Prologue
Dane Gallagher
Five hard knocksland on my bedroom door.
Dad always knocks three times. Ryan does two. The brat doesn’t knock at all—she wouldn’t dare come near my room. And Jameson? He always barges in like he owns the place.
It’s Tara.
I ignore her and keep reading. Or try to. That lasts about five seconds before my door—mylockeddoor—swings open.
What the hell? I’m a twelve-year-old bloke. There are things I could be doing in here she really doesn’t want to walk in on.
She stands in the doorway, and I can feel her staring at me before I even look up. There’s this long sigh, like she’s already exhausted, like I’ve done something wrong just by existing.
Great. Here we go.
“Michael Dane!”
I clench my jaw. I hate when Tara calls me that. That’s what my real mum calls me.
“It’s just Dane,” I say, not looking up. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”
“Fine. Dane. What are you doing in here? Or better question—what are younotdoing?”
I keep my eyes on the page.A Game of Thrones.“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Testing my patience.”
Yeah. Sounds about right for me.
Her eyes flick to the book in my hands. “That’s not something you should be reading.”
I don’t even look up. “It’s about dragons.”
“It’s about far more than that.”
“Still has dragons in it,” I say, turning the page like I’ve got all the time in the world.
Truth is, I’m hungry and bored and looking for a fight. Pushing her buttons is basically my favorite hobby at this point.
And yeah—I know I sound like a little shit.
I don’t care.
Tara—my dad’s wife—is the reason my parents aren’t together anymore. She showed up and everything fell apart after that. Now I get dragged back here every couple of weeks like I’m supposed to play happy family.
I’m not playing.
“Come on, Dane. It’s time to go. You’ll have plenty of time to read once we’re on the yacht.”
Two weeks stuck on a boat with them. You’ve got to be kidding me.
“I’m not going on your dumb family trip. How many times do I have to say it?”
“You are part of this family. This is your trip too.”
I almost laugh. I’m not part of this family. Not really.
