Lahat ng Kabanata ng Minus: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

MinusDon’t pass out.Easier said than done, considering the crippling pain in my head. Unable to focus on anything in the room, I began to drift into darkness.Don’t pass out. Don’t pass out. Don’t… fucking pass out.I forced my eyes open long enough to receive another blow. The impact from the phonebook rattling my brain like a paint can. My vision blurred, and a wave of nausea hit me. I tried to stay as lucid as possible, struggling to focus on anything around me that might aid in my escape. I was gonna have to get pretty fuckin’ clever to get myself out of this before this guy bludgeoned me to death. My host had been letting his fingers do the walking upside my head for some time now, and I wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer.Don’t pass out. Don’t pa...“Come on, hero, don’t make me beat you to death,” he said, pausing briefly from his work to slap me awake. “You know what? You really do look like some sort of hero. Like one of those comic book movie guys, or… an acti

Cricket“Don’t even think about it, asshole!” I yelled at the motorist attempting to merge into our lane.My Uber driver flinched and covered his right ear.“Don’t take your hand off the wheel, you’re gonna let him in! Don’t let him in!”I was a fraction of a second away from grabbing the steering wheel and literally back-seat driving, when my long-suffering coachman shot me a look and said sternly, “Lady, if you do that again, I’m going to have to let you out at the nearest safe stopping place.”“I’m sorry,” I grumbled. “I really am, I’m just very—”“Late,” he finished my sentence. “Yes, I know. You’ve explained this many times since I picked you up.”He’d clearly lost patience with me and I couldn’t blame him. This poor guy was simply trying to do his job and I was sucking him into my vortex of chaos.“I’m so sorry, it’s just that I’m meeting with someone I haven’t seen in a long time, and I’m a little nervous. To tell you the truth, I’m not even sure why I agreed to meet with him.

MinusClutch hung up and we made our way out through the back entrance, to his Barracuda parked in the rear lot. As we got in, Clutch said, “Ya know, you still haven’t told me exactly why you’re back in town.”“Yes, I did. Cutter called me and asked me to meet with him, so here I am.”“I understand that, but why?” he asked as we peeled off into the night. “Everyone here thought you were swallowed up by some swamp, as the late great Phil so astutely pointed out.”“Astutely?” I choked out, surprised by his word choice.“Hey, motherfucker, I read some of those books you sent me when I was in the joint. Anyways, don’t change the subject. Why the fuck are you here?”“I told you I have no idea, and I wouldn’t lie to you. Now, slow down, will ya? The last thing we need is for your dumb ass to get pulled over for speeding while fleeing a murder scene.”Clutch, ignoring my request, continued his interrogation, “Don’t get cute with me, bro. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems a little odd that you

CricketI don’t know what shocked me the most, seeing Jase, my first love and source of my first heartbreak after all these years, my notoriously grumpy uncle greeting me with a smile and a hug, or that his office smelled like Snoop Dog’s tour bus. All of it was way too much for me to process.“Hi, Uncle Cutter, it’s nice to see you, too,” I said into his barreled chest as he held me tight. I was mere inches away from Minus, who had also been entrapped in this surprise bear hug. My uncle’s beard and long hair reeked of pot smoke. He finally let go and I stepped back, smoothing my hands over my hips and glancing to Minus who looked as stunned as I was.Gorgeous, yes. Sexier than ever, yes. But definitely stunned.He’d gotten a lot bigger... wider really, since I’d last seen him. Savannah appeared to have agreed with him. He’d grown an epic beard, and I itched to run my fingers through it. His face had the same chiseled features and he had the same longish, dark blond hair that he’d pul

CricketI left the Sanctuary and called a car to take me home. However, in a moment of what I was sure would end up being identified as “Jase Vincent-induced insanity,” once we reached the I-5 junction, I instructed my driver to head north instead.My hand was throbbing. It didn’t feel like I’d broken anything, but it was swelling up just enough to make removing my ring an impossibility, and to remind me of what a lunatic I was. I couldn’t believe I punched Jase in his big, dumb, beautiful face.Arriving at my brother’s home, I stood on the porch for a few seconds, debating whether I was going to offer my life to him on a silver platter. He was going to go ballistic, and I wasn’t sure I was in the mood to suffer through a lecture.Before I could act on any possible good sense and leave, the front door opened to reveal Hatch standing in the foyer.“Why the fuck are you standing out here all alone?” he asked with a chuckle.I bit my lip. “Because I don’t know if I want to come in.”He c