Chapter 1
Kelly
Coming home to a dark, quiet apartment was the worst, but not totally out of the ordinary for a single woman raising her rebellious younger brother. Maybe he had spent the day in his bedroom and never turned on any lights. Or he wasn’t home…
I exhaled a heavy, irritated breath. It was almost eight o’clock at night. Although it was summer, the sun would be setting soon, and Kevin didn’t drive.
Roads weren’t the safest in these parts. Actually, few streets in California were after dark. In today’s world, it was better to be cautious and not travel on foot at night.
“Kev, I’m home,” I hollered, shutting the door with my hip. The burgers and fries I picked up on the way home from the hospital were making my mouth water. “Kevin?”
I gritted my teeth, placed the bags on our small two-person table and my tote bag on a chair. If that little punk wasn’t in his room, I would make good on my threat of grounding him and taking his cell phone away.
I should have never given him a cell phone when he turned thirteen, but I was trying to do everything to brighten his day. It was his first birthday without our parents, and we weren’t handling the loss very well.
Two years later, we still weren’t doing all that great.
My parents would have been furious with me for giving him a fancy phone. They were old-school and didn’t believe in carrying around a phone. Plus, my mom had been a stay-at-home mom. Our dad was a truck driver and would be gone for days at a time. Someone needed to be home for me and my brother.
When I was born, Mom quit her job. She’d been a receptionist at a dental office. Dad had picked up extra deliveries to make up for the loss of her income. We managed and I had a wonderful childhood.
My parents had wanted a big family, but my mom had struggled with infertility. It had taken sixteen years after me before their miracle baby was born.
I went to the little miracle’s room and found it empty.
“You are so getting grounded, you little punk!” After a twelve-hour shift at the hospital, the last thing I needed was to come home to an empty house.
Clearly, I was failing as his guardian.
I returned to the dining table and dug out my device and texted him…
Kelly: Where are you????
Plucking some fries out of the greasy brown bag, I shoved them into my mouth and paced the length of the room, which wasn’t very long.
We’d only been back in San Diablo a couple of months and Kevin had settled right in. Unlike my brother, it didn’t feel like home to me, especially without my parents.
After their death, I’d selfishly pulled Kevin out of his school and moved him into mine and Brock’s one-bedroom apartment. Kevvy had hated sleeping on the couch and had complained about “hearing us.” He didn’t like the city and begged to go back home.
But small-town living wasn’t for me. I’d left San Diablo to attend college and get my nursing degree. I wanted more. Bigger and better things. City life. And I never planned on moving back.
The best day of my life was getting in at UCFS Health, one of the top hospitals in the nation. For eight years, I’d been living my dream.
Bitterness tried to find its way onto my tongue, but I swallowed that poison. My brother had spiraled out of control in San Francisco. He hated me for forcing him to leave his friends and the only town he’d ever known. After my breakup with Brock, it was easier to pick up and move.
I didn’t regret my decision. Not yet anyway.
“Come on, Kev. Text me back.” I pressed my palm against my forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Next, tears stung my eyes.
I wasn’t all that worried about my brother’s safety, only a little. He’d been hanging out with his friends since the day we moved back. And from what I remember, not much of anything happened in this town.
Then again, things could have changed considerably in twelve years. There was a motorcycle club I’d seen around town. Kevin had mentioned them a few times. The Kings of Anarchy MC was cooler than cool according to my brother.
My emotional response had more to do with my exhaustion. I just wanted to eat my burger, wash off the germs in the shower, and crawl into my bed. But there was nobody else to help. I was all my brother had to depend on.
It didn’t help matters that my twelve-hour shift at the hospital had sucked balls. We were short-staffed. All hands were on deck in the emergency room when it got packed with sick and injured patients.
Apparently, the hospital conditions hadn’t changed in years. People didn’t care about working in a rural community and most of the positions were twelve-hour shifts. The pay sucked, too.
I was the idiot who’d taken a hefty pay cut. They must have felt like they hit the lottery when I accepted the offer and had more experience than many of the other nurses.
Grumbling curse words, I thought about how my life had drastically changed. At thirty years old, I should have been living my best life. Dating. Clubbing. Traveling the world.
Brock’s face flashed behind my eyes. I’d foolishly thought he was my forever, but after Kevin moved in with us, our relationship took a nosedive.
At first, Brock tried to be supportive and understanding. Then his work picked up and he started coming home later and later. Not that I had noticed much, too busy trying to focus on my brother and my own grieving.
I’d like to say we tried to make things work but not really. We just sort of fell apart while I wasn’t paying attention. I guess we weren’t as solid and in love as I’d believed.
Brock moving out had been another reason I’d agreed to move back to San Diablo. I didn’t want to run into him at any of our favorite places with other women. He’d quickly moved on and I didn’t want to be in San Francisco to see it. We ran in the same circle. Knew the same people. No thank you.
Two and a half years of my life were gone. All that time wasted with that jerk.
Why was I thinking about Brock now? It wasn’t like I missed him or was lonely.
Well, I missed dick, no question. An orgasm would help me relax. That had to be it. I missed sex, not Brock.
Our first year was good, but looking back it was far from amazing. The second year, my parents had died and Kevin moved in with us. That year had been a fever dream. I couldn’t really remember much about it. The final six months were brutal and fresh in my mind.
Yeah, I was glad I had moved away. Just wished it had been to somewhere a little more…
I scrunched my nose and sniffed. My apartment still had a funky smell. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get the stink out. It had to be the old carpet. I didn’t want to imagine something stuck in the walls slowly decomposing.
God, I didn’t like living here.
But it was all I could afford so Kevin and I could have our own bedrooms. The financial weight of paying for everything on my own was getting to be too much.
My parents didn’t have life insurance. Their funerals drained my savings.
I had no cushion and picking up extra shifts wasn’t in the best interest of my brother.
Eventually, I’d have to make him get a job to contribute. Maybe after school started. Of course, he didn’t care if our place was a dump. All he’d ever wanted was to be in San Diablo and to have our parents back.
I wanted the latter more than anything, too.
My phone buzzed in my hand and relief washed over me, then it disappeared. It wasn’t my brother calling…
“Hello?” I answered with hesitation in my voice. Please, please, please don’t be the authorities calling to tell me that something happened to my little brother. Sure, they usually turned up at your door, but in the case of my parents’ fatal car accident, I’d received a call.
“Kelly, it’s Hector.”
“Oh. Hey.” I exhaled, not realizing I’d been holding my breath. Hector. I knew him but how did he get my number?
The guy was an EMT. Nice guy. A little flirty. Very chatty.
Even though Hector was charming and attractive, and most women would jump at the chance to be with him, he was a little too normal for my taste. In any case, I wasn’t interested in dating anyone. My life was a mess. I had no time to nurture a new relationship.
“Don’t sound so weirded out. We’ve been talking for weeks.”
“Yes, and I’ve never given my number to you. How did you get it?” I sat at the table and took out a burger. I was starving and wouldn’t wait for my brother to get home so we could eat together like we used to with our parents.
“Dana gave it to me when I called the hospital looking for you.”
Great. Thanks, Dana.
“Listen, Hector. You’re a nice guy but—”
“Let me stop you there. This isn’t a social call.”
“It’s not?” I twisted my lips. Had I gotten it wrong? I thought Hector was for sure interested in me. “Then why are you calling me?”
“I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“Friends of mine need a nurse to care for a woman who’s been drugged. Just until she wakes up. They’ll be very generous. Figured you could use the extra money.” He sounded genuine, which was typical Hector. Helpful. Kind. Respectful. His momma had raised him well.
“I appreciate you thinking of me. But I just got home and I’m exhausted after working all day. And my brother isn’t home. The little brat is testing my patience.” As the words left my lips, the front door opened and Kevin entered with a blank stare on his face, and his arm in a sling.
“Before you overreact, I’m fine.” Kevin shut the door, eyeing me.
“Hector, I need to go.” I ended the call and jumped off my chair. “What happened?”
“Relax, Kel. Conrad and I were in a little scuffle. But we’re fine. I mean, at least my face is still perfect, right?” He snorted and took his food out of the bag with his good hand. “I hope you brought me two double cheeseburgers this time.”
I was speechless. Not really. This was so typical for Kevin. “How can you act like this isn’t a big deal? This wouldn’t have happened in San Fran.”