The Awakening Read Online Free PDF Page A

door and stopped when he glanced over his shoulder at Alexis, who was frowning. “Is there a problem?” Andy stopped and waited while Alexis strode toward him and then past him, her lips thinned.
    Why, he’d pissed her off! She must have expected him to give her his arm, but he wasn’t interested. She was one foxy lady, but there something cold as ice about her that chilled him to the bone. “The blue truck. Just toss the bags in back.”
    The young airport employee did just that.
    “Be careful with that,” Alexis said. “What’s in there is worth more than you’ll have in a lifetime.”
    She was a cold bitch, too. Andy glanced upward and then shook his head in sympathy at the young guy, who stared at Andy with wide eyes.
    “Thanks,” Andy said. The guy just stood there, and Alexis stared at Andy, raising one eyebrow. Andy reached into his jean pocket and handed ten dollars to the airport employee.
    “Thank you, sir.”
    Andy walked around the side of his truck. Hell, he’d be damned if he was going to open her door, too. She was still standing on the curb when he slid behind the wheel.
    “Oh, for the love of God,” he muttered under his breath, and then he climbed out and walked around, opening her door.
    “Well, thank you. I was starting to wonder if all forms of courtesy were void in this part of the country.” As soon as she sat, he shoved the door closed and smiled to himself when he heard her indignant huff.

Chapter Five
    “Your rent is due on the first of the month. There are no exceptions.”
    Laura stood in the open doorway, facing her landlord, Jerry Hines, a middle-aged single guy with a solid build. He was a little on the rough side and somewhat good looking, but he could be a hard nose. He’d raised her rent only once, and she knew it was more than he was legally allowed, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.
    “I know, Mr. Hines. I am few days late, but I lost my job, and my boss didn’t give me my last paycheck. I’m looking for another one. If you could just give me a few more days…”
    He cut her off. “ No, cash now. Do you or don’t you have it?”
    Laura could feel a hard lump burning her throat. She had no idea what to do, and she shut her eyes for a second. In that moment, Jerry fingered a strand of her long hair, which hung loose, and then slid his hand on the doorframe in a gesture that had her blood running cold.
    “There is another way you could work it off for this month.” He gazed at her with dark eyes that resembled those of a predator cornering his prey. Laura stepped back, trembling.
    “No. Please, I would like just a couple days, and I swear I will have your rent. Or I could give you my car.” She felt panic, a strange bedfellow that had become too familiar over the last few years, sneaking up again.
    Jerry sighed and hardened his face, watching her as if she were nothing but a nuisance. “That piece of crap? Not interested. Be gone by morning. I have someone who’ll be moving in.”
    “Jerry, please… We have no place to go. Don’t we have any rights? How can you just throw us out? I’ve always paid you on time. This is the first time ever…” She didn’t recognize her voice.
    He turned away and then shook his head, then looked at her with those hard eyes. “You have no rights. You’re a nobody, and I have the law on my side. I’m a landowner. Laura, you’re a nice girl, but don’t mess with me, because you’ll get hurt. Start packing. I’ll be back at seven in the morning, and you better be gone or I will take what you owe me in another way.” He didn’t stop but stalked around the corner.
    Laura closed the older wood door and sagged against it as if she were an eighty-year-old woman. She couldn’t believe how fate could be so cruel. What had she done to deserve this? She had no family she could call. Her parents had tossed her out when they found out she was pregnant, calling her a slut and a bad influence on her younger brothers.