Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Joy threatened to erupt in my chest, this feeling pressing full and heavy. With a tight nod, I forced myself out. The door clattered shut behind me as I stepped out into the brisk, vibrant cold.
I pulled my phone from my pocket so I could order an Uber and saw the notification that a text was waiting for me.
I fought a grin as I read it.
Unknown
It’s me, Raven, you sexy bitch. Surprise party for Emery TOMORROW night at Kane’s (his club, not his house!) Be there at 7! Wear something hot. Don’t make me hunt you down.
That grin spread wide.
Hope was such a risky thing.
That fluttering in my spirit that ached for this.
To belong.
To be held.
To maybe…maybe be loved.
And I was the fool who let Theo’s face flash behind my eyes when I thought it.
FIFTEEN
THEO
I strode through the front door of Kane’s to heavy music thrumming through the cavernous space.
The lights were cut low, and a seductive vibe drenched the space.
Strobes glinted against the soaring stained-glass windows high above and sent scatters of colored light sparking through the vast space.
I headed toward the booth in the far back left corner that was always reserved for our family.
It wasn’t quite seven yet, early as fuck, but the place was already jammed.
Kane had mastered having this place packed from opening to close.
Specialty cocktails offered to those who were just getting off work after five and were looking for a cool place to unwind. They’d gather on the slew of high, round-top tables set up in the big open area at the front of the club.
A more chill vibe before the bands took to the stage at about eight. They’d perform until ten or eleven, then the DJ would take over, playing dance music that would have half the town on the floor below him, grinding their cares away as the drinks flowed free.
I wound through the crush that had already gathered, grin tugging at the edge of my mouth as I approached the roped-off area that had a giant horseshoe booth tucked in the corner. Four high-top tables were also protected within its boundary.
It was clear Raven had already had her way with things since there was a long buffet table against the wall with a bunch of round silver catering dishes.
A shit ton of flowers and balloons decorated the area, and a big banner hung over the booth that read Congrats to Emery for Catching that Dream.
To the side of the swirling words, there was a cute drawing of a woman leaping into the air, her arm outstretched and a star clutched in her hand.
Kane was probably having a coronary since it didn’t exactly match the raw aesthetic of the club, but we all knew Raven could not be stopped.
She was a force to be reckoned with.
The best kind of force.
Probably the first person I’d ever really loved as family when I’d never believed in loving at all. Not after my experiences growing up.
This nine-year-old little girl who’d been living on the streets with her brother. I’d happened on the dude looking guilty as fuck after he’d stolen a loaf of bread to feed her.
Knew they weren’t going to make it on their own, so I brought them back to the abandoned building where the rest of our crew and I lived.
That kid had stolen my heart in the purest way.
This little girl with all her innocence and belief had bred something in me that I hadn’t known existed.
Devotion.
Loyalty.
It was the first time I knew I’d sacrifice everything for someone else. No matter the cost. And somehow that thing she’d stirred in me had transferred to the rest of our crew.
Old memories howled. A shame so severe as Scarlett’s face flashed through my mind. A ghost that would forever haunt.
Had thought maybe I could love her, too. The way she wanted me to. Needed me to.
But she’d proven my heart was as black as my mother had accused it of being. I had dragged her into a life that she had no business being a part of and had abandoned her there.
Turned my back when she needed me most.
Left her desperate.
Because if I got too close, I always, always ruined the good.
Piper’s gorgeous face took the inopportune time to push its way into the forefront.
This woman making me feel something I’d never felt before.
Something foreign.
Something that made me terrified I was going to do something stupid like prove that black-heart theory all over again.
Superficial was all I fucking ever had. I needed to remember it.
I scrubbed a palm over my face to break up the wayward thoughts, shoving them off as I strode toward the roped-off area.
River and Charleigh were cuddled on the right side of the booth.
Dude was so obsessed with her he could never keep his hands to himself. Two of them so perfect together it made my chest swell.