She lets out an annoyed breath, rolling her eyes at me. “We’re going to be fine. I know how to catch a man’s attention.”
“But—”
“Enough,” she hisses and points at the door. “Go to school and don’t wake me up this early again.”
I’m fighting a losing battle. I blow out a long breath, then trudge down to the kitchen to grab my tote bag.
“Maybe living in a homeless shelter won’t be so bad,” I mutter, detouring to the basement.
Fortunately, I didn’t leave all my purchases in the kitchen. I grab a pack of ramen noodles and drop it into my bag. I’ll find a microwave at school. I hid everything else in a plastic bin. My suitcase is left defenseless, though. Deja could waltz down here anytime she pleases and wreak havoc. I can’t have that. I gather my clothes and other belongings, meticulously stashing them too.
“There,” I say, satisfied.
I check the time on my cell phone—roughly forty minutes until school starts. I leave the Double Dragon’s Lair, taking the shortcut to school.
As I approach the building, a man sitting sideways on amotorcycle catches my attention. His head jerks in my direction. I can’t make out his features. The sun silhouettes his face, creating a halo around his golden shoulder-length tresses. Is he watching me? Did Snake tell his club friends about our spat yesterday? A flicker of unease settles deep in my belly. I lower my gaze and keep walking, but as I near him, curiosity pushes me to steal a glance.
The world stutters to a stop.
My breath freezes in my lungs.
It’s…Him.
“Sam?” I breathe, an exuberant smile stretching my cheeks.
I race over to him and fling my arms around his neck. I’m taken aback. Gone is the lanky boy. His body is all hard planes and sculptured muscles. I notice my embrace isn’t being returned.
“Sam, it’s me.” I pull back and stare into his cornflower-blue gaze. “Zilphia. Remember?”
They’re the same cerulean depths, but somehow different.Icy. The innocent gleam is gone. Something’s wrong. Very, very wrong.
His cheekbones and jawline are granite angles. Whatever happened in those three years, it hardened him. The septum piercing is new. So are the silver hoops adorning his earlobes. A blackout tattoo covers his right forearm and another spans his neck—some kind of bird.
He’s on his feet in the blink of an eye, his nose gliding along my neck as he breathes me in. I stand stock-still, shock holding me immobile. An animalistic growl rattles in his chest, vibrating through me. Suddenly, his teeth tear into my skin.
The ache jolts me into action. I rear back and try to scramble away, but he digs sharp fingernails into my wrist. An ace of spades tattoo graces the back of the hand that’s preventing my escape to safety. The letters G, O, D are inked separately on his ring, middle, and index fingers.
“Let me go,” I demand in a panicked voice.
Sam doesn’t say a word, but the hardness in those icicle orbs speaks volumes. Sharp nails burrow deeper, piercing my flesh. A pained whimper parts my lips.
“I’ll scream,” I threaten, frantically pulling against his iron grip.
But would anyone come to my rescue? Leah warned me that these biker guys are untouchable. Kent’s Robin Hood criminals, according to Meela. I’m inclined to believe them on both accounts.
Sam releases me, and I crash to the concrete. My elbow hits first, and the breath whooshes out of me in a rush of pain. I clamber to my feet, struggling to inflate the pinkish-gray organ in my chest cavity with precious oxygen.
Sam hasn’t forgotten or forgiven my betrayal.
And who could blame him? I falsely accused him of sexual assault.
“Sam, I’m so, so sorry about that night,” I say, my gaze briefly landing on the grim reaper painted in shiny white on the gas tank of his motorcycle. “I was afraid, but that’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have lied. Can we meet later and talk?”
“You’re sorry?” His deep, raspy baritone envelops me, scattering goose bumps across my skin. A slow smile spreads across his face. “Not as sorry as you’re gonna be.”
Danger. Run.
The warning rises unbidden in my mind, sending a jolt of adrenaline through me. I spin on my ballet flats and tear up the stairs into the building. I head straight for the girls’ bathroom, my heart shattering. I dart into the first stall and bawl my eyes out.Sam hates me.
