The Hitman and the Nanny

The Hitman and the Nanny

by Erika Reed

The Hitman and the Nanny

Copyright © February 2019 by Erika Reed

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal, except for the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles.

Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

Blurb

Lorena Castro was a young Hispanic woman who had always done the right thing in life, especially when it came to her family. The oldest, she was tired of being the responsible one, never having any time or fun for herself. One night she decided to do something wild and had some fun with a complete stranger. Little did she know she would meet the handsome but rugged-looking man from the bar again when she answered his ad for a nanny. She was desperate and needed this job and no matter what happened between the two of them, she had to accept the situation. But could she resist her feelings for her overbearing and sexy boss?

Cruz Delgado had never had to answer to anyone in his life. He preferred to work alone and he wasn’t afraid of hard work or getting his hands dirty. Conceited and arrogant as hell, there had never been a woman that could deny his rough-around-the-edges good looks and his arrogant disposition. Being a hitman, Cruz had seen and done a lot of bad things in his life, but nothing had prepared him for the turn his life had taken. He needed help in a bad way, so hiring the sexy little nanny was his only option. Cruz and Lorena knew their working relationship was going to be hard, but they had no idea how much they would come to need each other. 

The Hitman and the Nanny

by Erika Reed

Chapter One

Lorena flipped the last corn tortilla shell in the pan with the hot oil. The smell of the spicy hamburger meat flowed through the air as she prepped the last of their dinner. She stood and waited for the hot oil to firm up the taco shell before placing it on the plate beside the shredded cheese, tomatoes and homemade salsa that sat in their bowls beside the meat. Ground beef tacos were an inexpensive meal her family never grew tired of, even though they ate it about three times a week. Lorena turned off the burner and listened as a door opened and the sounds of rubber soles squeaked down the linoleum hallway.

I’m leaving now, her mother announced from the living room.

Lorena wiped away the excess grease she had on her hands with the old kitchen towel and quickly filled a few tacos shells with the ingredients on the counter for her mother to take along with her. She was trying to hurry up and didn’t want her mother to leave without dinner. Before she grabbed the plastic bag from the counter, she covered the plate with clear wrap and sprinted for the door. 

Wait!

She rounded the wall that divided the kitchen from their small living room. Her mother was giving Lorena’s eighteen-year-old twin brother and sister, Carly and Carlos, a kiss goodbye as they sat on the couch watching TV.

I made these tacos for you to eat on your break later, Mama, she said, handing her the bag. I don’t want you to forget to eat at work again tonight. I worry about you. You’re getting too skinny.

Her mother wrapped her arms around Lorena’s shoulders and gave her an appreciative hug and placed a kiss on her cheek. Since she had gone through a growth spurt at an early age, her five-foot-two mother had to stand on her tiptoes to kiss Lorena’s cheek before she pulled away and patted her shoulder.

"You have a good heart, Mija. You will make someone a good wife in the future. She waved her finger in front of her face. But not yet. You’re still too young to get married. Listen to your mama. She slipped on her sweater before grabbing the bag from Lorena’s hand. You’re too good to me. Thank you for thinking of me." She smiled and waved at all of them as she went out the door.

Love you, Ma. Carlos waved, but his eyes never left the television.

Love you and have a good night at work, Mama, Carly called after her.

Lorena knew that if she didn’t make sure her mother ate, she would forget to feed herself. After the twins were born, Lorena’s selfish father had decided he didn’t want to be tied down by a wife and three kids, so he’d walked out on them and never looked back. Thankfully Lorena’s grandmother, her abuela, moved in and helped take care of them when they were young so that their mother could work and provide for her kids.

Lorena had fortunately found a job nearby as a part-time daycare assistant after she graduated from high school. She loved kids and there was nothing she enjoyed more than working with them on a daily basis. It was just a bonus that she could save the money she made to put toward her college tuition. Luckily, she had also been able to get a few small scholarships to help the financial burden so she could focus on the classes she took a few days a week at night at the local community college. It had always been a dream of hers to one day have her own daycare center. But she wanted to have a business degree to back it up. She had always received good grades in school and didn’t mind the long hours she put in working and studying. One day she wanted to be able to take care of herself financially and not have to depend on a man to provide for her. Her father’s refusal to take care of his own children had made her resolve that she would never depend on a man for stability.

But two years into Lorena’s schooling, her abuela passed away in her sleep. Without the extra money from her Social Security each month, it became much more difficult to pay the bills and put food on the table.

Knowing how much it meant to her to finish her education, her mother had insisted on picking up a second job so Lorena could finish up her BA. Ever since then, she never slowed down, rarely sleeping more than five hours at a time, and never took a day off. After she was done with her basic classes, Lorena put the rest of her schooling on the back burner and focused on her job at the daycare. But she’d recently found out that the owner of the daycare was closing the doors because she could no longer afford to keep the business afloat. Wanting to take the burden of paying the bills off her mother’s shoulders, Lorena had been searching for a new job, but so far with no luck.

Lorena sighed as she locked the front door and turned to where her two younger siblings were trying to look like they were busy with their homework. Come and eat, you two.

As Carly set the table for dinner, Carlos got out the hot sauce and brought the rice from the microwave.

Shoot! I forgot to send some rice with Mom. Lorena winced as she saw the bowl on the table. She resolved to leave a plate for her it in the fridge in case she was hungry after her shift at the diner.

Carlos spooned a large helping on his plate. I will eat the leftovers tomorrow. Don’t worry about that, sis.

Lorena laughed. I have no doubts about that. You eat anything and everything that’s put in front of you.

Carlos worked part time at the grocery store down the street and Carly babysat for the family down the street on the weekends and a few days after school. Lorena was grateful for her siblings stepping up to help pay for the little things they wanted. The twins didn’t want to miss out on all the fun of their senior year and they didn’t want to ask their mom for money for things like senior pictures, yearbooks and the trips they wanted to go on with their friends.  

After dinner, Carlos had retreated to his room to talk to his girlfriend on the phone privately. Countless times, Lorena had drilled into her siblings’ heads the importance of using contraceptives. She knew all too well the consequences if you got caught up in the heat of the moment without using protection.

In her senior year of high school, her best friend Katalina had had a one-night stand with a guy she had just met. Because of one careless act, Katalina was forced to make the decision to abort her unborn child because when she did decide to have a child in the future, she wanted to be prepared for it. There was no way she wanted to raise a child on her own and the guy she’d slept with had no idea that she had even gotten pregnant. She never saw the guy or even knew his last name after the night they’d shared.

Lorena wasn’t the