Mag-log inPain radiated through my knuckles, raw and steady the only thing keeping me anchored to reality. If it hadn't hurt so badly, I wouldn't have stopped.Nobody in Tranquility wanted anything to do with me. Fine. The feeling was mutual. But three men Desmond, Chuck, and Hank couldn't just leave it at that. They had to push. Had to remind me who they thought was in charge. They were wrong, and if it came down to it, I'd make sure they learned that lesson with their last breath. Nobody would ever own me again. Not in this lifetime.I trudged back inside, leaving a trail of blood across the floor with every step. I grabbed a bottle of alcohol from my shelf and poured it over both hands one, then the other. That was as much care as I was willing to give myself. Even so, something violent was churning inside my chest, a storm that had nowhere to go. I wanted to tear the whole room apart. My emotions had always been too large for my body to hold, too heavy, too loud. Sometimes I wondered why I
"He has every right to be here, just like the rest of us." The words left my mouth before I could stop them. Jace's eyes cut toward me like a blade, and my feet instinctively carried me a step back."Sam." David's voice dropped quiet, but loaded with warning. Strangely enough, it almost felt like he was on our side.Sam lifted both hands, a lazy smile spreading across his face. "Just trying to help here."Right. Sure he was.Anyone with eyes could see what this was the classic routine. One played it cool while the other pushed buttons. Sam had claimed the role of the villain without even trying to hide it.Jace said nothing. He didn't spare either officer a single word. The only thing he gave me was one last scorching look before he turned and disappeared down the aisle."Name?" Officer Sam turned his attention on me like a spotlight."Tim Evans." I squared my shoulders and held my ground. Intimidation was a language I already spoke fluently. The streets had been my classroom drug cor
That was genuinely one of the kindest things anyone had done for me in a while, especially after I'd basically told her I was bad at being a person. We exchanged numbers, and then I grabbed my drink and slipped out of Tranquil Brew before I could make things any more uncomfortable.The morning air hit me, and I exhaled.My skin felt too tight, the way it did whenever I let someone in even just a little. And underneath that, something quieter: a familiar guilt. My mother would have loved Sarah. She would have told me to hold onto people like that, to let them in, to stop building walls around myself and calling it protection.Instead, here I was, walking down the sidewalk to sit on a bench across from my workplace, sipping iced coffee, watching the hardware store like it owed me something.
"Understood, Dave." My legs trembled beneath me as I rose. A part of me wanted to run and I despised myself for even thinking about it. Pain was supposed to build you. That was what he always said.I had nearly reached the door when his voice stopped me cold."Jace."I turned. "Yes, Dave?""Keep this between us. I'll tell your mother you went out hunting. If she finds out you need to be disciplined, it'll destroy her. You don't want to be the reason she cries, do you?""No, Dave." Hurting her was the last thing I ever wanted. "She won't hear it from me."My eyes snapped open.I lay still, staring at the ceiling, le
Jace povThe stranger with the dark hair wouldn’t leave my mind.Days had passed since I went into town, yet I still remembered the way he looked at me. His eyes stayed with me the most gray, distant, and painfully sad, like life had already broken him long ago.I didn’t know why I kept thinking about him.People in town usually looked at me with fear, disgust, or suspicion. Others looked at me with hunger, the same way Bruce always did whenever he wanted me in his bed again.But this man had looked at me differently.Like he was trying to understand me.Like he saw something beneath the silence.
This was a hardware store, not some dark alley. He wasn’t going to hurt me here.Trying to act normal, I quickly moved behind the register again. “Did you find everything okay?” I asked softly.Of course, he said nothing.He simply began placing his items on the counter tools, paint stain, brushes, and other supplies. Behind him sat a flat cart loaded with wood and propane tanks.I searched my brain for conversation, but every thought disappeared under the pressure of his stare.Because he kept staring.The entire time.While I scanned each item, his eyes never left me once.
Carter Blake POV“The things I’d let him get away with…” I drawl, letting my head sink into the back of the sofa and closing my eyes just enough to be theatrical. “Honestly, Ness, even you would turn red if you knew.”Rachel likes to claim she’s a little adventurous, a secret kinkster, though I’ve
Luca doesn’t speak.I turn toward him. His gaze is fixed straight ahead. His cheeks are flushed, lips pressed tight. He swallows, nods onceand exhales like he’s finally releasing something he’s been holding since childhood. The kind of breath you don’t realize
Tyler Bennett POV“Be reasonable, Tyler,” Luca whispers through the phone, voice tight, almost shaking. “You’re still signed off. You can’t just”“Why not?” Tyler cuts me off, his tone low, dangerous. “My flight’s booked. I’m already at the airport.”I pau
“We have to get out of here,” I hiss. “Now.”He doesn’t resist, only looks away and nods. “Which room?”“Top floor. Sixteen.”“Message me when it’s clear,” he says. Then he’s gone, a shadow slipping down the hall. Two songs later, I follow, heart hammering like a war drum, ev







