Borrowing Amor

Borrowing Amor

last updateLast Updated : 2021-01-17
By:  Kat BellemoreOngoing
Language: English
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Synopsis

A small-town mayor. A stranger with a sketchy past.Two weeks before Christmas, Katie is kicked out of her apartment. Again. Rather than wander the streets and continue to work for a dirty cop, she escapes, determined to disappear for good. Until her car breaks down in a small New Mexican town, and everything is threatened when she falls for the charming mayor.Sam Freedman is the first bachelor mayor of Amor. After convincing the locals that having a mayor without family responsibilities means he can dedicate all of his time to the community, they watch his every move. Then Katie Andersen shows up. Against Sam’s better judgement, he hires her to replace his former event coordinator. Now he can barely think straight, let alone run a town. In the midst of half-truths and outright lies, Katie and Sam desperately search for the place where honesty and trust lead to love. But they have to find it before the past catches up with them.

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Chapter 1

Evicted

Katie stared at the two black trash bags sitting in front of her apartment door. Her heart sank. Not again. She’d been evicted before, but not in the middle of a Colorado winter. Even without paying her gas bill she had been warmer than what the streets could offer her. With a resolute step, Katie approached the apartment manager's door further down the hall. At the last second, she hesitated, then gave two short raps.

"Come in," a muffled voice called.

Katie pushed the door open and found Scarlett in the living room, bent over in the position of Downward Dog. A dangerously thin woman demonstrated the yoga pose on the TV behind her. Scarlett glanced at Katie, her brows crinkling, as if she had been expecting someone else. "Oh. It's you." She turned back to her exercise video.

Anger surged through Katie. The woman was kicking her out of her home in the middle of December and she had the audacity to continue on as if Katie didn’t matter. "What happened to the rest of my stuff, Scarlett?" she demanded.

Scarlett transitioned to Warrior One. "You're two months behind in your rent. I sold what I could to help recover my costs, which you agreed to when you signed the lease." She stood and faced Katie. Sweat beaded Scarlett’s brow. "Honestly, I didn't have much to work with. Not a single piece of furniture—not even a bed."

"I was only gone for the weekend. You could have waited and at least given me some warning. Besides, I told you, I have some money coming in."

"That's what you say every month. I can't afford to have an apartment occupied by someone who isn't paying."

The hostile approach wasn't working. Scarlett was used to dealing with bottom dwellers like Katie; she needed to approach the manager from a different angle.

Katie sighed and let her shoulders sag. She tucked her blond hair behind her ears. "I'm sorry, Scarlett. You're right. It's not your fault that I couldn't come up with the money." She collapsed onto a chair and mustered up a few tears. "It's just that it will be Christmas in two weeks, and if you could just wait until the new year—"

Scarlett snorted. "Don't try that on me." She stooped until her face was level with Katie's. Her expression was void of compassion and only held contempt. "Now get out or I'm calling the cops."

Katie shot to her feet so fast, Scarlett tripped backwards. She glanced at Katie, apprehensive, and pulled out a gun that had been concealed under the coffee table. Katie immediately retreated until she reached the front door. "I didn't mean any harm. I'm leaving." She turned and bolted back down the hallway to her apartment.

The two trash bags were so light, they had to contain mostly clothes. Katie dropped the bags next to her car, her hands still shaking from the encounter with Scarlett. She had learned to put on a good show, but if anyone knew how terrified of confrontation she was, they would eat her alive. Katie unlocked her car, but then glanced at the trash bags. Dread replaced her anger and she ripped one of the bags open. "Please say you didn't take it," she mumbled. She fished around in the sea of clothing until her hand brushed paper. She pulled out a ratty book and held it to her chest. Anna Karenina. It was the only book she had ever loved—her comfort, even on nights that included sleeping on a park bench.

Katie placed the book on the passenger seat and tossed the bags into the back of the car. Other than the book, the car was the only true possession she had in the world—the only thing she hadn't been able to give up. She had sold her soul rather than give up that car. It was her means of escape. When things got too hot, too rough, she left. She started over again. Until Colorado. Katie was stuck here, and it was time to go make another deal with the devil.

The car chugged to life and she made her way to the last place she’d thought she'd ever go—voluntarily, that is. The police station rolled into view and Katie parked a couple of streets down. She stared at it, hands gripping the steering wheel. After a few minutes she took out her burner phone and dialed the forbidden number. It was more of a 'don't call me, I'll call you' type of relationship. That was the only reason he’d given her the phone in the first place. But she didn't have a choice.

The phone rang so many times that Katie almost gave up. He picked up on the tenth ring.

"What do you think you're doing?" his gruff voice growled. His voice echoed, as if he were in a stairwell.

"I'm sorry," Katie said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "It's an emergency. I got evicted and have no place to go."

A pause.

"So?"

Katie's breath hitched. "That means I'm on the street, Teddy. I can't do your dirty work if I freeze to death out here."

"You're resourceful. You'll figure something out."

The same anger that had reared with Scarlett pulsed in her chest. "Did you hear me? I got nothin'. My apartment manager sold all my stuff. I'm not working for you anymore if you won't help me."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Katie clamped her lips shut. Stupid. She wished she could take it all back, tell him that she didn't mean it.

The damage was already done.

"We both know what will happen if you stop working for me," Teddy said. His voice was eerily calm, and it was more chilling than if he had screamed at her. "I'll text you when I need you next. In the meantime, don't get yourself killed."

The line went dead.

                                                                              * * * * *

Katie eased herself through a basement window and landed with a soft thud. A flashlight sprang to life, blinding her. It didn't waver, forcing her to cover her eyes. "Daniel, stop it. It's me."

"I know it's you," he said. "But you shouldn't be here."

She let out a heavy breath. "Everyone keeps telling me that today. My apartment manager kicked me out, Teddy doesn't want me coming to him—and now you."

The flashlight clicked off. Spots danced before Katie's eyes, so she kept them closed.

"You talked to Teddy?" Daniel asked.

Katie nodded. "Yeah, I misjudged the situation. I figured if he thought he might lose his money bank, he would help me find a place to crash."

Daniel let out a single barking laugh. "You thought Teddy would help you? He doesn't help anyone but himself."

Katie opened her eyes and took in the scrawny figure before her. Faint beams of sunlight illuminated his dusty blond hair. It was a lot shorter than it had been the last time she'd seen him. "Yeah, well, I'm sick of it. I didn't run away just to become someone else's puppet." She slid to the floor, her back to the cellar wall.

Daniel's arm slipped around her shoulders and she leaned into him. "Have you even kept track of how many times you've run?"

Katie rolled her eyes, but managed a small smile. "All of them."

"So, what do you need from me?"

Katie glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"Come on," he said with a smile. "You only risk coming here when you need something."

Katie looked Daniel in the eyes. She couldn't trust him. But he was the closest thing she had to a friend in this miserable city. If he wouldn't help her, no one would. "I need a new ID."

Daniel pulled back in surprise. "What, you're running again?" he asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You can't run. Not anymore. If Teddy found out, he'd kill you."

"No, he'd have me arrested for all the crap he's had me pull. But at least I'd have a place to stay and three square meals," Katie said. "Either way, I'm better off because it will mean I'm not working for that scum anymore."

Daniel jumped to his feet. "You don't get it, do you? He. Will. Kill. You. You are a liability." Daniel shook his head. "How can you have spent so much time on the streets and still be so naive? You don't trust a single person, and yet you think he's just going to send you away to watch TV behind bars?"

Katie's heart dropped into her stomach. He was right. She stood. "Then you better make sure that fake ID is so good that he will never find me. Because I would rather be dead than work for that man another day."

She held Daniel's gaze until he looked away. "I hope you know what you're doing," he muttered. He turned to a blanket that covered some junk in the corner. When he whipped the blanket off, she realized the stuff it hid was anything but junk—it was state-of-the-art equipment.

"Where did you get that?" she whispered, impressed at Daniel's resourcefulness. When she saw his cocked eyebrow, she felt her cheeks heat up. In this line of business, everything was on a need-to-know basis, and this was definitely not something she needed to know.

"I've seen your other IDs," Daniel said, ignoring the question. "They were good. But we need to mix it up a little." He flipped some switches and the machine came to life.

"What do you mean?"

"You've always had a drastically different name on your IDs." Daniel pulled out an old laptop. "Teddy will be expecting, and looking for, that. We're just going to change the last name, and tweak things like your age. It will make it harder for him to track you down."

For the first time, panic settled in. She had been on the run from cops before, but not from someone like Teddy. Not a dirty cop. He had resources and didn't worry about protocol. "How long do I have until he realizes I'm gone?"

Daniel glanced up from his laptop. "I need a couple hours for the ID. You should split town right after that. You'll have a few hours at best. He uses informants to keep track of his 'workers.'"

"Have you ever done work for him?"

Daniel studied Katie for a moment before allowing his gaze to drop back to his computer screen. "Go drive around and act normal," he said, once again ignoring her probing questions. "I work better alone, and it might buy you some more time."

With a single nod, Katie climbed out the window. She drove to a park and wandered over to a picnic table where she opened Anna Karenina. Normally, it was her escape. She would get lost in the story, blocking out all the crap going on in her life. But not today. Her heart wasn't in it. And for a brief moment, she wondered if she was going to end up like Anna. Broken and defeated. 

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89 Chapters
Evicted
Katie stared at the two black trash bags sitting in front of her apartment door. Her heart sank. Not again. She’d been evicted before, but not in the middle of a Colorado winter. Even without paying her gas bill she had been warmer than what the streets could offer her. With a resolute step, Katie approached the apartment manager's door further down the hall. At the last second, she hesitated, then gave two short raps."Come in," a muffled voice called.Katie pushed the door open and found Scarlett in the living room, bent over in the position of Downward Dog. A dangerously thin woman demonstrated the yoga pose on the TV behind her. Scarlett glanced at Katie, her brows crinkling, as if she had be
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-02
Read more
Just a Small-Town Mayor
Sam leaned over his desk and pointed to the calendar hanging on the office wall. “Why don’t we have something set up for Friday?”Zoe sighed. “Honestly, because people are a little hesitant to let the mayor come see how their operations work. They don’t see it as you wanting to reach out to them. They see it as you wanting to spy on them.”“But how can I help our city reach its potential if I don’t know our community?” Sam sat in his high-backed chair with a heavy thud. “I want to understand the people who helped elect me. I want to understand their concerns and the things that a politician usually doesn’t get to see.”Zoe s
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-02
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Stranded
Katie watched as the passing landscape transitioned from white fields and snow-capped mountains to desert and dry, flat plains. She had never been this far out west before, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. It was so dead and void of life. Then again, maybe she would fit in just fine.Her gas light blinked on and Katie cursed. She had ten dollars in her pocket, but that wouldn’t get her far. Normally she would ‘borrow’ a credit card from someone, but things were different now. She didn’t have anyone covering her tracks like she had in Colorado. If she was going to stay under Teddy’s radar she had to be more careful, and that meant no more ‘borrowing.’Crap. How was she going to survive?
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-02
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Lunch Date
Sam studied Katie across the cafe table. She seemed nervous. Either she was avoiding eye contact, or the menu she was buried in was more interesting than he was. He liked the way her blond hair fell forward, framing her face. Sam pulled his thoughts to a halt when Melinda walked up wearing a Santa hat, a pad and pencil in hand.“You’re looking good in those coveralls,” she said with a wink.“You’ll be able to see them again tonight on the ten o’clock news,” Sam said, offering her a smile.Sam noticed Katie staring at him from behind her menu, but when he glanced her way, she ducked behind it.With a wave of he
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-02
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An Unexpected Meeting
Katie snuggled deeper into the plush hotel bed, never wanting to leave. She still had a couple hours until checkout, so she wasn’t in a big hurry, though she did want to take advantage of their free breakfast. When was the last time she’d slept on a bed? Now that she thought about it, what had Scarlett been able to sell from Katie’s apartment? It wasn’t like she’d owned a TV or nice dishes or anything.She eyed the two black bags sitting in the corner of the room. Sam and CJ had been nice enough to help her clean out her car before taking her to the hotel, and CJ had even offered to buy the car for parts, in addition to not charging her for the tow. Katie couldn’t stop thinking about the two hundred dollars that sat in her back pocket. Any thief worth their salt could grab that and be gone without her realizing they ha
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-02
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Her New Boss
Sam watched Katie as she talked on a park bench with one of the vagrants. His phone rang and he slipped it out of his pocket, his gaze never leaving the strange pair.“Hi, Zoe.”“We have a problem,” Zoe said. “The event coordinator just canceled.”Sam didn’t respond right away. The homeless woman had spotted him. Katie glanced his way and surprise flashed across her features. Then Zoe’s words registered.“Wait, what?”She released a heavy sigh. “Apparently, she and her fiancé couldn’t wait to plan their own little event, and they eloped this morning. She just sent me a text from California. Can you belie
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-02
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Be Bad, But Don't be a Liar
Katie froze. Had she really just accepted a job with no idea what it entailed? She would be paid twice as much as the employee who’d quit, but she had no idea how much they had been getting paid in the first place. And to top it all off, her plan to keep a low profile had just got her thrown into the lion’s den. Katie had known that fraternizing with a news anchor would lead to trouble—but fraternizing with the mayor? She might as well call Teddy with her GPS coordinates.With a quick glance back at Sam, who avoided her gaze, she followed Zoe outside. “I don’t know if this is the best idea,” she said, struggling to keep up with Zoe’s power walk. “Sam—I mean the mayor—has paid for my hotel through tomorrow, and I’ve been thinking this may be a good time for me to get a bus ticket and contin
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-02
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A Certain Level of Respect
Sam sat at his desk, piles of paperwork that needed his attention scattered around the room. He hoped taking the week off to be out in the community was worth all the extra headache. If I hadn’t, I would never have met Katie. Sam forced the thought out as soon as it appeared. Katie had made it clear how she felt about working for the mayor. The way she had run away from the prospect of having to share the same space as him—he couldn’t rid himself of the image. Did she think so poorly of him that she would go so far as to turn down a much-needed paycheck? Sure, he had misrepresented himself, but it wasn’t like he had planned on it. Not correcting a mistake wasn’t the same thing as lying. That was another thing he had learned when he became a politician.“Knock knock.”
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-02
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A Palpable Connection
Katie’s two black garbage bags lay on the ground next to her feet. She stood in front of Zoe’s pink two-story house, complete with black and pink polka-dotted shutters. Katie knew she should come up with something nice to say about the house, like how bright and cheerful it was, but she couldn’t quite get the words to come out. “Your place has a lot of character,” she finally managed.Zoe laughed. “I know, it’s a little much. But it’s my happy place.”“I can’t thank you enough,” Katie said. “You’re a real lifesaver. This week has been insane, and I don’t know what I would have done without you and the mayor.&rdquo
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-02
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A Good Kind of Insane
Sam paced across Zoe’s office. Katie’s scent lingered, though he couldn’t pinpoint what it was, or when he had discovered that she smelled like it. It just was. But it brought comfort knowing that even though she wasn’t there, a part of her had stayed behind.Except it should have been more than just her scent in that room. Katie and Zoe were already forty-five minutes late. With an impatient glance at his watch, Sam compared the time with the clock on the wall. They were the same. He pulled out his phone, just to make sure. As he stared at the large digital numbers that informed him that, yes, they really were that late, his phone vibrated in his hand.“Zoe, where are you guys? I thought you were meeting me almost an hour ago.” Sam tried to keep his
last updateLast Updated : 2020-12-06
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