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“Found her car?” I stare at him and can hear the questions building but my mind is in a fog as he tells me what happened to Remi while I was being carted off to prison.

“I dug into that area a little more. It was by Highway 91, where a string of young women went missing around that time,” he says and looks up at me with a solemn expression. “There were no working cameras in the area where her car was located. The report did mention a possible struggle but it was inconclusive.”

I stumble back a few steps from Hawk. It feels like he punched me in the chest with a sledgehammer. The last fourteen years I’ve thought she was off living her best life with a husband and a few kids. She was so adamant that she was going to start her own jewelry business after college until she became a mom and then wanted to focus only on being a wife and mother.

To hear that she didn’t get to have those dreams twists something deep inside me. As the years went by, I’d harbored such resentment towards her for that night that changed my entire life, but now guilt settles in, knowing she went through her own personal hell. All the air in the room seems to get sucked out, making it hard for me to get any oxygen to my lungs. I start backing away from Hawk as he goes to stand. I can see his mouth moving but the only thing I hear is static in my ears.

Somehow, I find my way down the hall and out into the main area of the clubhouse. The music is thumping, making my body vibrate. Several women try to approach me but I stagger back. I don’t want to be touched. Walking behind the bar, I grab the large bottle of Jack on the shelf and haul ass to my room, slamming the door and locking it for good measure. My bed dips as I drop down on the mattress, bringing the bottle up to my lips to take a healthy gulp. The whiskey burns all the way down to the pit of my stomach.

As I hold the bottle up in my hand, the metal chains around my wrist catch my eye. Remi had made me so many different pieces to wear when we were together as teenagers. The night I was arrested I had these on along with the chains around my neck that I never take off. Of all the thoughts rushing out of my brain when I was released from prison, none of them were about my family or where I was going to live or how I was going to get by. No, it was that every piece I had of her jewelry didn’t get lost while I was being transported from the six different prisons while incarcerated.

My head starts to buzz as I guzzle down more than half the bottle. Memories start to flood and wash over me as I lay back on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. The thumping of the music out in the main area vibrates the walls. I’ve spent over a decade angry and bitter because I’d told myself that my life ended the day I met her. But the truth is, even though we had such a short amount of time together, she’d changed me in ways I never thought were possible despite what happened to me. I loved that girl with everything I had inside me. She quickly became my whole world. And even though I decided not to look for her after I served my time, the thought of her not being in it leaves a gaping hole in my chest.

Victor, Idaho ~ 16 years old

“Don’t forget my smokes,” I hear as I grab my football and race out of the house.

I ignore them. The last place I want to be is with my drunk parents. It’s all I’ve ever known growing up. If a bottle of alcohol wasn’t in one of their hands it was probably because they passed out and it slipped from their grip.

Making my way over to the elementary school not far from the house, I breathe in the fresh summer air. I love summers here in Victor. The flowers are in bloom and the weather is perfect. As I approach the playground, I notice someone sitting on the tire swing here that’s perfect for me to practice my throws. I started using it last year hoping that when the school’s quarterback graduated this past year, I’d get a chance to fill his spot and take our high school to state. My only way of going to college and not working at the local ranch is to get a scholarship. The last thing I want is to stay here in the shadow of my drunk parents and end up like them.

I get closer, but the girl hasn’t noticed me at all. She’s staring out at Housetop Mountain without a care in the world. Clearing my throat, she flicks her gaze my direction and I finally see it’s Remi Carter. Her family practically owns the entire town. Her dad is the sheriff in town and his brother is the judge for the county. Remi’s grandfather was the mayor for decades before passing the torch off to his nephew. They’re the epitome of the phrase good ol’ boy system around town.

The only reason I have any knowledge of this is because my parents have had a few run-ins with Sheriff Carter.

“You mind if I throw the ball around?” I ask, just trying to be polite.

Her cheeks flush as she smiles brightly at me. That one gesture stirs something in my chest.

“I don’t mind, Rhett,” she says as I stand there and we stare at one another. I feel heat on the back of my neck. It must be from the sun.

We don’t run in the same circles but I’ve known Remi my entire life. Though, I don’t really have a circle at all. In fact, I find keeping to myself is easier the older I get.

“You practicing for the team?” she asks as I set up my targets around the playground.

“Aren’t you a little far from home?” I ask instead of answering.

Remi’s family is one of the wealthiest in our town and lives on the other side where the houses are big and have some land.

She shrugs her shoulders. “Thought I could use some fresh air and a long walk.” She stands up from the swing and I watch her adjust her tiny biker shorts before coming over towards me. My body tenses the closer she gets. Remi stands only a few inches in front of me and comes up to the center of my chest. She shields her eyes from the sun to look up at me. “Want someone to play catch with?”

“I’m not trying to get my ass beat by Chance,” I respond, my throat growing dry. Chance is Remi’s boyfriend, has been since we were all in elementary.

Remi is the prettiest girl in our school, hands down. She’s got light brown hair with hazel eyes that have flecks of gold mixed in. Depending on what she wears they show more green or brown. Today they have a little more green than brown.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that Chance and I aren’t together and he doesn’t get a say in what I do,” she informs me, shocking the shit out of me.

She takes my moment of pause and snatches the football right out of my grip then takes off running. My brain short circuits for a few brief seconds as I process the bomb she just dropped. But when her laugh touches my ears, I don’t think twice as I race after her. I’m quick so she doesn’t get very far before I’m reaching around her small waist, hauling her up off the ground.

“Gotcha!” I slow my pace to a stop, never letting her feet touch the ground. The scent of her shampoo fills my nose. Cherry blossoms. It’s been the same since I sat behind her in first grade.

Her ass wiggles against me and it sends all my blood rushing towards my dick. Instantly I’m hard. She must feel it too because she stops moving. I quickly set her down and turn my back to her. My eyes roll shut and I pray that she doesn’t make a big deal about it. Shit, the wind could blow and I’m as hard as a metal rod these days. But having Remi so close and in my arms wakes the beast up.

“So…” she says and pauses from behind my back. “Can I throw the ball with you?”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my dick down before turning to face her.

I snort as she gives me a look that says you better not say no.