Chapter 6 A Nobody

I woke up to the sound of screaming.

"You're absolutely useless! A flat-out parasite! You can't even pay your damn rent, so why should I keep you under my roof?"

I was disoriented.

My head felt like it had been cracked open, and my vision was blurry.

As I blinked my eyes open, the first thing I saw wasn't a ceiling, but the gray, overcast sky.

I wasn't in a bed. I was lying on the cold, cracked pavement of the alleyway outside my apartment building.

My heart skipped a beat as I looked around. My things-my cheap belongings-were scattered everywhere.

People were standing around, stopping on their way to work or market.

They weren't helping. They were laughing. They were pointing at me like I was a piece of street theater.

"W-What are you doing?!" I shrieked. I scrambled to my feet, but my knees were weak, and I nearly fell back down.

"Stop it! What is going on?"

I didn't remember how I got here. How did I end up back at the apartment?

My landlord, Marta, stood at the top of the stairs, her face purple with rage.

She held my last remaining bag and threw it with all her might. It hit the ground near my feet, the contents spilling out into the mud.

"What am I doing? I'm throwing out the trash!" she yelled, pointing a finger at me.

"Get out of here! Don't you ever show your face in this building again. You haven't paid a cent in two months. I let you stay here out of pity, but I'm done. Enough is enough!"

"P-Please!" I begged, "You can't do this! I have nowhere to go. I don't have any money!"

"I don't give a damn!" she shouted back, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, her eyes flashing with anger. "I've had enough of this nonsense!"

"Please... you have to listen. I'm pregnant!"

"That's your problem to figure out. Go sleep on the sidewalk for all I care. Maybe one of your 'customers' will give you a box to live in!"

She turned her back on me and slammed the door. I stood there, frozen.

My heart was breaking, but I forced myself to stood up straight.

I remembered the man from last night-the one who carried me.

Who was he?

Did he bring me here?

Or did he just drop me off like a package he didn't want to deal with?

My memory was a dark, foggy hole, and the disorientation made me feel like I was drowning.

I managed to shove most of my things into the suitcase. I stood up, dragging the heavy, broken bag behind me. I didn't know where I was going.

I had no friends, no family...nothing.

But as I reached the end of the alley, a black car with tinted windows pulled up sharply, screeching to a halt right in front of me.

I tried to ignore the car.

I was too tired, too broken, and too filthy to care about another luxury vehicle parked in a place it didn't belong.

I tightened my grip on the handle of my broken suitcase and tried to limp past, but the rear door swung open with a smooth, expensive click, blocking my path.

A man stepped out, and for a terrifying heartbeat, my breath hitched in my throat.

He was tall, built with the same broad shoulders and commanding presence that David had.

From a distance, in the glare of the morning sun, I almost called out his name.

But then the stranger reached up and slid his dark sunglasses off, and the illusion shattered.

He was handsome-dangerously so-but in a way that was sharper, more predatory than David.

His eyes were a piercing, cold gray, and they scanned me from my tangled hair down to my scraped, muddy knees.

"Can you fucking excuse me?" I snapped, "You're in the way."

I tried to side-step him, dragging my heavy bag through the dirt, but he let out a low, sexy chuckle that grated on my nerves.

"I believe you owe me a thank you, Sandra," he said.

I stopped in my tracks.

"W-What? How did you know my name?"

"I saved you last night," he said, tilting his head.

"You were face-down in the gutter outside a mansion that didn't want you. If I hadn't picked you up, someone would have finished what he started."

The memories of the night came rushing back.

I looked down.

"How do you know about David?"

He leaned against the frame of the car, crossing his arms.

"After finding out you were the 'mistress'..."

He used his fingers to make air quotes around the word.

"...and hearing all about how you were 'seducing' poor, innocent David, I figured you were someone worth knowing. Especially since he wants to dispose of you so badly to keep his perfect little life from falling apart."

He was probably at the party, that's why he knew.

"You brought me back here."

"Yes," he said with a smirk.

"I didn't know which room was yours, so I left you near the entrance. I was supposed to take you to my home, but then again, I knew that would look weird. It seems things turned into a bit of a ruckus this morning, though. Seeing your life thrown out onto the pavement... it's a bit pathetic, don't you think? I believe you actually need some help."

The pity in his voice sparked a flare of my old pride.

"I don't need help from someone like you. I'll be better off alone," I spat.

"So back off. I don't know how you found out where I live, but I don't care. I'm done with him. I'm done with all of it."

I turned my back on him, determined to walk away even if it meant sleeping under a bridge. But before I could take two steps, his hand shot out and gripped my wrist.

The contact sent a jolt of electricity through my body.

It wasn't the creepy, skin-crawling feeling I got from the men at the club.

It was something else-a sudden, paralyzing chill that made every hair on my arms stand up.

I was unable to pull away, trapped by the intensity of his grip.

"I am the only one who can help you now, Sandra, and bring about my brother's downfall," his voice dropping to a serious, dark tone.

His brother?

I froze, heart skipping a beat. I hadn't known he had a brother.

I slowly turned to face him, my heart hammering.

"How? Why do you care about David's problems?"

His eyes darkened, a shadow of something unreadable flickering across his face.

Everything suddenly made a little more sense, and yet, a thousand questions raced through my mind, leaving me both stunned and uneasy.

"Or, more accurately, my half-brother. And we are not on good terms. He has something that rightfully belongs to me. I think you're the key to helping me take it back."

"No," I said, shaking my head and trying to wrench my arm free.

"I'm done. I don't want any more of David. He threw me away like trash. I won't be a pawn in your family drama."

"You don't understand, Sandra," he said, stepping closer until I could smell the expensive tobacco and mint on his breath.

"Your life is in danger. You think you're safe just because you're away from the mansion? You saw Cyndrel yesterday. She looks like a saint, doesn't she? Those soft smiles, that gentle voice?"

He let out a dry, humorless laugh.

"Underneath that fake exterior, she is ruthless. She's a predator who protects what's hers with blood."

"She wants you dead, Sandra. Not just gone, but erased. She wants David all to herself, and she won't let a 'mistress' with a pregnant belly stand in the way of her perfect family. Whether you like it or not, I'm the only wall between you and whatever she has planned for you."