CHAPTER ONE
Tristan
I grew up in Valor Springs, Texas. I’m an only child, and my parents were the best parents ever. My dad was a Marine and my mom was an elementary school teacher. I lost both of them, seven years ago, when I was fifteen. We were headed home from one of my football games. The roads were wet, and my dad lost control of our car. The police said there was nothing that could’ve prevented it, it was a freak accident. But it still took me a while to get past the fact that somehow I survived, and they didn’t. I still miss them everyday. I was taken in by my football coach, he was my dad’s best friend. I wanted to quit playing football after that, but Coach and his wife reminded me how much my parents loved to watch me play. They did everything they could to keep me on the right path. But it wasn’t an easy two years. I kept playing football and kept my grades up, I was even offered a scholarship to play football in college. But I had other plans.
My dad was my hero, so the day I graduated high school, I walked into the closest Marine recruiter’s office and signed up. I always knew I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and be just like him.
During boot camp, I met Levi Anderson. We became fast friends and he and his sisters took me in as part of their family. It was the first time that anyone had called me family since losing my parents. Levi and his sisters, twins Lynton and Leighton, had a crappy upbringing. Their parents were addicts and treated the three of them like they were the problem. This last year, they’ve had to deal with them again. It ended with their parents in jail for the next ten years for kidnapping and extortion. It’s been crazy, but I’m glad it’s over for them—for now. I can’t even imagine my parents treating me the way theirs did.
Levi and I were stationed at Iwakuni Air Station, on Honshu, the main island of Japan. Earlier this year, Levi decided not to reenlist. He met his girl, Felicity, and that was it. I thought about staying in, but in the end, I chose to go into the reserves with Levi. Part of my decision was because of the new family I have. We call them our Lake Renegade family. One of Levi’s sisters, Leighton, has married into the family—which has made us all family by extension. I’ve never met people like this before. The four main families are the Mancini, Bastianini, Athanasiou and Nikolaidis families. They all protect and defend each other, it doesn’t matter if they’re blood or not. It’s a really great feeling to be a part of such a large family.
Salvatore Mancini is the sheriff of Lake Renegade. He’s offered Levi and I a position with his department. So that’s what we’re training for now. We’ll be done with training in a week. Before I start, I’m headed back to Valor Springs. I haven’t been back since the day I left for boot camp, it was too hard to think of going back. I want to visit my parents before I start this new chapter in my life. I just wish they were still here with me.
Lily
I’ve always dreamed of finding my prince charming. My parents call each other their soulmate and you can see the love in their faces whenever they’re together. That’s what my siblings and I grew up watching. I have two older brothers, Ansel and Huxley. We’re all really close, Ansel is a lawyer, and he lives in Maine. Huxley lives in Hawaii, he’s a firefighter on the island of Maui. And I’ve been living in Texas for almost six years. Our parents live in Illinois, in the same house we all grew up in.
When I was sixteen, I fell in love and he was everything I dreamt about. He was handsome and smart, loving and attentive. And at sixteen, I thought we had our whole lives to be together. His name was Carson Masters and I thought that he was the love of my life. After we graduated from high school, we moved to Texas together. He had a football scholarship, and I got accepted at the same school. We talked about how we would get married after we finished college. We even started looking for a house to buy—I couldn’t wait to start our real, adult life together.
After graduation, Carson was hired to be the assistant coach for the same team he played for in college. And I got a job at the local newspaper. I had been interning there for the last year of college and they offered me a full-time job. They’ve also helped me set up what’s called ‘ghostwriting.’ Authors can contact me and tell me a story they want written, how many words it should be and all the different elements they want in it. Then, I write it for them. I’ve done a quite a few already and it’s been a lot of fun. I don’t have to come up with the idea. But I get to write the story. Some of the authors I’ve met and spoken to in person, but there’sone that only contacts me through email and texting. I think it’s odd, but it’s work, so I don’t question it too much.
Things were going great with Carson. We had graduated and he was about to start coaching. Then one day he was gone. He didn’t die, at least I don’t think he’s dead. He was just…gone. I spent the next six months looking for him. I hired a private detective, but even he couldn’t find anything on him. It’s been almost two years since he left, and I still don’t know what happened to him.
I thought about leaving and going back home. There’s a huge part of me that wants to go hide in my old bedroom and never come out. But I’ve made a life for myself here. When Carson and I moved here, I relied on him a lot. I was scared because I didn’t have my family to lean on, only him. When he disappeared, my parents and my brothers told me I should go home. That they didn’t want me to be here alone. They all came to stay with me, each stayed a month. So I wasn’t alone for a little while, but now my parents keep asking me to come home. Maybe one day I’ll go back to Illinois, but for now I’m doing my best to survive.
CHAPTER TWO
Tristan
Today, Levi and I are officially out of training and I’m planning my trip back to Valor Springs.
“Are you sure you don’t want company?” Leighton asks me as she’s making breakfast.
I’ve been staying with Leighton, her husband, Valentino, and their kids. It’s been a lot of fun, but I need to figure out my own home. I feel like I’m intruding on their time together.
“I’m not planning on being there for long. Salvatore said I could take as much time as I needed. But I don’t plan to be there more than a few days. It’s not going to be an easy trip and there’s only one thing I need to do. Plus, I don’t think I’ll be much fun for anyone who comes with me.”
“That’s okay. We’re all just worried, none of us want you to be alone. And I know some of the family has never been to Texas before. So they’d love to support you and visit someplace new.”
I chuckle as I listen to Leighton, I know she’s looking out for me. She stares at me and I roll my eyes at her.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me. I think you need to have a few of us going with you. I don’t want you to go alone.” She frowns at me.
I’m pretty sure she’s made that decision without me.
“Okay, okay. I surrender. I’ll gladly have anyone that wants to come with me.”
Leighton smiles smugly. “I knew I’d wear you down. I’ll find out who’s going and let you know. You’re leaving on Friday?”
“Yeah. It’s going to take at least two days to get there. And again, I don’t plan on being there for more than a few days. A week at the most.”
“A week is the perfect amount of time.”
“Perfect amount of time for what?" Eros Athanasiou asks as he walks into the kitchen and steals a piece of bacon.
“Where the fuck did you come from?” Valentino laughs as he joins us.
“I smelled bacon. I followed my nose here.” Eros smiles as he stuffs more bacon in his mouth.
