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Chapter One

Avery Finch had never beenthe note her father had left her He’d been put in the hospital the week before with broken legs, along with a few broken fingers and many bruises as well He was lucky to be alive, but he was still s and told her not to worry She hadn’t been at the shop last week and only found her father the day after He’d been too long without medical treatment, and the doctors had had to rebreak the bones to reset them It was bad

Now, as she counted up the week’s worth of earnings, she was scared Her father had come clean to her that he’d borrowed h to scare the shit out of anyone

She steered clear of the le business, it made it iht, she had hoped to have the twenty thousand dollars he was expecting, but instead, she had only five This wasn’t so about, not now in her life She hadn’t realized how badly her father’s business was doing until now In ten minutes, Gino or one of his cronies was supposed to show up to collect the debt or h … other means

She loved her legs and needed the the week she helped at the childcare center Most of the parents had to work eighty hours a week, and she was one of the many babysitters that helped their kids It wasn’t an easy job but one she wished she was still at rather than worrying about as about to happen

Closing her eyes, she pressed a hand to her chest

No

The shop’s doorbell rang, and even as she shook, she went toward it Her father ran a s it for nearly twenty years that she re up, her dinners had always been overfloith fresh produce

After hera successful business had as well, which hy she opened the door to a large, muscular man No doubt it was Gino Mazza

“I’ for Mr Finch,” he said, his voice cool, in control, calm

She was anything but “He’s still in the hospital”

“You hter”

Any hope of hiive him room to enter

Heart racing, she walked back to the counter, quicklybehind it to have soeas he was, and she didn’t understand why he needed the

No running No screa

“My dad told me what he owes you” She hated how her hand shook as she held out the bag “I’h from the week’s revenue”

Gino didn’t take the bag Instead, he rerabbed an apple “So your father couldn’t even be bothered to come and see me himself?”