e curtains, hitting Alayna directly in the

her eyelids. She remembered the blinding panic, falling to the floor, and

at the side of the bed. The rug was flattened, bearing

. The smell of freshly ground coffee and sizzling ba

in the kit

grey t-shirt that clung to the thick muscles of his shoulder

of perfectly cooked eggs. His dark ey

Three angry, red scratch marks tor

s. She stepped forward, her voice trembling as she apo

at his hand. He told her his old foreman on the construction site h

t pounding rattled the front door. Som

hurried to the do

sunglasses and a sharp blazer. She grabbed Alayna by the shoulders, her perfect

nd's mouth and dragged her inside, closi

rp eyes scanned the house and instantly locked onto

tually went through with it? That's the 'Cruz Clayton' from the contract? You moved a complete stranger from a construction site into your mother's house?" she hissed, her eyes darting toward the kitchen. Alayna quickly remin

s, looking Cruz up and down with intense, guarded scrutiny rather than blatant disgust. She demanded to know who the hell he was an

ing. He didn't flinch. Instead, a cold, oppressive weight settled over the room. He looked

that his yearly income wouldn't cover the cost of her

took a half step back, visibly shaken by the sheer d

ng a calming hand on Kourtney's arm

ointed a threatening finger at Cruz. She warned him that if he stole a single

ed upward. He nodded slowly, look

, and dug into her purse. She shoved a heavy black titanium credit card in

ing to Cruz for her friend's behavior. Cruz took a bite of

he delivery fee for a box of household supplies

ng banner flashed

OZEN. BALA

g her savings, her credit cards, her emerg

had preemptively frozen her personal checking accounts and corporate draws before she could even s

looked over her shoulder, read

. A lethal, murderous rage spiked

ollar bill, and handed it to her over her shoulder. He tol