“It’s that one.” Pointing to the Victorian house with the gingerbread trim, my stomach lurched. “Jesus, it’s worse than I remember.”

“It’s not so bad,” Andrew said skeptically.

“What are you talking about? A gust of wind would knock it down.”

Three men sat on the sagging porch, smoking a cigarette. Their beady eyes trained on Andrew’s beamer. Rap music blasted from a stereo next to them and an urge to clutch my pearls overcame me—even though I didn’t own pearls, never had. Six years away and the street kid inside me had been obliterated. No time like the present to reclaim it.

“Stay in the car.” Unbuckling my seat, I tried to keep the quiver out of my voice. “I’ll be right back.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m not letting you go inside there alone.” His cheeks reddened with anger as he drew an imaginary line in the air. “You see this? This is the rational side and right now you’re on the insane side. Let’s jump back over.”

Although Andrew didn’t appear as if he had money, due to the fact he dressed like a skater boy, his mannerisms and the way he talked were a dead giveaway. Big Ted would certainly want additional income as soon as Andrew opened his mouth. Drug dealers saw people as two things: banks and clients. Andrew was a bank and he was already risking his career by loaning me the seven hundred dollars.

I laid my hand on his arm. “I appreciate your concern but this is between me and Big Ted. You have done enough. Please, let me know handle this on my own.” Andrew scowled and my gaze softened. “I have survived twenty-three years without you.”

“I know you have but I don’t like the idea of you going in there unprotected.”

“I have my cellphone on me. If anything bad happens, I’ll text you 911 and you can bust in there, guns blazing like Rambo.”

Trying not to smile, his upper lip twitched. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. A telltale sign I had won this round.

Kissing Andrew on the cheek, I opened the car door. “Remember Rambo.”

“I would channel Rambo and a million other action heroes to save you,” he said sincerely.

My heart grew five times over. “I know you would.”

The car door slammed shut and I faced the house that stored my demons. The men on the porch curled their lips as my shoes smacked against the cement pathway. They clicked off the stereo. Tension coated the silence. I squared my shoulders while my hand reached into my pocket. The canister of mace rested comfortably in my palm.

The man closest to the railing stood. Burn marks mottled his cheek. “Where do you think you’re going, girly?”

“I’m here to see Big Ted.”

The other two cackled. I looked at all three of them like the scum they were. “It’s not a joke. He is excepting me and if you would step aside, I can go along with my business.”

The man with the burn marks stepped closer. His sour breath reeked of sauerkraut and cigarettes. I resisted the urge to puke on his grime-covered sneakers. “What business do you have with him?”

My eyes met the man’s in an unspoken challenge of who would back down first. It sure as hell wouldn’t be me. Rolling over meant getting kicked until your ribs broke.

“Hey! She’s with me,” Big Ted barked.

The air of hostility shattered. The man’s head swiveled over his shoulder and when he saw Big Ted standing in the doorway, he shrunk three sizes. He hunched his body in on itself.

A self-satisfied smirk spread across Big Ted’s face like he was pleased at the amount of power he still held. His gaze focused on mine. “You’re here.”

“I am. Where else would I be? Your threatened the lives of everybody I love if I didn’t get you this money.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t think you loved anybody.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he looked at the street. “Guess I was wrong.”

I followed his gaze. Andrew was halfway out the car with a strained expression. I knew he wanted to act on his alpha tendencies and come to my rescue. He had no idea how much it meant that he respected my wishes to stay put. Andrew’s dark eyes wordlessly asked if I was ok. Nodding, his features didn’t appear any less strained.

Do I love Andrew? It was too early to tell but I did care about him a whole heck of a lot more than I was comfortable with.

Big Ted cleared his throat. “Do you have the money?”

“Yes.” Reaching into my pocket, I unearthed the check Andrew had given me. Before I handed it to Big Ted, there was something I had to be clear of. “As soon as I give you this, you and me are done. You stay out of my life, my sister’s life, and everybody else’s. You are dead to me. Understood?”

His eyes black as coals sparked with anger. “You really think you can tell what I can do or not do? Don’t you see how my own men cower with fear when I’m around?”

“I’m not one of your men and I’m sure as hell not scared of you. Why should I be? You have already taken a sledgehammer to my life and destroyed everything close to me.”

Taking a menacing step forward, I held my ground as a sadistic smile spread across his face. “I can make you watch the blood leave your boyfriend’s body.”

Fear catapulted straight to my heart but my face remained emotionless. “That’s not who you are, Ted. You don’t kill people; you have your minions doing your bidding. A real man would hold the gun in his hand and be responsible for the bullet that tears into a man’s body.”

“You are toeing the line, girly,” Ted growled.

I stood toe to toe with him, my chin jutted upwards, and we locked eyes. A bravery that didn’t dive below the surface seeped into my words. “Then prove it. I’m sure you have a gun somewhere on you. Aim it at my head and kill me.”

Big Ted’s jaw ticked while his hand moved behind him. My breathing became shallow and my pulse kicked up three notches. I wanted to swallow my dare but it was too late for that. Waiting for the cold nozzle against my temple, time slowed.

Abdication entered Big Ted’s gaze. “You are fucking crazy.”

“I learned from the best—my mother.” Wasting no time, I brushed past him and smacked the envelope against his chest. “Where’s Sumiko?”

“Living room.”

People lay passed out on the overstuffed couches, their heads lulled to the side. Discarded needles and bags of drugs haphazardly littered the floor. Sumiko stared blankly up the ceiling, motionless. I chose my footsteps carefully as I walked to where she lay.

“Sumiko?” I whispered furiously.

Her unfocused gaze roamed the room until it settled on me. Saliva pooled in the corner of her lips. Bending down at the knee, I took her limp wrist into my hands. Her pulse was weak and threaded. Jesus.

Lifting Sumiko to her feet by her armpits, I snaked my arm around her waist. “How much did you shoot up?”

As if she couldn’t support her head, her chin tucked to her chest. Based on my years with my mother, Sumiko was borderline overdose. Andrew and I needed to get her to a hospital pronto. Dragging her through the house like a rag doll and onto the porch, I signaled for help. Andrew bounded up to us, swept Sumiko into his arms and laid her on the backseat of the car.

“How far is the hospital?” I asked him.

“About fifteen minutes.”

“Ok, let’s go.”

As the car peeled out into the street, I glanced back at Sumiko. Despite the mistakes and choices she had made, at the core she was a good person. As a little girl, she was a ray of sunshine but her father had stolen her spirit. I should have protected her. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I climbed into the backseat and put her head in my lap. As my hands stroked her hair, I softly sung our favorite song, “You Are My Sunshine,” underneath my breath.

The hospital smelled like cleaning fluid and the air felt like a walk-in freezer. Why hospitals always blasted the air conditioning on high 24/7 was a mystery. I had half a mind to complain to the nurses, however, I didn’t want to be that person.