Chapter 3

I was right at the edge of heaven; the last thing I wanted to do was leave.

Elena, ever so considerate, gently pushed me away.

"He's your coworker. You guys have to work together every day. If you don't help him, it'll make things awkward at work. Go ahead. I'll wait for you at home."

Her soothing voice worked like magic, instantly cooling down my frustration.

I pulled on my clothes and rushed over to the bus depot.

Ray really had messed up.

He had scraped the side of his bus against a barrier.

For an experienced driver like me, it was nothing. Call the police for a minor incident report, notify insurance, and file the paperwork with the company.

Instead, the kid was crying like a baby, his face soaked in tears and snot. He clutched my arm and wouldn't let go, begging me to stay through the entire police statement.

"Bro, if you leave, I won't know what to say to the cops!"

He was a sobbing mess. I never realized he was this spineless.

Maybe it was just because he was new to the job.

Feeling bad for him, I stayed and helped him sort through the mess.

By the time everything was handled, most of the day was gone.

Today was supposed to be my day off. All I wanted was to hurry home to Elena and finish what we started.

Ray grabbed my sleeve again.

"Bro... my hands are shaking so bad. I can't drive my shift tonight."

I looked down. His hands really were trembling, his knees knocking. Sending him out on the road like this was practically asking for a fatal accident.

I had no choice. I pulled out my phone and texted Elena.

She replied immediately, sweet and understanding.

"Don't worry about me, Jack. Go do your job. I'll clean the apartment and wait for you to come home whenever you're done."

Seeing how sweet she was, I grinned from ear to ear.

Ray leaned over to peek at my screen, but I shoved him back.

Jealousy dripped from his face.

"Damn, bro... texting your gorgeous girl?"

He practically had drool hanging from his mouth. Seeing another guy drool over my woman rubbed me the wrong way.

I brushed him off and told him to go home and sleep it off.

Ray, trying to be polite, transferred some money to my account, saying it was compensation for covering his shift.

With millions on the way, I didn't care about a couple of bucks.

When I unlocked my phone, though, my eyes nearly popped out.

He had sent a thousand dollars. That was enough to cover five straight days of shifts. Did this idiot really expect me to drive for five straight days?

That meant five days and five nights away from home!

If I were still single, fine. But I finally had a gorgeous girl waiting in my bed. Leaving her alone in an empty apartment for nearly a week was suicide.

I called after Ray.

"If you're taking five days off, you better find someone else. Even with the cash, I'm not covering that much. I've got a life."

The kid wanted to use this as an excuse to slack off, and I wasn't about to sacrifice my personal happiness for his lazy ass.

I tapped my screen and sent the money straight back.

To my shock, Ray immediately blocked me on SnapChat and refused to take it, pleading with me on the spot.

"I've got driving PTSD from the crash, Jack! I need a few days off!"

"That's between you and management. Talk to the boss."

Thinking of Elena's soft, warm curves, I hardened my heart, snatched Ray's phone right out of his hand, and opened his banking app.

If he blocked me on social media, I'd send it via bank transfer.

I wired back six hundred.

Ray tried wrestling his phone back, but I stood my ground.

Three days of coverage was more than generous. That was my absolute limit.

For three days and three nights, I drove non-stop. Aside from short fifteen-minute breaks at the depot, I ate and slept at the bus station. By day three, my head was spinning from exhaustion.

The only silver lining was my notifications. Elena texted me during meals and before bed, keeping me company.

Still, she never showed up on my late-night bus again.

Just as I was about to text her and ask what she was up to, my phone buzzed.

A text alert from my bank.

A grin spread across my face.

Counting the days, the compensation payout was supposed to land right about now.

I opened the notification, eager to take a screenshot and share the good news with Elena.

The moment my eyes landed on the balance line, my vision went completely black.

Right there, in bold, mocking digits:

"$0.00."

I frantically called the land registry office back in my hometown. The payout had been processed the morning after I brought Elena home.

Over the next few days, massive transfers were made one after another.

By this morning, every single penny was gone.

I barely interacted with anyone outside of work. The only person who had access to my phone was Elena.

Thinking back to her weird behavior over the past few days, my brain felt like it was going to explode. I abandoned everything and raced home.

The apartment was dead silent. Empty.

Her clothes, her shoes—everything was gone.

That bitch stole every cent I had!

Furious, I dialed 911 on the spot.

The officers took my statement and told me to go home and wait for updates.

I had blisters forming on my lips from pure stress, but life had to go on.

If that money was gone forever, I needed to work even harder just to survive.

Two days later, I went back to my shifts, driving with a heavy foot and a short temper.

Another late-night run. Looking ahead at an empty stop, I prepared to blow right past it without stopping.

Suddenly, a woman stepped out from behind the shelter, waving frantically.

Elena!

She had the nerve to show her face on my bus?!

I slammed on the brakes and hit the door switch.

The moment she stepped inside, she looked pale and terrified. Just like the first night we met, she collapsed into my chest, shaking violently.

"Jack, save me!"