Losing everything is a disaster, until an unexpected hero sneaks into your life and saves the day. ELIJAH After narrowly avoiding a prison sentence, I snatch up the chance to start over. But my ex certainly didn’t make things easy. I’ve lost everything–my job, my reputation, my friends, everything except what matters most, my infant son, Griffin. He’s the reason I live and breathe, but I don’t know if I can do this alone. Then an angel appears in the form of my new neighbor, Jude. He’s handsome and good with my son, but my heart is hesitant to love again. Especially with Jude’s personal demons interfering, leading him to betray my trust. Despite our falling out, when my past shows up, putting Griffin in danger, Jude’s the one riding to the rescue. He’s a good man, but am I ready to risk my heart to build a future with him? JUDE He’s gone, and he took my heart and soul with him. Life is now an endless round of working security jobs and losing myself in the bottom of a bottle… until the night I meet my new neighbor Elijah and his baby boy. Suddenly, the future I always wanted is possible again, and I cling to it with all I’ve got. But my clinging leads me to make a decision that could tank everything before it gets started. Even though Elijah has pushed me away, when he and Griffin are in danger, I can’t stand by and do nothing. Elijah and I may not end up together, but he and his son have become my reason to live. As long as they are safe, nothing else matters. I’d rather they be alive to love from afar, than be dead and return to the darkness I was in before we met, because this time I might not make it out. This story was originally published in the Saved by the Everyday Hero anthology.