Mine for Eternity [Council Enforcers] (Siren Publishing Classic)

a meal and a promise that he wouldn’t hurt them. Mitch didn’t seem like the crazy type that suckered an unsuspecting woman in with false promises before he dragged her down to the basement for his version of “fun.” She couldn’t be too sure though. After all, he did have a man-eating beast as a pet.
    Once Tessa was dressed she pulled out a chair next to Nico and sat. She could tell that the poor boy was fading fast. He had his head down on the table as he swung his little legs back and forth. She knew if he was still for even a minute, he would fall fast asleep. Tessa felt tears prickle her eyes. Being on the run was no way for her two-year-old child to live. He was still a baby in her eyes. He should have been at home surrounded by all his toys with regular meals. The sad thing was Tessa had no idea why she was running. One minute she was living a normal life as a single parent and the next she and her son were running scared.
    She thought about the night it all started. She had just gotten off work and locked up for the night. Normally she got off before dark, but that night Tammy, her replacement, had called in sick. Tessa covered for her because she could always use the extra money. The night was warm, so Tessa thought nothing of walking the four blocks to her apartment. The screams were what drew her attention as she walked past a small stand of trees surrounding the park she frequented with her son. The image of a man bent over a woman with blood dripping from his mouth and fingers was the first thing she saw. It was her turn to scream when she looked down to see a woman lying in the grass with her chest and stomach ripped open. Tessa didn’t think after that. She just turned and ran as fast as she could until she was safely inside her apartment.
    “Here, go ahead and eat this because you look like you’re about to pass out.” Mitch slid a plate in front of her.
    Tessa had been so lost in memory that she hadn’t even seen Mitch come over. She looked over and was surprised to see Nico happily munching on a piece of bacon. She had to give it to the kid. No matter what she had put him through these past two weeks by dragging him around, he was still the same happy kid that he had always been. She wished she could go back and be just as oblivious to the dangers in the world as he was. Unfortunately for her, she would never forget the image of the dead woman seared into her brain. She would also never forget what else she saw that night. Something she had never even told the police. They already thought she was crazy. If she had told them what else she saw, they would have surely thrown her in the nuthouse and taken her son away from her. No, she would never tell another living soul. She was going to try her best to forget about it herself. At least she would pretend she would.

Chapter 2
     
    “This is good. Thank you.” The simple meal of bacon, eggs, and toast had to be the best thing Tessa had eaten in what seemed like forever. Nico seemed to be enjoying his meal as well, judging by the fact that he had already finished his bacon and eggs and was almost done with his toast. Without thinking, she grabbed her last two pieces of bacon and a slice of toast and put them on his plate.
    “No,” Mitch grunted. He stood with an angry look on his face and headed over to the stove.
    She had no idea what his problem was, so Tessa ignored him and watched Nico as he ate. She wanted to make sure he got enough to eat because she had no idea when they would get a meal this good again. They were down to their last little bit of money, and it wasn’t like she had a way of making any more. Tessa’s head hurt just thinking about it.
    “Eat,” Mitch said, setting another full plate of food in front of her. “There’s plenty more where that came from.”
    “Why are you angry?” Tessa wasn’t sure what she had done in the past few minutes that seemed to piss the man off, but she could tell he was very unhappy at the moment. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him “thank you for the meal” and to gather their belongings and leave, but Mitch spoke before she could say anything.
    “You do that a lot, don’t you? How long has it been since you’ve eaten a full meal without giving half of it to you son?”
    Sharing with Nico was something that came naturally to Tessa. It didn’t even register that she was doing it anymore. All she cared was the he got enough to eat, and if that meant she had to go