Downfall(19)

The apartment felt like the seventh circle of hell after being closed up all day. I tugged at the collar of my button-up and watched as the landlord stomped over to the wall unit. He banged on it with the side of his fist and played with the dials on the front of it. I’d done both those things several times over the last few days, so I wasn’t surprised when his Neanderthal tinkering didn’t work. When he started swearing, I was super glad Noble was still with Erica. She didn’t need to witness a grown man melting down because he couldn’t make something work.

He looked at me over his shoulder, eyes narrowed and mouth pulled into a tight line. I stayed by the tiny kitchen area where I tossed my purse on the counter and curled my fingers tighter around my phone. I wasn’t sure how fast I could call for help if I needed to, or who would show up, but I felt better having the device in my hand.

“I had all the units checked before summer. Did you mess with it? Are you sure your kid didn’t fuck with it?” He huffed and lumbered over to the wall where the thermostat was.

I bristled at the insinuation the malfunction was because of operator error. “I’m positive she was nowhere near the AC. First of all, she can’t reach it, second of all, I don’t let her play with things like that.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at his back. “If the entire building had central air conditioning, you wouldn’t have to worry about keeping individual ones in each apartment running.”

The man snorted and played with the thermostat. “Consider yourself lucky you found a place that has air conditioning at all. Central heat and air don’t happen in places like this. Hell, I’m lucky if some junky doesn’t swipe my copper pipes for the plumbing to hock for cash every day.”

I didn’t say anything. I was lucky I found this place, but I was even luckier that no one from my old life had found it. Granted, who would ever think to look for me here? It was exactly why I’d taken the apartment in the first place. Even if this jerk couldn’t get the AC working, I was staying put. I figured I could stock up on fans if it came down to it.

“It looks like there’s a loose wire so the blower isn’t working to circulate air.” The thermostat came off the wall and the distinct smell of burning plastic wafted from the hole.

I gritted my back teeth, wondering how close we’d come to having the entire place burn down around us.

The landlord played with the wires, still grumbling under his breath, but by the time he screwed the thermostat back into the wall a trickle of cool air was making its way out of the wall unit. It was by no means a refreshing blast of cold, but it was enough to keep the apartment bearable. I wanted to ask about the wiring. I figured I should get some kind of discount for willingly living in a death-trap, but as the older man moved closer to where I was leaning on the chipped laminate countertop, those thoughts fled. I didn’t like the predatory gleam in his eyes, or the way he openly leered at me.

“Your baby daddy isn’t around today?” He wiped his hands on the thighs of his jeans and lifted a thin eyebrow at me.

I cleared my throat and stood up straighter. I needed to get my hands on a taser or remember to keep my pepper spray out, if I was going to keep having run-ins with men who gave me the creeps. “He could be here any minute. He went to pick up our daughter.” I wasn’t a great liar naturally, but when I needed to, I could sound convincing.

“But he isn’t here right now, is he?” When he took another step into my personal space my blood pressure skyrocketed and a quiver of alarm zipped up and down my spine. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the door to the hallway was still open and I already knew the walls were paper thin. If I screamed bloody murder, someone was bound to hear me. The question was, would anyone care? Or was a woman in distress so common around here that everyone would simply go about their business like nothing happened?

I flinched when one of his fat hands lifted toward my face and touched a loose strand of hair. I jerked my head away and pushed him away with a hand on the center of his barrel chest. “Stop it. You don’t get to put your hands on me.”

He snorted and caught my arm when I tried to move away from him. “If you were nicer to me, it wouldn’t have taken me so long to come and fix your AC. You might want to remember that just in case something breaks in the future. I have the power to make living here very uncomfortable for you and your daughter.”

I bristled at the threat and struggled to pull my arm free. His fingers tightened painfully around my wrist and he pulled until I was pressed up against his sweaty chest. His ugly eyes stayed locked on mine as his other hand reached around and landed on my ass.

I yelped and fought to get free, but the super just laughed and smirked at me. “If you’re really, really nice to me… maybe we can work out something so your rent isn’t quite as much each month.”

I shoved at him and tried to knee him between the legs, but he was ready for the move and used my forward momentum to wrap his arm tightly around me. I was trapped against him, and I could feel his arousal pressing against me. It made me gag. I opened my mouth to scream the whole building down, but immediately a heavy hand was slapped over my lips. I gagged again and continued to struggle as the man ran the tip of his nose over my cheek bone.

“You’re so soft and pretty. I don’t even care that you have a kid. You’re still extremely sexy. We never see many like you around here. By the time they land here, they’re all so jaded. They know better than to let a man like me into their apartment when they’re alone. But you know nothing, and that makes you irresistible.”