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already?
     

 
     
    Chapter Nine
     
     
    Jay
     
    She looked ridiculous, and way prettier than anyone in rolled up sweatpants and a sweatshirt about ten sizes too big had any right to look. Dammit . He snatched up one of the two thin, scratchy blankets he had accumulated over time to avoid looking at her, and thrust it in her direction without lifting his eyes.
    “You can use this for tonight, but tomorrow you’re on your own.” He warred with himself over his words.
    Part of him knew that it was beyond stupid of him to bring her here. To let her stay. He was only making things easier for her, and if he kept it up, she may not realize how bad things could get until it was too late. But, another part of him—a part he sort of wished he could beat to death with its own empty skull cavity—couldn’t let her go. Couldn’t stand the idea of her being out there on her own, even for one night. After all, look what had happened the one night she’d tried it.
    The fear in Em’s eyes told him she was thinking the same thing. “Please let me stay. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t make me go.”
    “ That !” Jay’s voice was scalding. “That right there proves you can’t handle this. You never, ever promise someone ‘whatever they want’. You have no idea what some people want .”
    Em flinched and he had to bite his lip to keep from taking it all back. He hadn’t lied. That was the hard truth out here and it was better she learned it now, from him, than the hard way later on from someone else.
    “You’re right.” Her gaze dropped to her hands which were knotted so tightly together it looked almost painful. “That was a stupid thing to say.” When her eyes came back to his they were red rimmed, but she held her tears in check. “Please . . . can I just stay? For a little while? I won’t get in your way. I won’t be any trouble, I promise.” Somehow he doubted that. But those eyes. It was like they could see straight through him and she was pleading right with his heart. “I’ll help out. I may not know much right now, but I’ll find a way to pay you back, I swear. I could—”
    “Oh no.” He stopped her before she could really get started. “If I do agree to this—if I let you stay here—then we do things my way. Understood?” Stupid. Stupid. Stupid . This wasn’t some freaking daycare for the new kids on the block.
    “O-kay.” She drew out the word, eyeing him nervously, obviously concerned with what exactly ‘his way’ meant. Good, she was learning.
    “If you stay here, you S tay. Here. I don’t want you running around the city stirring up more trouble. I’ll get what you need and bring it back for you, but I don’t want you to even think about setting foot outside this place until you have a better idea of what exactly it is you’ll be stepping into. Got it?”
    This was a bad idea. A horrific idea. And how exactly he planned on pulling it off, he had no idea. Em stared at him like she half expected him to take it all back. When he didn’t, she nodded so furiously that he worried her head might roll off her shoulders.
    “Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Jay.”
    “Don’t thank me, yet. This is going to be a disaster.” He didn’t say the last part loud enough for her to hear. That was for him to worry about now.
     

 
     
    Chapter Ten
     
     
    Em
     
    Em stood at the window, quietly watching the concrete dry out on the street. That’s how exciting her life had become. Somehow she hadn’t imagined life on the streets to be quite so . . . boring. Not that she was complaining. She would take all the boring she could get after last night. She’d had enough adventure to last her a lifetime.
    The late afternoon sun streamed in through the boards on the window, making the small room comfortably warm. Em had no idea what time it was, but over the past few hours, she’d been watching it slowly sink towards the horizon. There wasn’t much else to do. She’d already explored the