She didn’t want to take the job. Perhaps it should provide me a bit of solace to know she wasn’t jumping at the chance to become Esme’s nanny. To me, it meant she wasn’t a user. Most people saw an opportunity like this as a chance to bilk me out of as much money as they could. Melanie walked beside me, wearing a purple coat that didn’t look anywhere near thick enough for the plummeting temperatures. It was on its last legs. She needed a new coat and she needed it now. I made a mental note to have Rachel arrange for one to be sent to her room. She didn’t know it yet, but she wasn’t going to turn me down. I wouldn’t give her the choice.

“I think you should find someone else. I have a lot of stuff going on in my life right now and I don’t want to burden you with my trivial issues,” she said, taking her elbow out of my hand. I glanced down at my empty hand and back at her. I shoved my gloved hand back into my pocket, her warmth gone. “I really appreciate the offer. I do. But I think you’re going to need to find someone else.”

She bolted for the station entrance. I watched her scurry down the stairs to the station. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of her at that point. I’d read her file. I knew her background and someone like her should have jumped at the chance. But she turned me down. Whether she realized it or not, she’d turned it into a game. I always enjoyed a good game, and knew this was one I’d be sure to win.

Derek pulled the SUV up to the curb. He’d tailed us on our little walk since Esme was back in the apartment with Rachel. As I closed the car door, I caught a flash of electric purple coming up the station stairs. Melanie. She glanced around and hurried off in the opposite direction.

“Follow her.” Derek pulled into traffic and the slow progress made it easy to follow her as she wove her way through the salted and snow-slicked streets. The crowds had thinned out since we’d left the diner, and the people on the streets had transitioned from starry-eyed tourists to hollow-faced addicts. I shook my head. I hadn’t thought I could be so wrong about Melanie. Disappointment hit me that I’d been so far off the mark when it came to her. It wasn’t until she darted inside a large converted church that I wondered if my assumptions about her were wrong yet again. A faded sign hung over the door, “Women’s Mission Coalition.” Did she volunteer here? She hadn’t come to score, she’d come to help.

I hopped out of the SUV and strode inside. The stagnant smell of stale coffee, bleach, and floral air freshener packed a pungent punch as the door closed behind me.

“Do you have any beds for the night?” Melanie asked the woman behind the scratched and scuffed Plexiglas.

“I don’t think so, hun,” she said. Melanie hung her head, her shoulders slumping. “But let me check.” I stood there completely stunned, my feet glued to the ground. She wasn’t here to help, she was here for a place to stay. Waitresses didn’t make much, but she shouldn’t have to go to a homeless shelter. My mind wandered to all the things that could happen to a person down on her luck without a place to stay in the city. Blood pounded through my veins and my fingers tingled. I fisted them at my sides. She didn’t even entertain the offer to work for me. She’d brushed me off without a second thought. She’d rather spend her nights in a homeless shelter than with me?

“Melanie, what the hell are you doing here?” I said, louder than I intended, my anger getting the best of me. Melanie jumped at the sound of my voice, as both women whipped their heads around toward me. Melanie’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. The color drained out of her face as she stared back, her eyes wide.

“I…I…” she stuttered, grasping for the words to explain what the hell was going on.

“I’ll donate one hundred thousand dollars to the shelter if you don’t give her a bed for tonight,” I said, reaching for my wallet.

“What the hell are you doing here? How did you know I was here?” she asked, snapping out of her shocked silence.

“I followed you,” I said, waiting for her reaction. Her eyes got comically wide and she gripped onto the strap of her bag with both hands.

“Why would you do that?” she asked through gritted teeth.

A loud buzzer went off, and the woman behind the counter opened the door beside her desk.

“Do you need to come in, sweetheart? Come on in. We’ll find something for you,” she said, motioning for Melanie to join her on the other side of the door. On the other side, safely tucked away from me.

“Should I be offended, Melanie? You’d rather spend the night in a homeless shelter than with my daughter and me? A nice warm bed in your own room. Safe and sound,” I said, advancing on her. She stood rooted to the spot, her eyes pinned on me.

“Melanie, honey, come inside,” the woman said, holding the door open and taking a step out.

“Three hundred thousand, if you don’t give her a bed for the night,” I said, keeping my eyes on Melanie. She sucked in a breath, her eyes bouncing from me to the woman.

“You can’t buy us off, and we’re not going to turn someone away who’s being threatened. Melanie, come in. He can’t get to you in here.”

“Miss, I don’t know what it is about me that might have screamed abusive boyfriend or husband, but I can assure you it’s not the case. I’m simply a potential employer for Melanie and I’m a bit shocked she didn’t let me know how dire her situation was. I’d have easily solved this little problem of hers,” I said, staring at Melanie, who averted her eyes. She ducked her head and her shoulders rounded as she folded her arms around herself. Shame. I knew it well. It burned in me so many times over the years, but I didn’t like the way it looked on her.

“Why don’t you tell her, Melanie?” I said, sure the woman had called the police on me before stepping out into the doorway. Melanie glanced up at me again and back at the woman.

“He’s not my boyfriend or anything. He’s not a threat. I—” she gulped. She took a breath, closing her eyes. “I was embarrassed. And I’m pretty sure he’s good for the donation, too, so I would make sure I got his info. I’m sure it could do a lot of good here,” she said, forcing a smile and glancing around at the peeling paint and tattered chairs in the lobby.

“I’ll just go,” she said, trying to skirt around me. And that was the final straw. I was done being Mr. Nice Guy. My mask slipped and it was all her fault. I grabbed her elbow as she tried to pass by me. Not as her friendly neighborhood escort, but as a man who wasn’t going to let her get away.

“Don’t even think of walking away from me, Melanie. If you do, I have half the mind to put you over my knee and show you just how serious I am,” I said, my mouth a hairsbreadth away from her ear. I felt the tremble race through her, but when I looked in her eyes, it wasn’t fear I saw, it was something that made me want to push her up against the nearest wall and show her how serious I was. This woman toyed with me and I didn’t even think she knew she was doing it. The power shifted somehow and now I was left grasping at what remained.

“You are not going to walk off into the cold night when I know you’ve just been visiting a homeless shelter, so you obviously have no place to go. You’re coming home with me. Now.” There was no argument here. I slid the mask back and turned to the woman in the doorway.

“Thanks so much for being so helpful to Melanie. I truly appreciate it and I’ll be sure to have that donation check sent over first thing tomorrow.” My plastic smile slid on as naturally as it ever had. It was second nature by now. When in doubt, smile in a wide toothy grin like a fucking idiot. I was aware of the effect I had on women. A hint of a smile tugged on the corners of the woman’s lips. I kept my grip on Melanie’s elbow in case she tried to bolt.

“Tell the woman thank you, Melanie,” I said into her ear. She shivered again and I knew she didn’t want to cause a scene. Didn’t want to draw more attention to herself. I’d use whatever tricks I needed to get her where I wanted her. How I wanted her.

The woman in the doorway crossed her arms over her chest and I opened the door, the frigid air blasting us. We stepped out onto the street, and Melanie glanced over her shoulder at the woman.

“I’m fine, really and you know what, I think Mr. Thayer is feeling extra generous tonight, so why not double that donation,” she said, smirking up at me. Cheeky, very cheeky. I waved to the woman and she waved back, dumbstruck. I kept my hand on Melanie, and the door slammed behind us as we went down the stairs, which were bathed in strobing blue and red lights. Derek spoke with the two squad cars that pulled up while we were inside. I gave the officers a wave and they eagerly waved back.

“What the hell was that?” she said, ripping her elbow out of my grip, and rounding on me.

“Get in the car, Melanie,” I said, advancing on her. She took a step back, her hands clenched around the strap of her bag. She looked pissed. I relished her anger, her venom. She’d seen my mask falter and hadn’t run away, but I didn’t know how she’d react if she got more than a peek.