Davis Crenshaw.
Growing up, I’d done my best to avoid him and Luke—his conceited, mouthy, arrogant, cocky, bullheaded brother. Yes,conceited and arrogant are basically the same thing, but if you knew Luke the way I did, you would know it was justified. Davis and Luke didn’t always get along, but they had one thing in common.
Trouble followed them like the air we breathe, and I wanted no part of anything they were involved in. Ever. But due to circumstances beyond my control, I was Davis’s new girlfriend.
Yeah, you heard that right.
Girlfriend.
I should probably clarify things. This was all for show. I had no idea who this show was for, but I was told to play the part, and I had no choice but to play it.
It had only been a few hours since we’d come to this unlikely agreement, and I was still trying to make sense of it. He’d driven me over to his father’s house, and I wasn’t sure why. I should’ve just sat there and kept my mouth shut, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. “What are we doing here?”
He didn’t answer.
He just kept glaring at the front door like he was trying to work up the courage to actually get out of the truck and go inside. He sat there for what felt like an eternity, then opened his door and demanded, “Wait here.”
I didn’t argue. The last thing I wanted to do was go into that house with him. I had no clue who was inside, and I was fine with that. It meant less time with Davis, and I was all for that. I looked out the window and groaned as I thought about how I’d ended up in this predicament.
It was a huge mess.
There was no doubt about it, and it started with my younger sister, Lila Kate, showing up at my door looking like she’d been hit by a truck.
I was about to crawl into bed when the pounding started. Not knocking. Pounding. Frantic and continuous, like someonewas fighting for their life. I rushed over and opened the door, and Lila Kate stumbled inside. I caught her in my arms, and my stomach dropped when I saw her face.
One eye was black and blue and practically swollen shut, her bottom lip was split open, and there was dried blood on her chin. She was clutching her ribs and struggling to breathe. I helped her over to the sofa as I gasped, “My God, Lila. What happened? Who did this to you?”
“I’m okay,” she gasped.
She was far from okay. The poor girl was barely holding it together, and the handprint on her throat quivered with each breath. “No, you’re not. We’re going to the ER, and…”
“No! No hospital!” she burst out with her voice full of desperation. “I can’t.”
“Why the hell not?” I pushed. “You’re hurt. You could have internal bleeding or something.”
“I’m fine. It’s not that serious.” I gave her a stern look, and she let out a breath. “I’m in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
Lila Kate was a good kid. She was smart and worked hard, but there were times when she acted impulsively and put herself in precarious situations. Clearly, this was one of those times. Her voice quivered as she started, “I owe some people money… some really, really bad people.”
“Is he the one who did this to you?”
She shook her head. “No, but I think he might be connected.”
“Connected? Oh, God. Just tell me what happened.”
“It’s all so dumb.” She sucked in a breath and winced before explaining, “I was trying to make some extra cash. I needed it to pay for next semester's class. Tips at the bar have been shit for weeks, and I thought this was the answer.”
“What was the answer?”
“I was just supposed to make a delivery. There’s this guy who came into the bar a couple of nights ago. We got to talking, and he said he might have a way for me to earn some quick cash. I asked him about it, and he said all I had to do was take a package across town and drop it off, and I’d make two grand.”
“Come on, Lila. You had to know that was too good to be true.”
“Yeah, maybe, but I really needed the money.”
“Why didn’t you just come to me?”
