Four months later …
“He’s up next!” Aunt Shelly screamed in my ear.
I didn’t need her to tell me because I’d been waiting for it. I’d counted down each fight waiting to see Rage. The New Orleans arena was huge compared to the one at home. We’d been waiting for this match since Rage started fighting at the gym.
I glanced down at my blank cell phone and frowned. Dante hadn’t texted me back. I had hardly talked to him in the last three weeks, and he lived with us. After his surgery, Rage stepped up to the plate and started talking care of him. He’d been closed off and hadn’t showed any interest in anything. I’d never been in a wheelchair, but I knew he was upset about it. Who wouldn’t be?
I slid my phone back into my pocket.
The last I’d heard of Denver, he was awaiting trial. Knowing that the scumbag would never see daylight again made the kidnapping wort
Oh hell to the no.Something burned its way up the back of my throat and threatened to strangle the breath from me. Everything darkened but the opened square foil package in my grip. Anger clogged my throat and deafened my ears.This d-bag is going down.The flat-screen TV cast a glow over the dimly lit dining room. Those stupid, hideous pale green walls that he was certain would look great in oursalle a mangergawked back at me.Lucy, my pit, glared at me from the living room doorway with concern on her pale face. She looked so out of place next to the expensive dining room furniture and lush rugs. "Lucy, come sit down girl," he called.Vomit cl
"Tell me where he is," I shouted, my foot connecting with the man's ribs.All I could see was red. The sympathy I had for the man below us had vanished when he spit in my face. This guy knew where Denver was at all times, and I needed him to spit it out. I couldn't find my sister until I found Denver.He looked up at me from the concrete, his expensive clothes in shreds, and smiled a bloody smile. "I'll never tell."Dante reached down, grabbed his shirt, and lifted him up to the brick wall behind him. "We know you know where he is and you have ten seconds to tell me."Dante was in even more trouble for being there than me. It wasn't his mess, but he had my back. Dante was the only person I could trust. The man snarled and spit at his
Lucy woke me the next morning with her tongue on my face. I cringed and wiped at my mouth until she started bouncing next to the bed."Okay, I'm getting up," I whined. "I'll get you something to eat."I dragged the covers from my body and stood abruptly, causing a flood of stars to block my vision. Whew, I am not a morning person.I trudged toward the kitchen and found a note from Dad on the bar.There is cereal in the cabinet and gravy and biscuits on the stove.I glanced at the food sitting on the stove, and my stomach grumbled. After giving Lucy her food, I made a quick plate and ate while I got ready for my run. It was a sunny day compared to the rain storm that blew through the
The hot summer air did nothing for my mood.The butter I'd been asked to get from the store had already melted in the bag.I'd hoped Mom cooked something good with that butter. I'd lost my Call of Duty match online because of it.It'd been six blocks to the store since I was out of gas, and I didn't get paid at my after school grocery bagging job until Friday.I'd made it to the house with the German Shepard when I smelled the smoke.At first I thought someone was burning leaves. Then I heard all the screams, and my heart dropped into my stomach. I clutched the bag in my hand and ran. There wasn't any way of me knowing who it was, but I had a gut feeling that told me I was about to live my worst nightmare.
Lucy and I decided to stay at the gym until Dad closed. I hadn't wanted to spend an awkward day with Cooper. Lucy beat me to the house and bounced like a rabbit on the front porch waiting for me.My laugh was short lived when I noticed Cooper's truck in the driveway. I guess I'd hoped he'd go home tonight, but that prayer had gone unanswered.Cooper sat at our bar with his head in his hands when we walked in."How is he?" Dad asked from behind me.Cooper lifted his head, and his gaze landed on mine. That gaze had once sent jolts of adrenaline through me. "He's better. He's eating, and I changed out all of his bandages. He'll be able to walk normally in a couple of days."Dad walked o
All the lights were off when we got home. When Aunt Shelly goes shopping, the woman goes shopping. Three bags hung from each of my closed fists, and she was totally right: clothes do take the edge off.Lucy laid in Dad's lap in the recliner. His head thrown backwards and his snores echoed throughout the silent house. Smiling, I covered them up and made my way toward my bedroom.The crickets sang from outside, and I listened while putting away my clothes. Then I heard someone yell. I dropped my bag, and my blood turned to ice in my veins.Again. Louder.I couldn't make out what the person said, but I knew where it came from. Before I thought better of it, I raced out the back door into the humid summer night and forced my way into the
I'm going to hell.Demons would drag me out of my bed and into the fiery underworld soon. I couldn't take much more of her sarcastic, sexy as sin attitude. I wanted her so badly that I ached when I saw that kid flirting with her. Not to mention him on top of her, it took all my self-control not to drag him out of the ring.And those stupid yoga pants. Didn't she have any real clothes?"Declan, you want some more to drink?"I glanced up from my plate at Wes. He smiled over at me, offering me the jug of sweet tea. "Thank you, yes."I poured myself another glass and wished it was Bacardi. I needed a drink.Dinner had started o
There was nothing like a six a.m. run to get my blood pumping and potentially forget the awkward dinner from hell the night before. I couldn’t stop looking at my plate, even my dad’s eagerness to get the conversation going made me queasy. The guest house came into view and a low hum glided down to my toes. As badly as I wanted to dislike him, something so magnetic beckoned me nearer and it tittered onto my last nerve. Lucy bounded toward the porch of the guest house before looking over her shoulder at me. “We’re not going in there.”She whined but followed me to the house. I took time shaving my legs and fixing my hair, feeling like a sixteen-year-old girl getting ready for a date, but obviously, it wasn’t a date—not by a long shot. It wasn’t going to happen, anyway, he’d made it loud and clear.After I finished getting ready, I pulled on the tightest pair of colorful leggings, a white