JERICHO"Did you find anything useful?" Gunnar asked as he leaned back in his chair behind his desk. He had requested for Ace and me to meet him in his office at Astor Architecture but he hadn't given us a reason as to why. I couldn't tell if something bothered him or if he had good news to share because my brother kept his face neutral, hiding what he truly felt behind an ironclad wall. It had anxiety assaulting my mind, causing the cogs to turn at double the usual pace. I loved my brothers but they were unaware of the stress they occasionally put me under. I tucked my fists into the pockets of my jeans and clenched them until pain shot up my arms from my nails digging into my palms, "I'm not sure if it's useful but I did find something in the book."Ace glanced over his shoulder from where he stood at the window—the view over the city from my brother's office was aesthetically pleasing but I doubted he ever had the time to properly appreciate it, "Care to share, cub? If you've for
JERICHOI swerved into my designated parking and was out of the car in the next breath. Ace hadn't explained what the rush was but I couldn't ignore the trepidation which sunk in my gut after Ace had disconnected the call. All he said was that the girls were in trouble at my apartment. No one even knew how the girls ended up at my apartment considering they were all meant to be out for lunch. My first thought was Odette. I was petrified that something had happened to her and she had no way of defending herself. The thought of her injured yet again—looking as battered and broken as she did on that hospital bed a few weeks ago—had my heart thrusting against my ribcage in heavy, hard drum beats. The organ pumped with the ferocity of a jackhammer, determined to break through the confinements of my ribcage and land at my feet. No matter how much I willed myself to calm down so I could start thinking rationally, the foreboding feeling only intensified the longer I was away from her, and di
ODETTEI placed a daisy on Slash's grave and used the back of my hand to dry the wet which had collected beneath my eyes. Jericho had buried him at home in the garden. A massive rock served as a headstone with Slash's name engraved. Each day without Slash felt incomplete. When he died, he left a gaping hole in our hearts. I knew Jericho took it badly. He would wake up in the mornings, forgetting Slash was no longer around, and call out for him. Sometimes I would catch him retrieving Slash's leash to take him out for a walk only to realize he could no longer do that. The look of anguish which hijacked his face each time made the whole situation so much worse. I hated seeing Jericho in so much pain. "We miss you so much," I whispered, peering over my shoulder toward the massive house which towered behind me, "I hope, wherever you are, you're still watching over him. No dog could ever replace you but maybe send him another to be his companion again. One that can take care of him as well
ODETTEI glared at the piece of paper before me with my molars clamped painfully shut. The pen I was using slipped through my tired, trembling fingers and landed with a clang on the wooden table. Physical therapy was going as well as it could be but the nerve damage on my hands was irreversible. No amount of physical therapy would be able to help my situation. I just needed to get used to it. The ugly scrawl of my handwriting only had hatred simmering in my gut. No matter how much I wanted to feel bad or guilty for what had happened to Parker, it was times like this I was grateful he was dead. He couldn't do to anyone else what he had done to me. "You're getting better," the nurse placed another sheet of paper in front of me—it was the first time I had attempted writing again since the accident, "there is a vast improvement between the two."I analyzed both sheets of paper, acknowledging how one was barely legible while the other resembled the work of a first grader. Neither was good
JERICHOMusic blared from the speakers which hung above our heads, buzzing in my ears like an incessant insect. There were a million other places I'd rather be right now—like behind a keyboard or decoding that book I had spent so many sleepless nights trying to understand. Anywhere but here would have been a better place. The club scene was never my thing. Rowdy crowds, sweaty bodies, and horny teens and young adults groping one another never once appealed to me. Maybe that was another reason Ace constantly worried about me and taunted me about getting laid. His body count was probably the length of a novel while mine could barely fill one page. I was no virgin the way he assumed I was, but I was picky with who I spent my time and slept with. The cool rim of the glass was a stark contrast to the heat of my lips. I tipped my head back and allowed the brandy I had been nursing since I arrived to slide down my throat—the sweet notes reminded me of Odette. Maybe that was why I ordered it
ODETTEA warm body pressing against mine was what had me stirring from my sleep. Jericho had left me earlier in the night to meet with his brothers. They were meant to meet with Eddie tonight and, as much as I wanted to be there, I knew this was something the three brothers needed to take care of. So, after binge-watching my favorite t.v. series—the vampire diaries—and eating as much microwave popcorn as I possibly could, I trudged my fatigue-ridden body to bed and passed out cold. Originally, I planned to wait for Jericho to come home so I could hear the details of his meeting but exhaustion weighed down my body like a ton of quick-drying cement, especially after the day I had. Two thick arms coiled around my midriff until my back was pressed to a rippled, toned chest and torso. The heat emitting from his body had beads of sweat collecting at my temples and—when he ducked his head into the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply before letting out a long, gradual exhale—I caught a whiff
ODETTEThere was a bounce in my step and a glow in my face which was not there yesterday. It was surprising how one action, one night, could change so much about a person. The smile marking my face was unflinching and, although my muscles pained from being set in the same position for so long, I found I liked having it light up my face. It made me look years younger, like a giddy teenage girl who had just discovered what love was for the first time. I laughed lightly to myself, shaking my head at my own thoughts as I gripped the handle of the coffee pot as firmly as I could. My hands ached after clawing at Jericho's back most of the night for stability as I trembled beneath him. He liked it. Practically begged for it. The coffee pot shook as I lifted it out of its holster causing me to close my fingers around the handle tighter. Determination had my brows scrunching together and my mouth pinching in a thin line. I had a lot more reasons to want to be better now, even if I couldn't b
ODETTEJericho set me down and gestured to our clothes sprawled over the floor, "Put something on," he said as he shrugged on his boxers and grabbed a hair tie from the pedestal to prop his hair into a top knot. A grimace twisted his handsome features when he noted the coffee which had spilled when he had been straddling me on the bed, fucking my breasts and mouth, "I'm sorry. I know you were proud of making that and I'm proud of you for doing it all on your own with no assistance required. I'll clean it up.""It's okay," my cheeks heated as blood pooled beneath the thin veil of skin, "I have no complaints."He closed the space between us, gripping the back of my neck and sealing his mouth against mine with a searing kiss, "Good because I have none either."The knock sounded again, louder as if the person was trying the punch a hole into the door. A low, annoyed growl rumbled at the back of Jericho's throat. It was such a sexy sound that shot right through me like a lethal bullet to