Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Something New
Content Warning
Please be advised there is drug use and attempted rape in this book.
ChapterOne
Jacinta
The best thing about owning a club is the owner’s VIP booth. Up here, overlooking the teeming masses, I feel safe and protected. Being a social butterfly has not come easy to me as of late, and I don’t doubt that my kidnapping has something to do with it. Although I’m surrounded by acquaintances—because, let’s be real, I don’t consider most of these leeches my friends—I feel all alone. Tonight is the first night of our twenty-seven years on this planet that I’m not celebrating my birthday with my twin brother. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled he’s at home with Harlow and the others and that they’re moving on with their lives, yet I can’t help but feel a little bit jealous.
Yes, I know jealousy is what caused problems when Harlow first came into our lives, but it’s not something I can just turn off. Deep-rooted fears of being left alone or being second best have plagued me all my life, as my therapist could surely attest to.
I’ve gotten better with how I deal with that green-eyed monster and the fears that keep it fed, but it occasionally rears its ugly head, and today, it’s riding me hard. I glance around at the people who are here to celebrate my birthday with me. They are all familiar faces who laugh and say the right things to my face, but once I turn my back, they have no problem dissing me. Their eyes fill with pity when they think I’m not looking, and although they outwardly share encouragement, it’s their whispers that tell the truth about how they feel.
I take another sip of my drink as the few people in my booth carry on a conversation around me, something about two of Hollywood’s biggest leading men, but I don’t have it in me to listen. I probably should since Declan represents both of them, but then I spot Hope’s red head moving through the crowd like a lighthouse beacon warning ships away from the shore. She smiles and exchanges words here and there, but there’s no stopping to engage. She’s a woman on a mission to reach me.
Her costume tonight is Medusa, featuring a cool snakeskin bodysuit with flowing gauzy panels and a snake headdress. She looks fierce, which is exactly what I tried to envisage for myself. For years, Jax and I wore matching costumes, so tonight is the first night in years that I’ve worn something that’s completely my own. I decided on Wonder Woman, wanting to channel a little of her power. Plus, who doesn’t love a magic lasso? Though the one on my hip certainly doesn’t have the magic I wish it did.
Hope holds a tray of drinks that she places on the table before putting her hands on her hips, glaring at the woman sitting beside me like she wants to turn her into stone. A mediocre daytime soap actress, Kerry Star is always hanging around in the hope Declan might see her and decide she would be perfect for his next blockbuster. The first thing she asked was when Dec would be joining us. Her face fell when I told her he was home with his girlfriend, which gave me a shady hint of glee that probably makes me a terrible person in some people’s books. In mine, it just makes me a good sister.
“Move. You’re in my seat.”
Kerry gasps when she hears Hope’s order, though she has no right to. The stupid girl is probably going to push the issue.
