by Cat Johnson
Sighing, she opened the car door and tossed her bag inside before sliding behind the steering wheel. Soon she’d be home. She’d kiss her baby, have a hot shower and a warm meal and feel a hundred percent better.
Turning the key in the ignition, she waited for the car to start but nothing happened.
Nothing at all.
No sputtering. No whining. No sounds of an engine trying to come to life.
Panic gripped her anew. What could be wrong?
How should she know? Cars were not her area of expertise. She’d been in school for biology. Pre-med to be exact. If she ever got the mess her life had become cleaned up, she wanted to be a doctor.
Even one year short of earning her undergraduate degree, healing a human body seemed far easier than fixing a combustion engine.
She could reason this out. She was a smart woman. She took the key out and checked the gear shift. It was in Park so that wasn’t it.
Pressing the brake pedal, she slid the key back in and turned.
Again, she wasn’t rewarded with the sound she desperately wanted to hear.
A knock on the window right next to her head had her jumping in the seat. She peered out and saw nothing but the broad torso of a man blocking her view of all else out the side window, until he bent low and made a motion for her to roll down the glass.
Afraid to open the window to the bearded stranger, she yelled, “The car won’t start.”
He nodded. “I know. If you let me take a look at the engine, maybe I can figure out why. Pop the hood.”
The whole situation had the feeling of enormity. As if the decision she made next could mean her own life or death.
The front door of the club swung wide and a single man stepped out. She saw the flash of a lighter as he leaned against the building and took a drag from the cigarette.
She was being foolish. This man obviously wasn’t trying to kill or kidnap her from the front of a busy club. He’d wanted her to roll down the window so they could talk about her car without yelling and he needed her to unlatch the hood so he could look for a problem.
All reasonable requests, and she’d met them with suspicion. But she was a woman alone and he was a man—a large man by the looks of him—so he’d just have to get over her suspicion.
She reached down and struggled to find the release for the hood beneath the dash. She finally had to give in and admit she couldn’t find it in the dark. All the while, he stood by, arms crossed, waiting.
He didn’t move except to step back when she unlocked the door so she could open it. Once she did, the dome light flashed on.
She didn’t have time to look for the latch before he’d already taken a step forward. He swung the door wider, reached down and pulled on the lever. The hood released with a loud pop.
“Don’t try to start it until I say. Okay?” He waited for her answer, probably starting to doubt her mental capacity since she was acting like an idiot.
“Okay.”
Once he seemed convinced he could trust her to follow instructions, he stepped around to the front of the car and she lost sight of him as he raised the hood.
Now that the fear of bodily harm was passing, the more real concern of what she’d do if her car was broken took over. She didn’t have any money saved for emergencies. Certainly not enough for a big repair bill from a service station.
“Okay, give it a go.”
Wanting to do the right thing, she decided it was best to confirm first. “You mean try to start it?”
He walked into view. “Yeah. Turn the key, but don’t pump the gas. You’ll flood it.”
She did as he’d asked and the car rumbled to life. Her eyes drifted closed as she said a silent prayer of thanks and let herself breathe again.
He slammed the hood and walked back to her. “It was a loose wire. It should be good now.”
“Thank you so much. I mean it. You really saved me.” She couldn’t help but eye the size of the man’s forearm as he leaned on the top of her open door.
He smiled from beneath a thick beard that made him look even more manly than his muscles did. “My pleasure. Always happy to help a lady in need.”
Isabel hadn’t felt like a lady in a long time, but she nodded anyway. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” His gaze held hers before he extended his arm. “I’m Rocky, by the way.”
She hesitated before shaking his hand, reluctant to give him her real name but feeling too guilty to lie since he had fixed her car.
Finally, she fought back the irrational fear and said, “Isabel.”
“Isabel. Pretty name. You work here?”
His question gave her pause. It was ridiculous since she was in the parking lot of the strip club and it was pretty obvious she did work here, but for some reason she hadn’t wanted him to know that. “Yes. But I’m done for today.”
“Maybe I’ll see you around sometime. Have a good night.” He tipped his dark head.
“Goodnight.”
Taking a step back, he slammed her door and turned away.
She watched as he walked to a truck, reached into his pocket and pulled out keys and a cell phone. He opened the door and leaned inside the cab to fiddle with something. He emerged shortly, slammed the door and clicked the locks closed.
Heading back toward the entrance to the building, he glanced up at her car. She felt his eyes on her through the windshield.
Not only had she been caught watching this guy when she had no reason to, but now he was probably wondering if she had some other problem with the car.
Isabel hurried to shift into Reverse and backed out of the space.
Glancing up as she shifted into Drive, she saw he’d gone back inside.
Maybe there were genuinely nice guys to be found, even at a strip club. Or maybe her instincts were still as bad as they’d been when she’d trusted Tito.
It didn’t really matter either way. She had to go. As it was she was going to be late getting home to relieve Hannah.
Keeping herself and her daughter safe was Isabel’s only concern at the moment. Handsome strangers were not in her plans for the future.
CHAPTER 3
Isabel woke and stretched, feeling lazy. She had the day off. At least off from working at the club. She still had a mountain of laundry to do, groceries to buy, and a week’s worth of meals to prepare.
She’d already learned that eating take-out drained her bank account faster than cooking herself. But if she planned wisely, she could cook enough on her day off to freeze meals to eat for the rest of the week.
A soft cry from the crib in the corner caught her attention. Lola was awake. That had probably been what knocked Isabel out of her peaceful and much needed slumber to begin with.
She added change, feed and bathe her daughter to the list of chores for the day and resigned herself that it was time to get out of bed.
Swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress, she stood and felt the tingling in her feet. A long shift in stripper heels took more than one night’s sleep to recover from.
That was why she earned the big bucks, she supposed. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
Yeah, right. Spinning on a pole in a G-string while men ogled was a real dream job.
With a sarcastic snort, she moved to the crib and smiled at her daughter.
“Good morning, nena.” Isabel had vowed to herself that her daughter would grow to speak and understand both Spanish and English equally well, just as her abuela had done with her in Cuba.
Thoughts of home and memories of her late grandmother had Isabel feeling nostalgic. Maybe she’d cook her abuela’s frijoles negros today.
Making the Cuban black beans was time consuming—she’d have to let the beans soak all day—but luckily she had all day and the effort would be well worth it.
One day Isabel would teach her daughter to make the dish . . . when her life was normal again. As she lifted Lola from the crib she had to believe that day
would come.
When Lola was clean and dressed but Isabel was still in her own pajamas, a knock on the apartment door sent her running to see who it was.
A quick glance through the peephole revealed her babysitter Hannah. Isabel unlocked and opened the door.
“Hey. I didn’t forget to pay you last night, did I?” She had been pretty tired, not to mention shaken from the car trouble. It wouldn’t surprise her if she had forgotten to pay the babysitter.
“Nope, you paid me but I forgot something. When I remembered this morning, my mom said I had to come right over and tell you.”
“Oh, okay. Come on in.” Isabel backed up and let the girl into the apartment. “What did you forget?”
“Some guy stopped by looking for you.”
“What guy?” She’d paid the rent already this month so it shouldn’t be the landlord. A feeling of dread filled Isabel. “What did he look like? Can you describe him?”
Hannah’s brow wrinkled. “Um, dark hair. He had an accent, kind of like yours actually. His name was something like Rocco maybe?”
With every addition to Hannah’s description, Isabel’s heart beat faster. She swallowed hard and said, “Tito?”
Hannah’s eyes widened with triumph. “Yeah, that was it. He said to tell you he stopped by and that he’d be back.”
“Did he say when he’d be back?” It was amazing she could even ask the question as her stomach rolled.
She’d rather throw up than draw more details out of this girl who’d unwittingly dropped the worst news Isabel could have possibly received.
“I think he just said soon.”
Isabel glanced toward the bedroom where Lola was playing in her crib with some toys. “Hannah, I need you to think and try and remember. Where exactly was Lola when he was here?”
“In the bedroom.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” Hannah nodded. “I remember because it was after she had her dinner bottle so she was already sleeping and I was watching TV.”
Trying not to hyperventilate, Isabel glanced around the living room. Had Lola’s baby bottle been out in the living room where Tito could have seen it? Would he have noticed if it had been?
“Did he come in?” She tried to keep the panic out of her voice.
“No. I left the chain on the door like my mother taught me to do when a stranger knocks.”
“That’s smart. Thank you.” As she feigned calm her mind spun. She had to get out of there and fast before he came back.
More, she had to hide Lola and all evidence of her existence. Isabel had worked too hard to keep the baby a secret from her ex. She’d sacrificed too much to have it all be for nothing now.
“Thank you for telling me, Hannah. I’ve, uh, got some things I need to do. Tell your mother thank you too, for sending you over.”
“Sure. You need me to sit again later when you do your errands or whatever?”
“Um, no. I’m good. I’ll bring Lola with me.” There were a thousand things to do and Isabel had no idea how much time she had to do them before Tito came back. She needed to move and now.
Opening the door while holding her breath, Isabel glanced into the hallway, only breathing again when she saw it was empty.
“See you later, Hannah.”
“Sure. See ya.” The young girl went on her way with no clue she’d been in contact with the one man who could make Isabel’s whole world a living nightmare. He already had, but it could get a lot worse.
After locking and chaining the door, she ran to the bedroom and grabbed the diaper bag. It was big, but not nearly large enough for everything Lola would need for the long term. Even so, Isabel shoved a box of wipes and as many clean diapers as would fit.
In the outside pocket, she wedged in the few clean shirts still in the drawer.
Feeling bad for wrenching Lola from everything familiar to her, she squeezed in her daughter’s favorite stuffed animal.
Glancing down, she realized she couldn’t drive in what she was wearing. She swapped her pajama pants for jeans and left on the shirt she’d worn to sleep.
She should put on a bra before she left but there wasn’t time. Every moment felt like a bomb ticking down toward detonation. She tossed a bra in her purse to put on later and then ran to grab both the diaper bag and the baby.
What was she going to do?
Get out of the apartment was number one. Tito had discovered where she lived, somehow.
Virginia should have been far enough from Miami. It obviously wasn’t.
He would always find her. She knew that with certainty.
It was risky since he wasn’t a man who let what he considered his property go easily, but she would have to face him. Tell him to leave her alone, but she had to do that alone. If he knew of Lola’s existence Isabel would never be free.
That meant she had to hide Lola someplace safe until she could deal with Tito. How she’d do that she had no idea but she’d have to figure it out.
She’d also have to make sure he was back in Miami and done with stalking her before it would be safe to bring Lola back here, or to whatever new place she moved to in hopes he wouldn’t find that one.
Dammit, she’d liked this place too. The neighbors were kind and the babysitting was a huge plus. It allowed her to work.
There was no time to think of all that now. She had to find a place to hide Lola.
Some of the girls at the club had kids. Jasmine for one. She’d have to beg to get one of them to take Lola for a little while. Isabel was the new girl at the club, but she had no other options.
With that flimsy plan in mind, she reached for the doorknob and remembered what she’d forgotten.
Food.
The breast pump was already in her tote bag since she carried it with her so she could pump at work during a long shift. But she should grab the bottles she’d already pumped and stored in the fridge for Hannah to give Lola while she was working.
But the breast milk needed to be kept chilled and she didn’t have a cooler.
With the feeling of time being against her, Isabel ran to the kitchen.
Weighed down by the baby on one hip and the diaper bag and her purse hooked tenuously on the opposite shoulder, she reached into a cabinet and grabbed for the balled up plastic grocery bags stowed there.
Ice cubes tossed inside the bag with the bottles would have to be good enough for now. She double bagged her makeshift cooler and then tied off the top.
With her hands full, she somehow managed to get the door open.
Again her heart raced as she peeked into the hallway. If she had less of a burden to carry, she’d consider going out the window and using the fire escape just to avoid running into Tito. In fact, as panic gripped her she did consider it.
No. Too risky. She was carrying too much to climb safely and making two trips would only slow her down.
She pulled the door closed behind her. The car keys were in her purse. If she could get out of her building and to where she’d parked last night without him showing up, they’d be free.
Then she could drive directly to the club. It would be open by now. Who was working? She couldn’t remember. She’d have to park around the back to hide the car and sneak in with the baby in case Tito had discovered where she’d worked as well as where she lived.
She danced under the name Roxy, not her real name, so maybe her place of work was still a secret. Chances were good if he knew about her job at the club he’d have shown up there when he didn’t find her home and as far as she knew he hadn’t been there.
If he had been, Isabel had no doubt he would have dragged her off the stage mid-dance and she’d have the resulting bruises today.
He definitely would have knocked her around for running out on him and for stripping. He was a man who used his fists to solve his problems.
That thought had her feeling sick to her stomach.
Mingled plans and fears swirled through her mind as she ran down the hall as quickly as sh
e could without dropping anything or making Lola cry.
The staircase frightened her the most. Being caught halfway down within its narrow walls would be like a trap.
If he was coming up while she was going down there’d be nowhere to hide. No escaping him.
Tito would be able to move far more quickly than she could while carrying a baby.
She made it down the stairs but she was desperate and near hyperventilating when she reached the bottom. There she slowed, pushing the door to the street open just a bit so she could see before being seen.
When she was as confident as she was going to get that the coast was clear, she exited the building.
Making a beeline for the car, she walked fast, but forced herself to not break into a run. That would only raise suspicion. She couldn’t look as if she was fleeing, even if that was exactly what she was doing.
Hands shaking, she opened the rear passenger side door. She tossed the bags onto the floor and strapped the baby into the car seat in the back, realizing if Tito got a look inside her car he’d see the telltale car seat and know what she had been hiding from him for the better part of the past year. A pregnancy. A baby.
She’d need to remove all evidence.
It would be okay. She’d take the seat out of the car when she got to the club. Whoever watched Lola for her would need the seat anyway.
Confident with that plan she slipped behind the wheel, checking the rearview mirror as she slid the key inside.
Memories of last night’s car trouble hit her and she went cold with fear. Holding her breath, she turned the key in the ignition.
This time, it started right up.
Thank God for her unlikely guardian angel—Rocky, the bearded man from the bar. Whatever he’d done under the hood last night still held. She’d have to thank him one more time if she ever saw him again.
If she made it out of this thing alive.
Feeling sick to her stomach, and not because she’d never gotten to eat this morning, she pulled the car out of the space. She wouldn’t feel better until this block was far behind her.
The club wasn’t far, but it felt like an eternity to get there.
Lola, of course, fell asleep. Not a surprise. She had a full belly and a ride in the car always put her out like a light.
