I sat on my bed, looking out of the window over my new neighborhood. My friend had put me up in the small guest room in the attic, which was clean but small. It was the perfect size for me—I hadn’t brought much stuff with me from my old place. I’d been in too much of a hurry to really pack when I left and had only managed to grab the basics—some clothes, my toothbrush, a few other things that I couldn’t bear to part with. I wasn’t sentimental about much, but my mom had left me some things after she died and I’d never part with them.

My friend, Jay, peered in at me through the open door.

“You hungry?” she asked. I nodded. I hadn’t eaten since before I’d left, and eight hours later my stomach was growling and I was feeling light-headed. I stood up and followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Everything looked brand new and almost unused. The marble on the countertops was flawless and the walls were painted a light blue. I’d never seen a kitchen so extravagant and beautiful. It was something I was going to have to get used to now that I’d moved in with Jay. I’d never lived in a neighborhood as nice as this, and I felt uncomfortable being among people who were so much classier than me. Still, Jay put me at ease. We’d been friends since middle school and she’d been begging me to move in with her since we’d graduated from high school. Eight years later, I was finally doing it, though it was only because I didn’t have a choice.

We decided to order a pizza, then sat down to wait at the kitchen table.

“Do you like your room?” Jay asked me.

I nodded. “It’s perfect. Really, I would have been fine sleeping on the couch. You didn’t have to give me your office.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, scoffing. “You need your own room. I’ve been planning to give it to you for, what, ten years now?”

“Close enough. Thank you again for letting me stay here, Jay. I know it’s last minute.”

She swiped the apology away with a wave of her hand and grinned at me.

“I’m so glad you’re here. Now I don’t have to worry about you so much.”

Jay had always worried about the neighborhood I lived in, but it was where I’d grown up, where my family had always been. It was shady with a high crime rate, higher than most places in the city. But it was my home and I knew my way around well enough to navigate through the streets without being fucked with—I was tougher than I looked, and most people in the neighborhood knew me well enough to leave me alone. I’d told her over and over that she didn’t need to worry about me, but that had all changed when I heard the news about my ex. If I’d stayed, my life would have been in danger.

The doorbell rang and I gazed out of the window as Jay went to get the pizza. I saw the man next door walking up his driveway. Even from a few feet away I could tell he was handsome. It was afternoon, the sun shining brightly overhead, and his blue eyes were nearly glowing in the light. He had dark hair and great cheekbones, a body to die for that moved in an elegant, fluid way.

Jay caught me staring as the man disappeared into his house. She grinned at me.

“That’s Dr. Ian Cunningham,” she said. “Is he not the hottest thing you’ve ever seen?”

“He is gorgeous. Is he married?”

Jay shook her head. “Lives alone. I think he works a lot. He’s like filthy rich. But kind of mean.”

“Really?” I asked, my curiosity piqued as I looked over his house. From what I could see, the windows were easily low enough to climb in through. I made a note to walk around the house sometime when I knew that he was at work to check the doors and windows, see if there was a way in. Jay didn’t know about what I did to get by or how I got my money and that’s how I wanted it to stay, but a rich doctor who wasn’t often home might be the perfect target for the next burglary.

“No kids?” I asked.

“I’ve never seen any. He’s practically a recluse. Goes to work, comes home, never goes anywhere otherwise. He keeps to himself during neighborhood events, if he even goes.”

“Neighborhood events?”

“Oh, you’re gonna love this,” she said. “There’s so much drama. They have block parties here and neighborhood watch meetings on Thursdays at the church on the corner. We have to go.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really? Doesn’t really sound like my kind of thing.”

“Trust me. You’re not going to want to miss this. It’s like a Twilight Zone episode. These people are so weird.”

“Okay,” I said, chuckling. “We’ll see.”

“At the last meeting, these two old men—probably in their sixties—almost got into a fistfight about one of them overwatering his lawn. The drought is a big deal here.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sounds fascinating, Jay.”

“It’s better than you think,” she said, grinning.

When we were done with our food we flopped onto the couch in front of the TV, surfing through the channels. I thought some more about the doctor and his house; there had to be a way to get in there. I decided to introduce myself to him personally, hoping that maybe he would give me a tour of his house. I’d have to work up to it, to make him comfortable with me.

I went to bed thinking about it and decided to wait until I got more information to call the boys, though I knew they were getting irritated that I hadn’t found a target yet. I’d been too caught up in what was happening with my ex-boyfriend to keep an eye out for places to rob. But now I had no choice and the doctor was my best chance. I decided to go there tomorrow, learn what I could about him and hope for the best.