Kevin seemed to realize her dilemma. “Should I order a pizza or something?”
Naya paused, she was big on hospitality but there was no way she could feed four grown men on only what was in the pot. “That would probably be best yes.”
In one smooth motion Kevin’s phone was in his hand and he was typing quickly. “What toppings do you like?”
“Anything’s fine, get whatever you all would like, I’m not picky.” She smiled as she turned back to the pot. Now she was genuinely glad Vance had found such considerate and respectful friends. When he had called her parents to let them know he could no longer work his job in construction as a site manager Naya had been worried about his mental health, with him being home alone all day. But it seems her worries then had been unnecessary.
Kevin was still tapping away at his phone when the doorbell rang once more. Naya put down the spoon she was using to stir the pasta intending to answer, but Kevin held up a hand. “I got it.” He said as he turned and left the kitchen.
Naya sighed as she pivoted back to the dinner which was about to be upstaged by the pizza Kevin was ordering.
When Vance had found out he was ill six months ago he had adequate savings and health insurance to cover his condition, but as he had quickly begun to deteriorate so had his savings and his ability to work, which cost him his healthcare. Naya made enough to support them now, and she had come to Denver with sufficient savings, but she knew with the medical bills her brother was destined to incur that she needed to save every penny she could. Luxuries like eating out didn’t make the cut. She intended to ask about the possibility of overtime to compensate and allow some flexibility for splurges like pizza as soon as she felt it was appropriate without seeming desperate.
Kevin reentered the kitchen with another dark-haired man at his side. Just like Trevor, he was tall and muscled with a chiseled jaw but with lighter green eyes, he was wearing a shirt with the same logo as the others. It was obvious he was another of Vance’s construction buddies.
“Naya this is Sebastian, Sebastian, this is Naya, Vance’s sister.”
“Nice to meet you.” Sebastian flashed Naya a crooked smile as she held out her hand for yet another callused handshake.
Naya was quiet, almost expecting one of the men to hit on her as a number of Vance’s friends had done when he was in college. To her surprise, they didn’t say anything more and Sebastian turned and headed for the living room. Naya wasn’t sure whether to be pleased that they were respectful or worried that she was losing her edge.
She was single by choice, as she had her share of boyfriends in La Junta, but she had wanted to come to the city unattached as she had known she would probably be here for the long term and that her brother would be her priority. She had been seeing a man for about six months prior to moving and it hadn’t been serious enough for her to ask him to come with, nor had it been serious enough for her to feel a loss at letting him go. It felt proper to break it off.
After Sebastian left the room Kevin had pulled out his phone and resumed clicking buttons, after a moment he flipped the phone her way, interrupting her thoughts, “Ta-Da, pizza will be here in half an hour.”
Naya returned her attention to the stove and made a split-second decision, put the second pot she was going to use for sauce away and instead spun to the fridge to grab some ranch dressing and bell peppers. “I think I’ll make this into a pasta salad instead.”
“Good idea.” Kevin agreed, “Especially sinceI just ordered four pizzas.”
“Four pizzas? You guys eat that much?” She sputtered.
Kevin laughed and shook his head “No but you weren’t helping me decide so I wanted to get a range of options.”
Naya laughed along with him. “Well I suppose everyone will have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.”
“Perfect.” Kevin chuckled as he turned and walked back to the living room. Naya heard whoops and cheers from the room, she smiled, they must have made some big achievement in whatever game they were playing.
She grabbed the pasta and turned to the sink to drain it, taking a deep breath as she watched the steaming water swirl down the drain. She sensed she would be happy here, even if things were stressful right now.
She felt certain of it.
CHAPTER 3
MARK
He waited in his truck, tucked around a corner, his fingers trembling while he watched the dot on the phone screen move closer.
Yes. Come to me.
A grin spread across as his face as he felt the exhilaration from what he was about to do, what he had always wanted to do.
He reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed a cloth and the bottle of ether he had managed to procure. The dot on his phone was steadily approaching and he started to get ready.
Mark popped the lock on the door now so that the sound didn’t startle her and cause her to change course. Not that he thought she would, she ran this route frequently it was clearly routine and felt familiar to her.
He checked again, the dot was almost next to him now, and he could see her approaching in the rearview mirror. He prepared to strike.
She jogged comfortably past the rearview mirror, and in one motion he was out of the truck, positioned himself behind her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to hold
