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Chapter One

April’s thighs stuck to the cheap plastic seat of her faded blue Cruiser, and she groaned as she pulled into the narrow parking lot on her side of the aparth the lines didn’t exist To be fair, the spaces were pretty difficult to see at night with the streetlight perpetually out Either that or some of the drivers had been stoned

April narrowed her eyes and coasted along until she could find a spot where she could slip in between the lines without bu the way everyone else did The complex periodically towed cars that weren’t properly parked, and there was no way she could afford to pay another iht now

“Hey-hey, girl!” a deep male voice called fronored the guy, since he probably lived a few blocks over She hated the guys who rolled through here Besides hitting on her and being unable to take a hint, one of them was probably responsible for the break-in last week

“You have got to be kidding ht of the eviction notice taped to it

“Can you believe it?” Rene said from his stoop

“I paid o!”

Rene shook his head and tapped his cigarette “They had that kid fro those up all afternoon”

“What the hell is their problean to skim it

“Hate their jobs asplume of smoke

April considered going inside to change out of her work outfit first, but didn’t feel up to the hassle So, wearing only a pair of black hot-pants and a very tight white t-shirt with “The Dog House” on the front, she hurried toward the front of the co in her hand By the time she reached the office, her heart was in her throat and she felt ready to juer’s desk and shake that bitch

Instead, she found herself cooling her heels as she waited in line Both desk workers were occupied and two other wo in the few available seats A slish very as trying to explain to the girl behind one desk that he’d been waiting for his roof to be fixed for two uy that he shouldn’t hold his breath; he should start looking for a new place to live

Her ire had calhtly by the time she finally hbor, Rene, mentioned was at the other desk, and as April stood in front of him with her complaint, his eyes seemed to drift uncoht that soer It was like the door that you had to pass to see the wizard: no tenant et back there without an act of a wicked witch No way, no how

“Miss Lucas, the water company billed us incorrectly for several months,” Jacob said in a flat voice that spoke to a day full of complaints “The amount you owe is the corrected total that should have been paid for each of those months”