them. “You need to get back in time to queue for the shelter,” I whisper to them.
A thought comes to mind and hope blooms in my chest. I wonder if I could have them stay with me. That would be amazing if I could. They’d always have somewhere warm to stay and have a place that they could be clean.
There’s only one way to know. I have to ask Elio.
NINE
ELIO
The moment Teagan stepped out of this apartment, I knew. Aurelio called me. He was worried because the woman was crying, but she pulled herself together and walked downtown. He stayed back a few feet behind her, making sure she wasn’t alone and that she was safe.
He reported back to me, letting me know where she was and who she was with. I shouldn’t have been surprised that she would have met up with her friends. The woman she was with last night seemed to want to kill us. She is protective of Teagan, and I’m curious how Teagan met the woman, considering she’s been on the streets for years.
I learned a lot about the women she’s with. I had Lorenzo do his thing, and he compiled a dossier on both Portia Adams and Nell Harris. Nell has been homeless, as has her family, for years. From what Lorenzo uncovered, Nell was born on the streets. Portia Adams is another story. She ran away from home at the age of sixteen and has been on the streets since then. No one knows her story, but from the rumblings around town, her step-father was an asshole who had plans of selling her.
I enter the apartment, and my anger grows. She left the house without the cellphone and she didn’t take the money. What the fuck is with this woman? Doesn’t she understand how dangerous it can be in the city?
I place a bag on the ground. It holds her stuffed teddy in it. I had it dry cleaned. Thanks to the extra money I paid, it was done within a few hours and ready for me.
I pace the living room floor as I wait for her return. Aurelio let me know that she was on her way back. The moment she enters this apartment, I’m going to be demanding answers.
It’s another forty minutes before the elevator doors open and she walks into the apartment. The moment she sees me, her lips part in surprise.
“Why the fuck did you leave without your cell and without the money?” I snarl at her, unable to keep my anger in check.
She takes a step backward and hurt slashes through her eyes before she closes them. When they reopen, they’re void of emotion and cold and empty. “They’re not mine. I had my own money,” she says, her words detached and cool.
“Do you know how dangerous it can be out there? What would have happened had something gone down? Hmm? I wouldn’t have known because you didn’t bring the damn cell,” I hiss. “Christ, Teagan, do you have a death wish?”
She releases a mirthless laugh. “If I did, I wouldn’t have agreed to this ruthless arrangement of yours. I’m doing as you asked. You never said I had to take anything you give me.”
I run a hand through my hair. Christ. This woman is going to make me gray before I’m even thirty. What the fuck? “Want to tell me why you left this apartment?”
She blinks. “Didn’t realize I was caged in,” she fires back, and thank fuck she’s letting that fire out. Her being cold and distant isn’t going to work. I fucking hate it.
“You're not, but I arrived here looking for you, wanting to speak with you, and you were gone.”
She throws her hands in the air. “Fine, I’ll take the cell, but I have no idea how to use it.”
I glower at her. That’s a fucked-up excuse. Who doesn’t know how to use a cell phone? “You’ll take the damn money with you too.”
She purses her lips as she crosses her arms over her chest.
