At first Duke was weirded out that he’d actually seen her ex fucking her, not just some random guy.

“They’re all my ex-somethings now,” she said as she walked past him into her room, her phone pressed to her ear as she called the cops.

She’d known he was thinking about that.

When she got off the phone, he said, “I know. I get that. I can’t regret that time, though. Seeing you in your kitchen. You’re so fucking beautiful. I’d never want to erase that memory. Even if he’s part of it.”

She hugged him.

“Damn, you always do that.”

“What?” He hugged her back, putting his rage away until he could deal with her ex in person.

“You say exactly the best thing.”

She had no idea how amazing she was. He wanted to wash away all this shit from her past, replace the bad with all the good he could bring her.

But that wasn’t how things worked.

He kissed the top of her head. “Let’s see what he took. Make a note for the police. Save the thing he left on your door too. Maybe they know where he is.”

“They’ve come here looking for him so I doubt it.” She went back into her room and poked around, making a note here and there.

It didn’t take long. “He took some jewelry. Nothing expensive. Thank goodness I was wearing my necklace.”

“Something special?” he asked as they settled on the porch to wait for the police to arrive.

“My grandma gave it to me. He took my iPod dock. Oh shit.” She stood quickly and headed back inside, straight to her bathroom. The medicine cabinet was open, as were a few drawers. “I moved her pills when I heard Steven was out again.”

Carmella pulled out a bulk-sized package of tampons and pads and inside that was a lockbox. “He’s one of those dudes who thinks it’s mandatory to run screaming into the night at the mere thought of menstruation. Steven is too. They’d look around in the usual places for pills and hidden stashes of money, but not if they had to touch a pad. Dumbasses.”

“You’re brilliant, you know that? Wait, do you think this is connected to your mom asking for a loan?”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s just a stupid coincidence. He and my father don’t know one another, but even if they did, Clifton doesn’t work with anyone else. He’s a solo practitioner. That’s how he says he does his crime alone to make it sound mysterious. He turns up once every year or so, usually to ask for money. But breaking in and stealing from me that way is a new one.”

“This guy makes me want to punch him more with each moment,” Duke snarled.

The police arrived shortly after that and took her statement along with the note the ex had left.

Once that happened, Duke ran to grab some tools and fixed her window. She looked more exhausted by the minute and he wanted her to get some sleep.

“We haven’t eaten and you need to sleep. I’d really rather you slept at my house after I feed you. I don’t feel very good about how safe this place is now. Tomorrow when it’s light out, I’ll give it a look with Mick, who is fantastic with home security stuff. Then we’ll make this place shipshape. Bring Ginger’s bed and food and some clothes for tomorrow. You’re taking the day off, as am I.”

She sighed. “Why? You should walk the hell away right now.”

“If I wanted to walk away, I would have. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’ve made some bad choices, Duke. I’m mortified right now. My ex-con dad, my recreational-pill-popping mom with chronic mental health issues, my grifter ex-husband who breaks in but I don’t have much to steal. It’s all so, ugh, tacky.”

“You are not tacky. You are beautiful and intelligent. You’re great with numbers and ziti. Animals love you. I’m not about to equate you with the personal bullshit of anyone else. Your ex is a piece of shit. But that’s not on you. You are not your parents, Carmella.”

“I should tell you no,” she said so quietly he wondered if he’d imagined it. And then louder, “I’m not taking tomorrow off. I have things to do.”

At least she had some of her spark back. He could work with that.

“You can work from my house. I know your boss, he’s pretty cool.”

She stood in the middle of her bedroom and the ridiculousness of the day hit her with so much force she couldn’t stop the tears. Her crying was one of those mixes of helpless rage and embarrassment.

Duke saw it and she hated that. Hated that he saw her at such a low point. But he picked up Ginger’s bed and her purse. “I will be right back.” He called out to the dog and she heard him gather a few things and go out her front door.

Left alone, she went to her knees and let it all go. He gave her the space to fall apart. Gave it because he knew on some level that she needed it.

Being seen like that was … humbling. Carmella used a washcloth to wipe her eyes. Her makeup had to look terrible by that point, so she heaved herself up and began to gather stuff.

Began to organize her thoughts and make a list of everything she had to do. And by the time Duke made a lot of noise coming back inside, she was better.

“Ready?” he asked, standing in her doorway.

She could see it in his face and the way he held himself. He’d made a hard choice to leave her those minutes before.

He’d put her first. Her needs.

She nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead her away.