I woke in Nick’s bed, half under his body. For the first few seconds of consciousness I felt safe, happy. Then unease crept in.

This was the first time in my life I’d woken in a man’s bed—sleeping over was so not my thing—and it was like I’d woken on another planet.

Slowly, I slid out from under Nick’s limbs. He grunted and snuffled a few times, on the verge of waking, but I executed an escape that would impress David Blaine fans.

After carefully closing his bedroom door, I started to clean up the kitchen, which looked like a battlefield. Fitting, since the pancakes had looked like they’d been through a war.

Then I remembered. Nick was supposed to be my servant now.

Every instinct inside me wanted to tidy the kitchen, but I restrained myself and left the mess and went next door to shower and get ready. Crystal was picking me up in an hour.

The second I got into Crystal’s friend’s car, my sister started talking and didn’t take a break until we were across the Golden Gate Bridge. Not that I minded. I was thrilled she was enjoying her classes and glad to hear all the details in person.

“Wait a second.” I interrupted a story about one of the men she was sleeping with. “Isn’t Clive your prof?”

“He’s on faculty, yeah.”

“Isn’t dating him against the rules?”

She signaled, then shifted to the left lane of the 101. “I won’t report him.”

“That’s your takeaway?” I laughed.

“What?”

I leaned against the passenger side door. “Crystal, there are reasons that faculty aren’t supposed to date students.”

“Since when are you one to follow rules?” She frowned at me.

“Just be careful, okay?”

“You’re not my mother, you know,” Crystal said in a well-worn refrain, and for a second we were both much younger.

“I can take care of myself,” she continued. “Besides. Clive and I aren’t dating, just hooking up when we feel like it. What’s the harm in that?”

“If you say so…” No matter how old we got, I’d never stop worrying about my little sister, wanting to protect her from all the big bads in the world.

“Enough about me,” she said. “What’s going on? You’ve been tight-lipped.”

“Tight-lipped? What good would opening them do? You’ve been talking nonstop.”

“Only because you weren’t saying anything.”

I rolled my eyes, but it was not worth getting into it. We’d just passed a sign for San Quentin. “Things are good.”

“How about that Nick guy? He still giving you a hard time? Making you do stuff for him?”

“No, that’s over.” I wondered how much to share with my sister. “Turns out the Nick who lives next door isn’t the guy who arranged Frank’s deal.”

She spun her head toward me. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Someone else entirely.” I pointed ahead. “Eyes on the road.”

“And he was making you do stuff anyway?” She shook her head. “What an asshole.”

“Here’s the thing, though, Crys. He’s really not.” I stared out the window as we crossed Corte Madera Creek.

“Oh, that’s right,” Crystal said. “You actually like doing all the cooking and cleaning. Taking care of people. It’s like your calling to serve others.”

“Shut up,” I said. But she was kind of right. I didn’t like being forced to do any of those things, but taking care of people—people who meant something to me—made me happy. I couldn’t deny that. “To settle the score, Nick’s doing stuff for me now. Whatever I ask.”

“Really.” She raised her eyebrows a few times. “Do tell! What kind of things? Does it involve a talented tongue?”

“Pervert!” I felt a flush rise on my cheeks. “It’s not sexual,” I lied. “He helped me carry some furniture, changed some lightbulbs, replaced my leaky shower head.”

“I thought you said he was hot.”

“Oh, and he made me pancakes when we got home from work last night.”

“Now that sounds more interesting. Any sausage with those pancakes?” She winked.

I stared out the windshield like I’d missed her innuendo. “Nope, just pancakes from a box, drowned in imitation maple syrup.”

“Yuck.”

“That about sums it up.” Still, he’d tried, and I couldn’t help the smile that overtook my lips, thinking of Nick’s total fail in the kitchen. He’d scored an A for effort, D minus for execution. But he’d scored all As in all the other subjects we’d explored. Wow.

“You like him, don’t you!” Crystal slapped my arm lightly as she rounded a curve on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

I shrugged.

“OMG! Jade actually likes a boy! Alert the press! Warn the devil that hell is about to freeze over!”

“Very funny. It’s not a big deal.” But it was a big deal. I’d been thinking about him constantly.

Sure, some of that was because my insides still throbbed and my legs ached from the near acrobatic sex, but my thoughts of Nick went way beyond that. His smile, his kindness, his thoughtfulness, his loyalty to his brothers, the way he protected all the girls at the club. The way he could shift from a protective touch to a possessive hold in the blink of an eye, without ever making me feel unsafe.

And even more than that, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d opened up to him last night. Sure, I’d been tired, but I’d never talked about Grandma to anyone, not even Crystal, and fatigue couldn’t fully account for the way I’d let my guard down.

Who hurt you? he’d asked me, and the answer was: nearly everyone.

With the exception of my sister, everyone I’d let into my life had either hurt me or left me, or both. And while those experiences had made me into the woman I was today—strong, independent, ferocious if need be—Nick seemed to see the squishy-mess truth of me. He’d seen past my outer badass and found the hurt little girl underneath.

A guard led Frank into the visiting room where Crystal and I were already sitting at a table. We rose to each give him a guard-supervised hug, then sat.

“My girls!” He grinned, showing off yellowed teeth, which made him seem way older than forty-seven. “So nice for you to find the time to visit.”

Crystal leaned forward. “I wish I could get here every weekend, Dad. But I don’t have a car.”

“BART too good for you?” He scowled, but it quickly disappeared. “It’s okay. I know you girls are busy.”

He was right. Both of us could easily take public transit to get up to the prison, but I was not about to let Frank lay a guilt trip on me. By rights, all the guilt should flow in the other direction, but I’m not sure Frank knew the definition of guilt.

“Everything going okay?” he asked me. “Keeping Nick happy, I hope?”

“Funny story,” I said. “The guy who lives next door to me isn’t the Nick who arranged your deal after all.”

Frank’s brow furrowed. “No? But I thought he got you your job.”

“He did, but I guess it’s not the job I was supposed to get.”

“You’re shitting me.” Frank twisted in his chair and worried his bottom lip. “But you’ve talked to the other Nick, right? Made nice?”

I shook my head. “I don’t even know how to find him.”

Frank looked like bees had invaded his orange jumpsuit. “I guess if he’s pissed off, I’d have heard… I hope…” He glanced around the room, paranoia in his eyes, then shook his head from side to side. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You can fix this, Jade. You gotta. The Nick who arranged my deal is someone you don’t want to mess with.”

In the two weeks I’d known the truth, I hadn’t given much thought to the fact that there was another Nick I was supposed to keep happy. But Frank was clearly worried. Sounded like I should put things right.

“Guess what, Dad!” Crystal piped in. “Jade’s dating the Nick who lives next door to her. Sounds to me like she’s keeping him plenty happy.”

I shot her a look. I’d never admitted to dating him, and seriously, even if I had, Frank did not need to know.

“Is that right, Jade?” He started drumming the metal table with his fingertips. “Tell me about your new young man, then. I’d started to think you were into girls.”

I sighed. At least Nick gave us something to talk about. No way would Crystal spill all the stuff she’d told me on the drive up. Frank thought his youngest was still a virgin. Ha!

“Nick’s nice,” I said. “He’s the bouncer at the club where I work. From a big Irish family. Five boys. All his brothers live in Shady Oaks, too. Can you imagine?”

Frank’s eyes got wider. “What’s his last name?”

“Downey.”

Frank’s back straightened. “Those boys are trouble. Stay away from them.”

“You know the Downeys?” This was an unwanted development.

“By reputation.” Frank leaned toward me. “Just promise you’ll stay away from the big one, at least. The muscle man. The killer.”

“What?” I almost started laughing. “The big one? That’s gotta be Nick.”

Frank turned white and grabbed my arm. “Jade. I’m not kidding.”

“No touching,” yelled a guard.

Frank released me. “Stay away from that guy. The Downeys’ muscle man is a monster. Even guys in here are afraid of him.” He leaned forward. “Has he hurt you? Please tell me he hasn’t hurt you.”

“No, Dad. He’s actually a real sweetheart. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but it can’t be about the Nick Downey I know.”

“Ask around. You’ll see. Don’t go getting yourself killed.” Frank shook his head. “Where would that leave me and your sister?”