Sorry for scaring you, but you did lock me up, so I did what I had to do. I think that’s a sentiment you can understand.
You’ve made it clear that you were here as a proxy for my brothers. My mistake. I was drunk when I texted the guy I thought I had a deeper connection with, so I’ll call party foul. It was a dumb childhood crush on my brothers’ friend, which could never work.
I deserve someone who doesn’t only crave me in the dark.
Anyway, since that’s how we’re playing it, I should remind you that I’m running from my brothers.
Have a nice visit, big bro.
XO,
Little Moon
P.S. This is probably taboo, considering our kin relationship now, but I would have swallowed.
My fist connects with the drywall before I can even register what I’m doing. At least I missed the stud. Rampant white-hot rage and terror swarm me as the dusty pieces of chalky plaster fall away in crumbles. Ignoring my bloody knuckles, I close my eyes on a brief cleansing breath because this girl …
I’m going to kill her.
She played me with that goddamn blow job. Fine. I deserve that.
But running? This is so fucking stupid and dangerous.
The scheme though? Kind of brilliant. I was so anxious to faceher brothers that it never occurred to me to be concerned about her sneaking out when I turned off the alarm.
But as I hastily dress to go find her, the line from the letter that my mind keeps snagging on is,I deserve someone who doesn’t only crave me in the dark.
It doesn’t wash away the absolute fury coursing through my veins, but it does illuminate what an ass I’ve been. The thought that I’ve made her feel anything less than cherished is gutting. I wish she understood that it’s not that I only want her in the dark; it’s that dark times are all I have to offer.
I’ll dull her light.
Especially now. Because even if she survives the ire of her brothers and all the other risks this city poses for her, she may not survive the wrath engulfing me.
RENA
Ihate being cornered. By slimy, lowlife assholes no less.
Motherfuckers at every damn exit. Wall-to-wall drunk patrons. Boxed in. The entire building is pulsating with a no-way-out incantation.
There’s probably a part of my brain that should be sending a signal for me to be afraid. But honestly, all I feel is pissed as hell. I had a plan. Have a blast or get caught. Maybe both, if I was lucky. Either way, I knew I’d be content. Because I was simply over all the bullshit. So, I thwarted the pain by leaping for more. Chiseled out another sliver of freedom.
Not my first choice, but a sliver nonetheless.
But apprehended by the wrong man?Men.Not in the freaking plan.
Squatting on the floor, I snatch a black hoodie from my backpack to conceal my hair and pale skin and scurry through the people, dashing in search of an outside-the-boxalternative. Icould’ve stayed put, garnered protection from security, but my stomach flipped when those guys started interrogating me. I’ve been around enough villains in my life to know when I’m in the presence of genuine evil. And there are so many of them here, evidently intent on making me a key player in their story. Involving anyone else will only get the rent-a-cops killed.
I scan the crevices of the room, mining for a way to extricate myself and halting when I see it.
Sometimes, the only way out is up.
TY
While my mind was initially flooded with the endless options of where Rena might go, I settled on the most likely. She’s social. She needs people. Since she can’t go home to those she wants most, she’ll head to the friends she recently made.
I’m banking on it.
So, here I stand, inside Eternal Night. It’s crowded, far more than it was yesterday. It’s ’80s-themed tonight. A cover band is belting out “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” While it’s not my favorite genre of music, Rena would be completely in her element.
