“Wren?” Peyton’s voice cut through the darkness. “Wren, are you okay?”
Plastering on a smile, I looked at her, hoping she wouldn’t see right through me. I didn’t regret what I did in Louisiana; it was something thathadto be done. All I wanted to do was forget, to not think about it ever again.
Peyton reached over and touched my arm, her smile warm and genuine. I rested a hand over hers and squeezed.
“I’m more than okay, Peyton.”
The skeptical look on her face made it apparent she didn’t believe me.
“All right, I guess I can let that slide.” She nodded toward the house. “Want to change so we can go out for our smoothies?”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said with a wink.
I stood and helped her up from the lounge chair. She shuffled toward the patio door of her multimillion-dollar home, and I couldn’t help but giggle under my breath. This was the life I’d always wanted, and now I had it. I had family, friends, and a real home right on the California coastline.
I didn’t want the past to taint my future . . . and I sure as hell wouldn’t let it.
CHAPTER2
WREN
THREE MONTHS LATER
Las Vegas.
It was hotter than forty hells here. Then again, that was to be expected since it was summertime in the desert. The sun wasn’t too far from disappearing below the horizon, but the sweat poured down my back, making my dress cling to me like a second skin.
“I feel like my skin’s about to melt off,” I said, hopping into the passenger’s side of Ripp’s silver Hummer EV. I tossed my bag into the back seat.
Chuckling, he opened his door and jumped in. “Hey, I think you look pretty damn sexy sweating your ass off in that dress.”
Rolling my eyes, I couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks.”
Ripp started the truck and I sighed with relief when the cold blast of the AC blew right toward my neck and chest. I was about to get even more sweaty in just a couple of hours.
Ripp nodded toward the hotel doors. “Is your brother still coming wi—?”
Before he could finish his sentence, Parker walked out, dressed in expensive jeans and a Fendi shirt that I knew would have cost a fortune. Just a few months ago, we barely had any money for food. Now, we could have anything we wanted. It was all because of a decision I’d made that had saved many lives. It was unbelievable how one moment in someone’s life could ultimately alter their future for the better.
My past had been worse than hell, but I survived it.
Luckily, I’ll never have to go back.
Parker came over to the passenger’s side and opened the back-seat door, his cologne filling the inside of the car as he jumped in. “Sorry, guys. There was a call I had to take.”
There was a slight edge to his tone.
Furrowing my brows, I turned to face him just as Ripp pulled out of the hotel parking lot. “Is everything okay?” I inquired, searching Parker’s face.
He had ash brown hair and light gray eyes that I’d never seen before on anyone. He wasn’t my biological brother, but I loved him just the same. We went from foster home to foster home together and when we turned eighteen, we decided to navigate the world together. That was only seven years ago, but it felt like a lifetime. Having to fight to survive on the streets wasn’t an easy task. Parker was the brains and I was the brawn, hence why he was working for the FBI in their intelligence department and I was training to be a UFC fighter.
Parker sighed and leaned his head against the seat. “Everything’s good. I’m just frustrated, is all. I’m so used to figuring things out in the blink of an eye, but I’m hitting roadblock after roadblock with this Michelson guy.”
I looked over at Ripp and he nodded in understanding. Ripp and so many of our friends back home in California had already escaped the wrath of Nikolai Michelson. Some barely made it out alive. I tried not to think about him, but it was hard not to.
Nikolai was part of one of the most notorious mafia families in the country. I’d only met him once, not knowing the full extent of who he was. Even though he was handsome and charming, the darkness in his eyes sent chills down my spine. Nikolai was a ruthless man; if things hadn’t turned out the way they did, I would be dead.
He had recruited me for a job he knew I would likely not live through. It just so happened that I had a will to survive. Shutting Nikolai down would no doubt save countless lives, and I prayed Parker could help find a way.
