LOGIN~ SIENNA ~It was gala night. Yay — or whatever. From the moment Mom excused the makeup artist saying she wanted a word alone with me, a dull nausea settled in my stomach.Actually, it had started earlier — when she announced a ‘professional’ would be coming over to do my makeup for the gala. “It’s not even finished and you already look so good,” she cheered, inspecting my face. I was forced to look at her, away from the harsh glow of the artist’s studio light and the mirror I'd been deliberately avoiding. It was my own form of quiet protest — disinterest in whatever was being done on my face. “Thanks,” I mumbled.She picked up a lipstick from the artist’s palette, dabbing it on the back of her palm. “Nice shade. I’d have to find it next time I go shopping. What do you think?”“It’s nice,” I agreed dryly, tired of the small talk. “About the pictures you showed us yesterday, I’ve been thinking...”Now, she had my attention. Last night, we’d agreed to drop the case. Dad and Mom in
~ SIENNA ~The tears fell violently — no quiet slipping, no gentle crying. My chest seized like it had forgotten how to breathe, each inhale jagged and painful. Dova wrapped her arms around me and I folded into her embrace, taking her own frame with mine on a body racking ride. This was a reality I hadn’t prepared for — a nanny knowing me better than my parents, better than my own mother. Mom hadn’t even let me get my first sentence out before she launched an attack on me and my character. “I watched you turn down advances from all the boys that flocked around you like hawks, saving yourself for the one. You believed in the family dream. A husband, a wife…” she hesitated. “…kids. A happily ever after. I refuse to believe you got that and threw it all away for nothing. You’re too grounded for that.”“I didn’t do it, Dova,” I mumbled into her dress, a confession that had been boiling inside me for the last three days. “I could never.”“I know, I know,” she whispered, rubbing my back.
~ SIENNA ~It’s been three days of asking myself if this was what depression felt like — and wondering why it waited for me to be away from my best friend and support system before it pulled me into its depths. The only words my parents had spoken to me since the disastrous breakfast were to invite me to the exclusive gala their company was hosting to celebrate thirty years of hospitality. No, it wasn’t an invitation. It wasn’t even a request. It was a directive. There would be a gala and I would be attending with them. I wondered why my presence was so important that they broke out of their silent treatment to share the information with me. But I knew — my parents never missed an opportunity to display their achievements. And I was one of them. Not in their ideal form but I guessed this would do for now. The gala was happening tomorrow and I had no idea how I was supposed to attend with them when they still walked past me like I was air. The part of me that is used to pining
~ GAVIN ~His voice dropped several notches. “Really?”I nodded solemnly. “I did a lot of things in the club, Eddy. Some were… brutal. Gore. I think it’s the gore that triggers the night terrors.My mind fixates on those things whenever I speak with a patch member — or even step onto the club grounds. Sometimes all it takes is hearing the name Devil’s Machete and I would get a terror that night and many nights after.”Edward went still but I could tell from the way his shoulders rose and fell that his heart was racing. He blinked fast — too fast — and for a second, I feared he might cry. My sweet brother. Too bad it was all for a lie. Or was it?Truth and lies had never meant much to me. The way I saw it, every word I spoke fell into one of two categories; the ones that got me what I wanted — and the ones that didn’t.I only uttered the words that did. Those were my truth. They say the truth sets you free. I say the truth is whatever sets you free. So even though I’d not had any
~ GAVIN ~We did everything to make money — drug pushing, loan sharking, smuggling weapons, securing local businesses for a fee they paid willingly or not, debt collection and of course, if you had someone you wanted singing with the angels, we handled that. We had fun too. Biking was a big part of the club culture because we were, of course, bikers. We had crazy racing nights that somehow always ended in fights as if to remind us what we were. I found it all exciting; the adventures, the chaos, the drama. But what I loved most was the brotherhood. We were not good men by any standards, but we rode hard for anyone who wore the patch. In just a year, I rose from prospect to respected patch member. By my second year when the club president was killed by his lover ironically named Delilah, other members nominated me to be the next president, alongside a guy called Bruise. Bruise had been second in command to the last president and was annoyed that the presidency didn’t automaticall
~ GAVIN ~Ouch. That hurt. Bad.But it didn’t matter what she said to me. I was just happy to hear her voice and know — really know — that she was safe.Sienna couldn’t imagine that not all parents meant safety. I could. With a father who had tried once to get me killed, I understood that better than most.“Do you remember what I told you about being safe the first day you met me?” I asked, switching the car’s air conditioning back on, figuring I’d be sitting here a while.I had just pulled into the massive private garage of Steele group headquarters, about to step out for my meeting with Edward when Sienna’s call came in. I’d just pulled into the massive private garage of Steele Group headquarters, about to step out for my meeting with Edward, when Sienna’s call came in.“That’s it’s not being unexposed to danger,” she said slowly, trying to recall, “but being protected from it.”A small smile tugged at my lips. “Good girl. This means you’ve always been safe with me. You will alwa
~ GAVIN ~The air in Maxwell’s balcony was heavy with the smell of cigar as we puffed into the night. A bottle of the strongest vodka I’ve ever had sat on the stool between us, flanked by our half-filled glasses. A speaker was blasting metal music inside the house, the sound filtering out and servi
~ SIENNA ~I ignored him and continued searching for a ride on the app but it kept returning ‘No available drivers for your location’.Maybe because the kind of people who dined at Aurum Noire and environs didn’t need cabs to leave. Their chauffeurs and convoys were parked close by, waiting for the
~ SIENNA ~It was hard to say ‘Stop’. Not only because every part of my body was begging him to keep going, but also because my lips were still swollen from his kiss earlier. Gavin had ravaged my mouth like a man having his first meal after a weeklong fast. The kiss was hungry and desperate, like
~ GAVIN ~Finally, I pulled my fingers free with a slick pop, her juices running down my hand. I stuck each finger in my mouth and sucked on it, savoring her taste. Another taste I knew I would be wanting more of. We stood catching our breaths — or more accurately, I stood while she lay slumped an







