Melody really needed to stop putting herself into these positions where she had no way to get home. By the time she had managed to find a bus stop near Cisco’s neighborhood, she had walked roughly six blocks. There was no way she was going to call a taxi. She just didn’t have the cash. She might be fine talking about how she wanted to go to school and better herself and find a way to do something other than be a barista for the rest of her life, but at the moment, there was no plan in place to actually do that. She was flat broke. And as she trudged up the steps to her apartment building, she had to admit that she was also unemployed and exhausted beyond endurance.

It was going to feel so good just to walk inside her apartment and sit down. She wanted to take off her shoes and put her feet up. Maybe in a little while she would even attempt to take a shower in one of the two bathrooms on her floor. Of course, all of those thoughts flew out of her head as soon as she felt someone press something cold and hard up against her throat just as she put her key into the lock on her front door.

“Hello, Melody.”

There was no question in Melody’s mind who the skinny man with the foul breath was. She would have recognized Ryan anywhere. She just wasn’t sure what he was doing there.

“Get your hands off me, Ryan.” Melody tried to insert enough authority into her voice to make him see reason.

Unfortunately, it made him laugh. “You don’t get to tell me what to do this time, bitch! I’m the one holding a knife to your throat. So, you’re going to do what I tell you to do. Now.”

Melody tried to turn her head. She wanted to know if Ryan was alone or if he’d brought one of his lowlife friends with him. But what Melody saw was Allie. It felt as though her heart were breaking. Why would Allie stand there and let this happen?

“I’m sorry, Melody!” Allie wrung her hands together as though the shame of what was happening was tough to handle. “I don’t want to go to my mom’s. You’ve got money. I know you do.”

Ryan responded by shoving Melody hard against the door. The wood surface smashed her cheek and made tiny pinpricks of light burst behind her eyelids. She struggled to see Allie. She wanted to know why her friend was doing this. “You know I have money, so you’re just going to take it from me? I fed you when I didn’t have enough to eat myself! I’ve paid your rent for you and bought you clothes and food when you didn’t have any!” Melody tried to jerk her head toward Ryan, but he was pinning her too hard to the door. “And most of the times I’ve had to help you it’s because this jerk took everything you had and left you to starve in the gutter. Now you’re helping him?”

Ryan scoffed. “Allie says you just inherited money. So, fork it over!”

The absurdity and total naiveté of the man currently threatening to slice her throat open was so complete that Melody could not hold back a laugh. The chuckles turned into guffaws that shook her whole body. She could tell that her reaction was not appreciated, but she couldn’t stop. Did these two morons really believe she had just been handed a check or a bundle of cash?

“Shut. Up!” Ryan snarled. “We’re going to go inside your apartment, and you’re going to give us the money. You got it?”

“Sure,” Melody snorted. “Whatever you say.”

“That’s better.” But Ryan sounded confused. He looked around Melody’s body at Allie. “Take her keys and open the door, Allie. Hurry up before someone sees us.”

“I cannot imagine anyone in this building interfering.” Melody suddenly felt dead tired. Was this really how she was going to die? She had enjoyed an incredible afternoon with Cisco Hernandez only to be murdered by a druggie trying to steal a land inheritance. What was Ryan going to do with it? Take it to the pawn shop?

Allie finally managed to fumble the key into the open position. The door clicked, and they all tumbled into Melody’s apartment. She could hear Allie scrambling to turn on the light. They probably thought she was going to try to fight them. But Melody was just too worn out to bother. There was nothing for them to take and nothing they could do that would make her situation worse. Not right now. Not with the way she was feeling after that last conversation with Cisco. He wasn’t the man she’d thought he was. Or maybe he was and she had just refused to see it.

“Okay.” Ryan was now holding the knife in front of him as though he intended to stab her in the chest with it if she tried anything. “Now, let’s have a little chat.”

Melody stood in the center of her apartment. Allie was to her right. There was an old baseball bat she kept on hand for intruders, but it was back by the sofa bed, and Melody did not believe she could close the ten feet between her and the bat before Ryan pounced and did something stupid. Right now, it was best just to wait. That was the only option open to her.

“What do you want to chat about?” Melody kept her voice completely calm. She had been dealing with Ryan for years because of Allie. She knew how to get under his skin. If he really thought she wasn’t afraid of him, it was going to piss him off but he’d be too intimidated to really do anything about it.

Ryan waved the knife. “Let’s talk about the money you inherited.”

“Okay. Let’s talk about it.” Melody shrugged. “Does it look like I have money?”

Ryan seemed taken aback. “You probably just haven’t used it yet.”

“Try I don’t have it.” Melody prepared herself for the worst. Ryan was not a patient or logical person. He was an irrational idiot. “I inherited land. The land actually has back taxes levied against it. There’s an injunction right now making sure that absolutely nothing can happen with the land right now because of the taxes.”

“How much are the taxes?” Ryan scoffed.

“Between the actual property taxes and the death taxes and fees, probably close to a million bucks.” Okay. It was actually enjoyable to watch Ryan’s face go slack as the shock set in.

His response came out high-pitched and squeaky. “You owe the government a million bucks?”

“Yeah. Sucks to be me. Huh?”

Maybe he would just leave. That would be awesome. He and Allie could leave and go wreak havoc on her family, which would probably involve one of her brothers beating the tar out of Ryan for threatening Allie’s mother. Then Melody could just go to bed and finally find some peace and quiet.

“She’s got a rich boyfriend,” Allie said suddenly. There was a note of desperation in her voice that lifted the hair on the back of Melody’s neck.

Melody turned to stare at her friend. “Allie. Don’t. Don’t bring him into this. He isn’t my boyfriend. He’s a customer at the coffee shop who was nice enough to help me with my legal problems because he knew I was broke.”

“You paid him with sex, huh?” The leering look on Ryan’s face turned Melody’s stomach. “Maybe I can sell him another trip on the ride, huh?”

Refusing to look at Ryan, Melody continued to stare at Allie. “This is what you’re willing to ruin your life for? This loser is the best you think you can do in life? Allie, you’re better than this. You’re better than him. You know that. I know you do.”

“Shut up!” Ryan backhanded Melody so suddenly and so hard that her eye felt as though it were going to pop out of its socket. For just a moment, she could not catch her breath. Then it all came rushing back as her lips throbbed and her eyes watered.

“Don’t hit her, Ryan!” Allie said in a shrill voice. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt her. I’ll tell you how to find the guy. Then you can get money from him. Okay?”

“Fine.” Ryan glared at Allie. “Tell me how to find him.”

“His name is Cisco Hernandez,” Allie informed Ryan.

She practically ran over to the table where Melody kept her small collection of paperwork and such. Unfortunately for Melody, the manila folder containing the papers that Cisco had put together for her was on top. Melody knew that Cisco’s business card was right inside the folder. She held her breath as she tried to imagine what was about to happen. Why was her life always falling apart in such a spectacular display of crazy?

Melody looked at Allie as she handed the folder to Ryan.

Don’t.

Melody mouthed the one word to Allie over and over again, but her friend ignored the plea. Whatever Allie had gotten into with Ryan this time was apparently bad enough to trump pretty much all other ties whether emotional or otherwise.

Ryan pulled out the business card and dumped the folder onto the floor. Melody ground her teeth together as all of the motions and hearing requests and everything else fell into a pile where they scattered across the floor. Ryan stepped right on them as he fingered the business card and started pacing back and forth across the apartment.

“I don’t have a phone,” Ryan reminded them. He pointed at Allie. “Where’s yours?”

“You used up all the minutes,” she whined. “I left it in my apartment this morning. It’s probably packed up with all the other stuff the landlord threw out onto the curb.”

Ryan pointed at Melody. “Where’s her phone?”

Melody did not make a single move. In her mind, there was no reason to help this idiocy along. She was stuck here. That didn’t mean she had to like it.

Allie dug in Melody’s pocket. “Right here!” she crowed triumphantly.

Melody watched in growing irritation as Ryan and Allie quickly dialed Cisco’s number on her phone. Of course Allie knew the unlock code. Melody had told it to her before while they were working and Allie had used Melody’s phone supposedly to call her mother. At this point, Melody was truly beginning to think that Allie had never broken things off with Ryan at all.

“Hello?” Ryan said into the phone. “Hello? Is this Cisco?”

Melody held her breath. This could be awful. This could be really bad. She did not want Cisco being dragged down because of her. What were they going to demand that he do? Would Ryan try to hurt him? Would Ryan attempt to stick that knife in Cisco’s gut and kill him just for money? How far would the desperate addict go?

“No.” Ryan’s lips pulled back into a horrible-looking grin. “I have Melody right here. Do you want to hear her scream?”

It was awful. Not being able to hear the other part of the conversation meant that Melody could not be sure what Cisco’s reaction was. Then Allie grabbed the knife from Ryan. She poked Melody’s arm.

Melody stared in shock as her former coworker and former friend drew blood from Melody’s arm in an effort to make her scream. Melody refused. She would not play their sick game. She would not try to make Cisco desperate.

“Scream!” Allie demanded.

“No,” Melody said calmly. She thought about Cisco and how she did not want him to come here and walk into some poorly planned ridiculous trap that would still wind up with him getting hurt. “I’m not going to scream. You are both being ridiculous. Cisco will not bring you any money, and I have nothing. Just cut your losses and go, Allie. Go now before you get in any deeper.”

“There!” Ryan said triumphantly into the phone. “You heard her. Now you know that we have her. So, you’d better bring us a ton of money.” He actually looked at Allie as though he didn’t know what a ton of money meant.

“Like twenty thousand,” Allie whispered. “That’s enough. Right?”

That was enough? For what? What were they doing? What did they need money for, and why were they trying to get it like this? It made no sense at all. But moments later, Ryan was telling Cisco to meet them in front of Melody’s apartment building.

“He’s going to do it!” Ryan started doing a little jig right there in Melody’s apartment. “He’s bringing the money! He’s going to bring cash! We’re going to be rich!”

Melody did not say what she was thinking. It would not do any good. Perhaps this was the fundamental difference in people, their goals, their aspirations, and what they would do in service to those aspirations. These two idiots were actually going to add kidnapping, ransom, and holding someone against their will to a criminal resume that had until now included a few petty drug charges.

“Come on,” Ryan urged. “Let’s get her downstairs. Is there any rope or something?”

Allie was already casting about for something to use. “What about a cord?”

Allie was buzzing around like a bee on crack. She was so excited that she was vibrating and her hands were shaking with it. She bounced over to Melody’s tiny television and yanked the cord out of the wall. Then she dumped the old TV over and proceeded to put her foot on the back of it while she dismantled the cord and pulled it all the way off.

“Here!” Allie said, waving the cord over her head. “Use this!”

The action was so completely devoid of anything approaching consideration for a friend that she had only just that morning begged for shelter, that Melody felt a tiny part of her heart wither up and die. People sucked. It didn’t matter what you thought they meant to you or what you thought you meant to them. They all just sucked.