Blaze
You don’t, but fine. Let’s hit up the shops, and find a party in the evening.
Partying without Pandora sounds boring, but I send a thumbs up to him.
I look around my room, which is every bit as much of a disaster as the rest of the house. I almost wish I could let Blaze help, but the humiliation would be entirely too much.
Ican’t.
I’ll have to try harder.
I can do it.
I take a deep breath and grab a t-shirt from the floor, tossing it into my half-full laundry hamper.
It’s a start.
11
RIVER
The last place I want to be is home.
I’ve been dreading this moment since Pandora’s little stunt in the sauna, and while I may have let that slide to the back of my mind, I haven’t forgotten it. How could I, when I know what’s coming next?
It shouldn’t matter.
I’m not a kid anymore.
I’m nineteen years old.
I’m a capable fighter.
I should be able to hold my own against my old man, and the truth is that I could if I tried. But going against a lifetime of being trained to simply take what he’s dishing out feels like too much.
That, and he’s still a part of the Pavone organization. If I stop his beatdown with one of my own, he could do more than ruin my future with Pandora’s family. He could run me out of New Bristol.
My father’s car isn’t in the parking lot, but that’s a small comfort because he could return home at any moment.
I’ll at least get to see my mother, who would otherwise be hiding so she’s not privy to whatever’s going to happen when he gets home.She’s never once stood up for me. While I can’t completely blame her for not wanting him to turn his anger on her, I still resent her for it.
There are reasons Rachel and I both fled to Pandora’s at any given opportunity. No matter how terrifying Giulio Pavone is, he at least never laid a hand on me.
Until, of course, he did.
I’d lost a finger as a result.
Then I’d come home and suffered the worst beating I’d ever been subjected to, one that had laid me out for weeks.
I grit my teeth.
If that happens again, I only have Pandora to blame?—
No, that’s not true. I deserved her revenge. After what I was part of…
My stomach roils with discomfort and regret.
I sigh and get out of the car, heading into the apartment building. I take the stairs to the second floor, then go down the hallway until I’m standing in front of the front door. It’s locked, of course, and I half hope to find that my key no longer fits in the lock.
