My entire body went cold as I coordinated not only with the collective but with Ryker on the infiltration of the warehouse where Beverly was holding Momma and Papa. With one little bullet, Turo could save everyone he loved. Hell, he could save everyone I loved. I turned to look at him. Saw the horror in his eyes. He'd shot Callie for a lot less than his family. I wasn't worth that much. Not when it was his family. Unwilling to force him to stare at me while he made the decision to end my life, I put my plan into action. Shut them down, I typed out to the collective. 10. It came back in quadruplet.Hamster, the guy who had taken the backend of the whole thing, messaged me privately. Host ISP in bouncing off at least thirty relays. But the bot packet you designed is showing me New York City. Right where you said it would be. Thx, H. Deploy the exe. Bomb's away. It would take roughly thirty seconds for the virus to upload to the incoming signal. Another ninety seconds

One month laterI pulled the door shut to the loft. Made sure it locked behind me. Tali came out of her home across the hall. "Hey, last checkup. You ready?" she asked.I nodded. "I was ready two weeks ago, but Jessa told me I'd had too much excitement and that I'd stressed my lungs. She better let me get back to my life."Tali chuckled. "Just be glad Momma forgave you. Jessa's stubbornness has got nothing on Momma. How did you manage that, by the way?"I smiled as we walked down to the basement together. I hit the button on my key fob to get my new car started so I wouldn't be freezing my ass off against the leather seats. "I might or might not have given her a complete family tree for both her and Papa."Tali's mouth dropped open. "How the hell did you manage that?""Well, with all the forced down time, what else was I supposed to do?" I shrugged. It really hadn't been difficult. "She came over one day, made me lunch. We were talking about family and what it meant to h

I opened the door, smiled as I let Willow in. "Welcome to your old home." I swept a hand wide. She chuckled as she brought her bags in. "Oh, man. I've missed this place." She looked around. Her brow furrowed. "You haven't changed anything."I shook my head. "No. I told everyone I'm just squatting here until I can find a new house." Why no one believed me, I had no idea. Willow, her long light brown hair pulled up into a messy knot on top of her head, bustled to the kitchen island. She bobbed her head up and down a couple times. "Oh, please. Just make Turo propose already and move in with him. He's got more than enough room."Heat flared through my cheeks. Was the whole family trying to get us married? What if he didn't want that? I mean, I was trying to convince him to do it. But until today, I couldn't even offer sex. I was hoping to change that tonight. There was another knock on the door. I went back and opened it. Tali and Jessa stood there. I waved them in. Just as

I shook my hair back. Damn it. Glared at the man in my bed. My plan should have worked. It was flawless. But no. Mr. Stupid Asshole had done another end run around me and gotten me to beg first. I was tempted to shove him out of my bed, but he was probably prepared for that as well. Asshole. His snicker told me he wasn't actually asleep. I rolled my eyes, pushed up from the mess of sheets that smelled of hard sex and sweat. "See yourself out, Foster."I walked into the bathroom, shut the door. I did my business and stood at the sink, letting the water warm up before I thrust my hands into the stream. Staring at myself in the mirror, I tried to convince myself to just shut him out. Every single thing about him annoyed or infuriated me. From his smirks and snotty attitude to his inability to stay out of my business. About the only thing he was good for was a roll in the sheets. And that annoyed me, too. I was good at sex. But damn, he was great at it. Probably uses it as

I gritted my teeth as the tires slipped and slid over the newest layer of ice and snow that covered the ground in pristine white. Instead of getting to watch it fall from the midnight sky, a cup of hot chocolate in my hands, a fuzzy blanket around my shoulders, in my best comfy jammies, I was rocketing across town to a meet up with a competing family. But I needed to do this. Win this. To win at least one. The roads were treacherous. Slick and slippery. I rounded the final corner. Felt the road drift away under the tires. I tried to turn into the fishtail. Why did they have to meet out in BFE anyways? There were perfectly sketchy and abandoned warehouses downtown. But nooo. Just like a man to make me have to dance to his tune to get some satisfaction. With a jerk and a shudder, the car finally straightened out. My heart fell back into my chest as the adrenaline slowly dissipated from my system. Assholes. Making me drive out this far. Your destination is ahead on your right, th