Free Never Enough: The Vipers MC by Lexi Cross

I didn’t have it together, not by a long shot. I was falling apart, piece by piece. Crumbling all around him.
     
    I wondered if drug addicts felt the way I did. Not that I felt high, but I knew they would do anything for a hit. They would steal, borrow, beg. Make all kinds of promises if only they could get their hands on what they needed. I did sort of the same thing. They eventually paid for it, didn’t they? After living on edge, knowing their deeds were bound to catch up with them. I could relate to that feeling, all too well.
     
    If only I could turn back time. I didn’t realize I had muttered it to myself until I heard David ask, “What did you say, Mama?”
     
    “Hmm?” I looked over my shoulder. Was there a big man half a block behind us? Didn’t he look a little shady, unfamiliar in the neighborhood? I picked up the pace. David trotted alongside me.
     
    “You said something about time. Turning back time?”
     
    “Are you reading my thoughts now?”
     
    “No, you said it out loud. Mama, we’re going too fast!” Again, a couple of people stared at me. I wanted to slap them, tell them to mind their own business. They had no idea the strain I was under.
     
    “I’m sorry, honey.” I picked him up, determined to get us the last two blocks as quickly as possible. How the hell had they found me in the first place? I’d told them my name, hadn’t I? And that was their business. Finding people. Otherwise, how would they ever make a profit?
     
    “Come on,” I said, laughing like it was a game. “Let’s see how out of shape Mama is. I’m gonna try to run with you in my arms.”
     
    He giggled. “Oh, Mama. You’re so silly. I’m too heavy!”
     
    “Yeah, well, we’ll see about that.” I cast another look over my shoulder. The man was gone. Probably hiding. The moment the light turned green, I bolted across the street, then kept up the pace until we reached the brownstone.
     
    I put David down, gasping for air. I felt like my lungs were on fire. My running days were long behind me—especially considering the fact that I was carrying a seven-year-old with a massive backpack. Why they gave kids so much homework, I would never understand.
     
    I looked behind us as he ran up the stairs. No man. Had I imagined it? No, I’d definitely seen him. I probably imagined who he was, though. He might have been anybody taking a walk.
     
    I couldn’t live that way forever. Running up and down the street with my kid in my arms. Afraid to leave the apartment unless I had to. I’d even considered keeping him out of school that morning, out of fear. This was starting to affect my boy. I couldn’t let it go on forever.
     
    What could I do, though? I had no idea. Rob Peter to pay Paul by taking out a loan elsewhere? Going to the bank, begging on bended knee for a loan even though I had nearly no collateral? The only thing worth putting up was my car, which was a piece of junk I knew wasn’t worth anything. They would laugh me right out of the place.
     
    No parents. No other family. No real friends, besides Cindy. I’d never felt so alone in my life.
     
    You could call Grayson. Right. And tell him what? That I had his son? That he needed to make up for seven years of child support? I made the slow, weary climb up four floors, the elevator always too slow to bother waiting for. No. That wouldn’t work, either. I needed to do it on my own, somehow. Work the problem. I needed to work the problem.
     
    There was no working it. I’d gone as far as I could. I needed a job, or a sugar daddy. The only two options which made sense. Otherwise, I’d simply wait for the other shoe to drop.
     
    ***
     
    Nighttime was the worst. It always felt like there was a higher chance of something bad happening when it was dark outside. That was one childhood fear which hadn’t gone away the older I got—especially considering the threat against me.
     
    My phone rang. I jumped a mile at the sound, and only breathed a