Chapter 2

EZRA

I… I didn’t know what to think. Hell, I wasn’t even sure how to feel that the kid I was supposed to take care of was… a grown-ass man.

“Do you have any questions, Ezra?” Lilian—that was her name—said, and I jerked, my whole body unable to catch up to reality quick enough.

“I…” I trailed off. Was I supposed to ask questions? They would have put it in the ad if they wanted people to know.

“Did he scare you?” she asked, her bright eyes, too much like his, stared into me like she was peeling off my layers and staring right into my soul.

I laughed, a forced one and gripped the cup of tea she had placed in front of me until my fingers hurt. “No,” I smiled, and lied. Not when I needed this job. “It was just unexpected.”

She clapped her hands, the sound sharp and echoing through the massive house.

“Good,” she said, nothing more. No explanation for why he acted that way, no reason why I was supposed to care for a man who was no doubt older than me.

Then she opened her bag and brought out a neat stack of papers.

“These are the documents you need to sign. See, we are a very private family, Ezra, and we would like to keep his condition hidden.” She smiled, but there was nothing pleasant about it. Her smile made my stomach tighten.

“The rules are simple. No phone—”

“What? Why?” The word shot out before I could stop myself. I needed my phone. What kind of madman lived without their phone?

She smiled again, the same way someone might when they’re humoring a child. “Like I said, we are very private. We don’t allow our workers to have phones that could sneak pictures of us. If you need to contact someone, we have a telephone you can use.”

I sucked in a slow breath. Everything inside me whispered this was not the brightest thing to do. Work here.

Until she said—

“The pay will be increased based on how diligently you work. And if you can stay and take care of him for up to three months, a bonus of ten thousand dollars will be added to your current salary.”

“Where do I sign?” The words were out before I could even think. Fuck. Ten grand. With my salary? I’d be insane not to take it. I lived like a rat—late rent, cheap food, secondhand clothes. That money wasn’t just tempting. It was survival.

Lilian’s smile stretched wider as she handed me a pen. I signed fast, then gave her my phone. She slipped it into an electronic locker that scanned her fingerprint. My breath caught at the glowing screen: 30 days counting down.

“At the end of the month, you’ll get one day off to do whatever you need and check your salary,” she said. She didn’t even bother taking the locker with her, just flipped her hair back and picked up her bag like we were done here.

“Is there anything else?” I asked as I stood, my hand tightening around the edge of the contract.

She raised a finger like she’d just remembered something.

“Right. Make sure he eats three times a day. He’s picky. Make sure he takes his medication—those are in the kitchen cabinet, all labeled. Make sure he doesn’t leave the house. And a doctor comes once a month. He hates it, but he must get his shot. Every time.”

My hands trembled at the weight of the rules, but I forced a smile and nodded.

~~~~~~~

I carried the contract back to the guest room she had assigned me, my head buzzing with numbers. Ten thousand. Jesus Christ. That wasn’t a bonus. That was a lifeline. A golden fucking rope tossed into my pit of debt and overdue rent.

And all I had to do was babysit… a man. A man who crawled across the floor like a kid pretending to play. A man whose sister smiled like she wanted to slit my throat while asking if he’d scared me.

The room was spotless like no one had ever lived in it. A single bed pressed to the wall, white sheets tucked so tightly it looked like they’d ironed them into the mattress. A cedar-smelling wardrobe that was empty. No television. No clock. Just a desk, a chair, and a window facing the garden.

I shut the door and leaned against it, finally letting the tension rush out of me in one sharp breath. My phone. Gone. Thirty days. One day off. What the hell had I just agreed to?

The paper crinkled in my hand as I smoothed it again. My signature sat at the bottom, black and permanent and binding.

I sat on the bed, rubbed my face, and tried not to think about how Lilian’s smile had widened when I signed, like she already knew I’d regret it.

A soft creak pulled me upright.

The door.

It hadn’t shut all the way, just wide enough for a sliver of the hallway to be visible and through the crack was that blue eyes that stared at me wide and unblinking.

My heart jumped into my throat. “Kieran?” I whispered, swallowing the lump in my throat.

The eyes didn’t move, didn’t even flicker. He just stood there, watching me breathe, watching me try to pretend I wasn’t unnerved.

I forced a smile, the kind you give a toddler who’s caught you off guard. “Hey… it’s okay,” I said softly, tilting my head to look harmless. “I’m Ezra. I’m here to help you.”

I got Nothing. Not even a twitch.

I swallowed and crouched slightly, lowering my voice like I would with a kid. “Do you… wanna come in?” My hand gripped the doorframe so tightly my knuckles burned. “We can talk, or… I don’t know, play a game?”

For a split second, I thought it worked. His lips parted, his chest moved like he might answer, then, without a sound, he turned and bolted.

Not walked. Not shuffled. Bolted. His body, long and lean, moved too fast down the hallway. Bare feet slapped against the wood until he vanished around the corner.

I stood frozen, my fake smile stuck in place, my stomach sinking into a pit.

That wasn’t what I’d expected. Not even close and I wondered if I was going to regret taking this job.