LOGINPeter's POV The bottle was empty. I turned it upside down over my mouth and waited, but nothing came out except a single, warm drop that landed on my tongue and dissolved immediately. I set it down on the counter and stared at it for a moment, then I laughed. The room had taken on a pleasant, wobbly quality. The edges of things were soft and the floor felt unreliable beneath my feet, as if it was making small adjustments every few seconds just to keep me guessing. I stood up from the stool and the living room tilted ever so gingerly to the left, then corrected itself. I grabbed the edge of the counter and waited for everything to stop spinning. "The cunt is going to be so furious!" I murmured, then I grinned at the thought and pushed off the counter. In the quiet of the house, one very clear and very practical thought rose to the surface: I needed money. I needed money to get out of Tallahassee entirely, put enough distance between myself and the mess I'd made that I could star
Peter's POV Pensacola Street was quiet at this hour, which was the only thing going right for me tonight. I walked fast with my head down and my hood pulled up, my eyes cutting left and right every few steps. The last thing I needed was to run into anyone who knew my face, battered as it was. I was going to make August pay for that. I was going to make all of them pay, including the McNair bitches! The white sedan I was meant to meet was parked halfway down the block where I'd told her to wait, and the engine was off. I could see the shape of the woman behind the wheel through the glass. I knocked on the passenger window and waited. I heard the clicks of the locks from inside, and then I yanked the door open and dropped into the seat. "You're annoying, do you know that?" Linda Henderson yelled at me before I'd even pulled the door shut. "I have been sitting on this street for almost one hour, waiting for your tardy ass. I was two minutes away from driving off and never looking b
Samantha's POV It gave me some satisfaction that the cell that Russell was in was small and poorly lit. There was nothing but a single bulb overhead that cast everything in a dull yellow wash. Russell was sitting on the bench inside it with his back against the wall and his arms hanging loose over his knees. He'd stripped down to a white sleeveless undershirt and his jeans, and the shirt was soaked through with sweat, clinging to his chest and sides. He looked nothing like the terrifying man who had walked into my office and grabbed my throat. He looked tired and small and cornered. So very good. He looked up when we filed in, and his eyes moved over each of us slowly, taking stock. Dona got there first. She walked right up to the bars and folded her arms and looked at him the way one would look at something unpleasant they found on the bottom of their shoe. "Just so you know," she said pleasantly, "you're not getting your fifty thousand dollars anymore." Russell said nothing.
Samantha's POV I kept my eyes on the road and my phone propped against the dashboard where I could see Dona's location blinking on the screen. A small blue dot, moving. As long as it kept moving, she was alive, and I was going to keep telling myself that. "She's okay, Sammy," Marisol said from the passenger seat. "August is with her, and you know that boy will not let anything happen to her." "I know." I replied, even though my hands were still holding on to the wheel like a lifeline. "Then calm down. You're going to snap that steering wheel in half." Marisol urged me I loosened my grip a little and sighed. The road ahead was dark and long, and my headlights cleared a path through it in two pale beams. I had been driving for almost forty minutes now, chasing a blue dot across my phone screen like it was the only thing tethering me to sanity. And it was. "You should also be worried about your own daughter," I told Marisol. "Piper is out there too." "Of course I'm worried about m
Dona's POVAugust had filled us in on how he'd called the cops. But we had been sitting in the car for close to an hour now, and the police were nowhere in sight.I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel and stared out at the empty stretch of road ahead of us. The sun had dropped lower and the scrubland around us had gone from golden to a dull, dusty orange. August and Kade were standing outside near Russell, who was still on the ground where Kade had left him. I could hear their low voices through the shattered rear window but couldn't make out what they were saying."This is unbelievable," I muttered. "August called them almost an hour ago. Where are these people?"I was answered with silence, which was unusual for Piper.I turned around to look at my friend. She was sitting in the backseat with her knees pressed together and her hands folded in her lap, staring at nothing. She hadn't said a word since her breathing settled, which for Piper Ramirez was nothing short of alarm
Dona's POVAugust had filled us in on how he'd called the cops. But we had been sitting in the car for close to an hour now, and the police were nowhere in sight.I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel and stared out at the empty stretch of road ahead of us. The sun had dropped lower and the scrubland around us had gone from golden to a dull, dusty orange. August and Kade were standing outside near Russell, who was still on the ground where Kade had left him. I could hear their low voices through the shattered rear window but couldn't make out what they were saying."This is unbelievable," I muttered. "August called them almost an hour ago. Where are these people?"I was answered with silence, which was unusual for Piper.I turned around to look at my friend. She was sitting in the backseat with her knees pressed together and her hands folded in her lap, staring at nothing. She hadn't said a word since her breathing settled, which for Piper Ramirez was nothing short of alarm
Dona's POV The second I got into the car, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking, my knees kept knocking into each other and I could barely even look at August because I was so embarrassed. He reached into the cup holder, grabbed a cold bottle of water, and pushed it gently into my hands. “Drink and take
Dona's POV Somewhere around sunrise, my eyes snapped open. Piper was still knocked out beside me, curled into a ball like a cat. Her red curls were a mess over her face, and she had one leg thrown across mine. I stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, trying to think. My brain wasn’t supposed to
Dona's POV My mom shifted the plate of pecan pie in her hands so it wouldn’t slide, then leaned over and pressed the doorbell beside Piper's door again. The chime echoed inside the apartment, but nothing happened. She sighed and impatiently pushed her blonde hair out of her face, tucking it behind
Dona's POV "Holy shit!" I turned around so fast I nearly toppled over. a tiny gasp ripping out of my mouth. But it was only Piper’s mum. She stood right behind me, her hand still halfway in the air like she hadn’t expected me to jump that hard. Her blue eyes widened as she took me in. “Dona, lo







