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CHAPTERONE
JASMINE
“I’ll see you tomorrow!”I call to my coworkers as I run out of the classroom. A couple of the toddlers try to follow me out, but I quickly close the baby gate before they can escape.
“See ya, Jasmine!” a few of them call after me.
I chew on my bottom lip; I’m still getting used to people calling me that, even though it’s the name I’ve been using for the past year.
It feels so good to finally be off work. I fix my backpack on my shoulders, clock out, and practically sprint out the door before anyone has a chance to ask me to do anything for them before I leave.
I take a deep breath.
Finally.
Just one more sleep until Friday, and then I’ll have the next five days off from both of my jobs. But right now, all I want to do is go home, take a hot shower, and get into bed with some snacks and Netflix.
I hop in my car, a beaten up red 2007 Ford Focus, and peel the hell out of the parking lot so fast gravel flies in my wake.
My stomach grumbles; I haven’t eaten anything since noon and it’s now past three-thirty. Luckily, my other job at the bookstore doesn’t need me tonight—it was either work for two hours or take the night off, and obviously, the latter won—so I don’t have to rush to grab something to eat.
“Fucking Ezra,” I mutter as I make my way to the grocery store up the street from work. If it wasn’t for my ex-boyfriend, I wouldn’t need a second job. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have to live in hiding, constantly looking over my shoulder for someone to take me back to him.
And, if that wasn’t enough, I also have to hope the loan shark I borrowed money from doesn’t find me, either. He comes from the same criminal underworld as Ezra, and he’s the last person I want to see again.
So, I’ll continue working myself to death to pay him back every cent I owe him, but in the meantime, I don’t want him knowing where I am.
I want to go back home to San Diego, too, to make things right with my parents and reconcile with them. I haven’t spoken to them since I started dating Ezra, and the absence of them in my life is starting to bother me.
Not that they were really that present to begin with, but still…
For some reason, I miss them. I’ve wanted to strengthen our relationship for years, and maybe now when they see I’ve finally left Ezra, they’ll realize I’m not throwing my whole life away.
I pull into the parking lot of the grocery store and hop out. As soon as I’m inside, I go straight to the chip aisle. Doritos are my favorite, but I’m kind of feeling like kettle chips, so I grab a bag of my favorite salt and vinegar kind. I continue around the store, picking out random pieces of junk food, but also something to make a few meals to last until payday.
Once I’m done shopping, my handheld basket filled with food, I go to the register to pay.
As I leave the store, I reach down to grab my keys off my belt loop, but my hand just skims the fabric of my jeans. I curse, looking down as I try to find them.
“Where the fuck…” I’m so in my own thoughts that I don’t see the huge wall of a man until I slam into him, causing me to gasp from the force of us colliding. The scents of cigarette smoke and whiskey fill my nostrils.
Damn, he’s built.
I don’t look at him, but as I’m pushing my hair out of my face, I get a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. He’s at least six feet or taller, and he’s dressed in black from head to toe.
“Sorry,” I murmur, rushing past him before he has a chance to say anything. I know I’ve just pissed him off, and I’m really not in the mood to be screamed at by some mammoth of a man in the middle of the grocery store parking lot, so I rush to my car. I finally find my keys dangling from a different belt loop and quickly unlatch the carabiner.
An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach, making me turn around. He’s still standing at the entrance of the store, staring right at me.
He’s East Asian, and his shiny black hair is pulled up into a sleek bun. His features are brutally beautiful, and I would be enthralled if he wasn’t looking at me the way he is. Like he’s the predator who’s finally caught his prey after lying in wait.
The corner of his mouth curves in amusement, sending shivers down my spine. I look away, put my groceries in the backseat, and jump into the car and drive away.
I can still feel his eyes on me as I pull onto the main road and gun it home.
* * *
“Shit.”I’m fumbling for my keys again. Instead of making two trips to get all of my stuff out of the car, I decided to grab everything in one go. I’ve got three full grocery bags on one arm, my backpack on my back, and two small binders full of projects and crafts wedged between my chin and forearm. My knee is resting against the doorjamb as I try to get the key into the lock. I kick at the door in frustration, hoping my roommate, Sarah, will hurry the hell up and answer.
