Ch. 2 Dark And Dangerous

Elena 

Texting Livvy I’m on my way to her house, I wait for my phone to ping with her return text. I never just show up at her door and knock in case her parents are home. They’ve been almost as broken as me since that night five years ago. They put on a brave face for their girls, but I can see the pain in their eyes and it hits a little too close to home so I avoid them. 

A frisson of fear skates down my spine when I hear a twig snap somewhere nearby. The hairs on my neck stand on end with the feeling of being watched. I spin around, scanning my surroundings, but there’s no one there and the forest is completely still, not even a leaf rustling. Then my phone dings in my pocket and I yelp.

“Fucking hell, Elena! Get your shit together!” I mumble to myself. Am I so desperate for an adrenaline rush I’m creating imaginary threats to get high?

Checking my phone for Livvy’s response, I pick up my pace as I head deeper into the woods. Thankfully she said her parents aren’t home and just to let myself in the front door. She left it unlocked for me and I hurry inside, ridiculously breathless from my little scare.

“Hey, Ells!” Livvy’s sixteen year old little sister Brynlee greets me. “Liv’s upstairs in her room.”

“Thanks, Bryn!” I wave over my shoulder, continuing toward the stairs.

I knock on Livvy’s door and she flings it open, a grimace immediately overtaking her face as she takes me in. She takes a deep breath and blows it out then flicks her head toward the bed. 

“Go sit down. I’ll get the first aid kit.” She’s already heading to the bathroom and I don’t bother to argue. There is no point when it comes to her stubborn ass. 

“What was it this time?” She raises an eyebrow in my direction as she searches through the kit for the antibiotic cream. 

“Close encounter with a very rocky river bed after jumping from a considerable height.” I raise an eyebrow in return, daring her to comment.

She doesn’t. Instead, she just hums to herself while she works away, painting my scrapes and scratches with the ointment. But being the Livvy I know and love, she doesn’t stay quiet for long.

“Someone should really tear down that old bridge. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Case in point.” She grumbles to herself. 

“So, you going to Kaden’s party tonight?” I change the subject, addressing the elephant in the room. 

“It’s your party too, you know. And of course I’m going. Kaden asked me to come.” She shrugs, downplaying what she knows is a difficult topic for me. 

I haven’t so much as acknowledged my birthday in five years and I’m not about to start now. But I have other bears to poke when it comes to Livvy and my brother. 

“As his date?” I tease, waggling my eyebrows at her.

“As his friend.” She insists. 

“Uh-huh.” I grunt. “And does Declan know he asked you . . . as a friend?”

“We’re all friends. Ells. Don’t stir the pot. Not all of us share your love for the dramatic.” She rolls her eyes in exasperation. 

“Sure, sure.” I mumble.

Declan Connor is my mom’s little brother, Kaden and I’s uncle though he’s a month younger than us and hates when we tease him about it. He and Kaden are best friends and practically joined at the hip. But lately they’ve both developed an interest in the same girl and Livvy is completely oblivious. 

“So what are your plans for the evening?” Livvy asks, shifting the focus back to my fucked up life. 

“Just hanging at the bar with Jake.” I admit, though I know he isn’t her favorite person.

Jake’s dad owns the Wolf’s Den and he lets us hang out even though we’re underage as long as we don't drink and stay out of trouble. Fortunately, he is always too busy to notice when we liberate a few beers from their unwitting owners. It will be a good way to forget what day it is while allowing my tender ribs a reprieve.

“Hmm, Jake.” Her voice is thick with disapproval. 

Livvy knows of Jake but she’s never met him or any of my “other” friends. It’s like I lead two separate lives and the halves never mix. She’s the only person who even knows their names, though she and Kaden both know what I get up to with them. 

“I’m gonna need to borrow some clothes. Don’t wanna go back home today.” I say, knowing she doesn’t need an explanation.

“I’ll do you one better.” She winks conspiratorially. “I’ll loan you a smokin’ hot outfit and I’ll do your hair and make-up. You can’t go out looking like an accident victim.”

Livvy is so easy to be with. She has an instinctive ability to let things drop, knowing when not to push any further. I put my earbuds in, lose myself in the music and don’t think too hard about anything while she makes me over and she doesn’t take offense. I really need to make more of an effort to show her how much I appreciate her. 

“Voilà! Très magnifique!” Livvy exclaims in French as she turns me toward the full length mirror.

“Wow!” I breathe. “I should make you my personal stylist.”

“Considering you rarely wear makeup and your outfit of choice is jeans and a t-shirt, I’d be bored out of my mind.” she responds acerbically.

“Good point.” I agree, not taking my eyes off the reflection in front of me. 

My hair, usually worn in a limp messy bun, now hangs down my back in golden silky waves. And not only has she hidden all my scratches, but she’s given my skin a bright, luminous glow and highlighted my best features. My cornflower blue eyes shine like sparkling sapphires and my full lips wear the perfect pout.

But it’s the outfit that makes me really feel like a whole other person. Livvy’s right, I never dress to impress. But this is . . . damn! 

She put me in a light pink off the shoulder dress with a sweetheart neckline and short attached sleeves. The waist is ruched and the skirt hits at mid thigh, skimming the top of the white, thigh-high boots I’m wearing. It hugs my ample curves in a way that emphasizes them perfectly but hides all my bruised skin. I feel sexy but not exposed. 

“Do your parents know you own a dress like this?” I taunt her. 

“Are you kidding me?” She shakes her head in denial. “But everyone deserves to feel good on their . . .  you know.”

I know she wants me to feel special on my birthday but catches herself before she says the taboo word. I swallow down the whimper that threatens to shake loose at the reminder and hug her instead.

“Thank you.” I whisper, all I can manage in the moment. 

Leaving Livvy to get ready for the party I will be conspicuously absent from, I head out to meet Jake at the bar. As soon as I step in the door, the thumping beat of the music seeps into my bones, loosening the tension caused by the emotional moment I’d shared with my best friend earlier. And Jake is already there waiting for me with a carefree smile on his face. I instantly relax. 

“Damn Lena!” Jake runs his eyes over me meaningfully then whistles his approval. “I didn’t even know you owned clothes like that!”

“I don’t. Borrowed them from a friend.” I admit. 

“What’s the occasion? I thought we were just hanging out.” He asks, flinging an arm around me and leading me to a table. 

“Just felt like dressing up.” I hedge. No way I’m uttering the B-word.

“Well you should do it more often. You’re slaying in that dress, girl!” He compliments. 

My relationship with Jake is strictly platonic. We don’t bat for each other’s teams, a fact his parents can’t seem to accept. Hence his membership in the Daredevils R Us Club. He has a lot of pent up frustration to unload but he can be a fun guy to chill with too, and he’s a fantastic dancer!

“What’s this?” I tip my head toward the cocktails waiting for us at our table. 

“Dad’s off tonight and the bartender is, um, a friend.” He hints not so subtly. 

“Got it!” I smirk at him. “Well, tell him I said thanks. And I’ll get the next round.”

“Oh, we’re not paying tonight!” He says, winking at me. 

We sip our cocktails and chat for a bit then I let Jake lead me out on the dance floor. We line-dance to Whiskey Drinkin’ then two-step to Make It Sweet. I’m about to slip off for another drink when Boot Scootin’ Boogie starts to play and Jake twirls me into a Sweetheart move and back out again. 

I’m not much of a country swing dancer but Jake’s a good leader. By the time the song comes to a close, I’ve been whirled and twirled and even turned upside down once or twice. I’m leaning on Jake, sweating like a pig and trying to catch my breath when a warm vibration ignites under my skin, radiating outward from my core.

I feel them before I see them, two pairs of eyes on me, burning a hole in my back. I have to fight the sudden urge to turn and seek them out, gripping Jake’s arm tighter to hold myself in place. But before he can lead me off the floor, they are there, crowding into my personal space.

Two gorgeous men are staring at me with a heated intensity that leaves me weak in the knees. They both smell delicious and they’re so close, it’s making my head a little fuzzy. They have dark and dangerous written all over them and I have a feeling they’re just the kind of trouble I’m looking for.