Prologue

PROLOGUE

SAOIRSE SUTHERLAND

Five years ago

N ot bad for a Tuesday ," Diana , one of the strippers, says as she counts up her tips. It's the slowest night of the week, but she's still got a decent stack of cash in her hand. I saw her take a greasy-looking man to one of the backrooms, so I'm assuming whatever she did in there earned her a pretty penny.

I look at my own tips from waiting tables. It's nothing in comparison. This job is enough for me to keep the lights on at home, but not a dollar more. All because Morrisey has some sort of "moral rule."

" No girls under the age of twenty-one are stripping at my club."

It's a joke if I've ever heard one.

He's in his fifties and his second wife is the same age as me, making her one year older than his youngest daughter. I've argued with him about his decision more times than I can count over the last three years, to no avail.

It all changes this week, though. Tomorrow is my twenty-first birthday and, by the end of the week, I'll have my first shift as a dancer at XXXtasy . Most little girls don't grow up hoping to strip for a living, but I'm a realist. My mother spends all the money she makes from the local diner on drugs and, after the last altercation between her and my father, the restraining order ensures that he stays far away from the both of us. It's for the best, but if I ever want a chance of getting out of Ravenscroft , this is my best bet.

I redo my ponytail, tightening the blonde strands of hair, when a dark voice that makes my skin crawl calls out to me. " Sersh , baby. My brother tells me you're going to be up there soon."

I glance over and sure enough, Gage Yarrow is eyeing me from a booth in the back, his arms crossed, various tattoos on display. I don't know why Brooks would say that. I've told him on more than one occasion how uncomfortable his half-brother makes me, but does my boyfriend listen? Never .

" You're going to save me a dance, sweetheart." He's sitting casually with legs spread, watching me as if I'm nothing more than prey.

" I'll pass," I murmur.

He laughs, a deep throaty sound. " I wasn't asking."

I cut my eyes away from him and exit the building, not taking a breath until I'm in the driver's seat of my old beater with the doors locked. I steady my breaths. I don't know much about Gage other than he's an absolute creep and that from the second I started dating his brother, he's had me in his sights. Little comments here and there, but Brooks insists that he's not serious and that it's all just a joke. I'm not so sure.

I send a quick message to my boyfriend, letting him know that I'm off work early and that I'm going home to shower before heading over to his place. I don't spend every night there, because of Gage —the certified psycho that he lives with, but I would like to wake up to something other than my mother stumbling in under the influence at five a.m. on my birthday.

When I enter the house, I hear a headboard hitting the wall with vigor, and then, on cue, my mother's moans. Disgusting . I don't even want to know what trash she dragged in tonight. I'm about to go down stairs to my room when I hear, " Oh , yes, Brooks ."

My ears ring and my eyes go wide. Slowly , I place my bag on the floor, doing my best to swallow the bile that's rising. Her screeching grows louder with every step I take, and when I crack open the door, I scream.

On top of my mom is none other than my ever-loving boyfriend.

" You've got to be kidding me!" I yell, as Brooks scrambles off of her, pulling a blanket over himself.

" I thought you were working late," he exclaims, reaching for his shirt.

" Oh , you're right. My bad. Let me go out and come back later, so that you can finish fucking my mom."

I look over at her, but she only watches me with a smirk.

From the minute I turned eighteen, I have done nothing but work to keep us afloat and this is how she repays me, by laughing right in my face.

" She's always been dramatic," my mother says to Brooks , and my blood boils. " He's a good lay. I see why you like him so much."

I clench my jaw, grinding my teeth together. I've never wanted to strangle someone more.

Brooks gets up and attempts to approach me, and I lose it. I grab the closest thing to me, a white vase with pink flowers painted on it, and throw it at his head. It misses, the ceramic shattering on the floor, but it's enough to stop him in his tracks.

" You're out of your damn mind if you think you're going to touch me right now!"

" I'm sorry, baby. It just happened!"

" You're sorry ? You're even worse than her," I say, pointing to my mother who looks like she's watching a Broadway show unfold in front of her. " At least she knows she's shit and owns it. You think I could forgive this?" I laugh despite the feeling of my chest caving in. " You're not sorry yet.. But you will be."

" This is fucking sexy," Gage whispers as his finger follows the snake that winds its way up my spine. It's been a couple of days since I started staying here, and I still have to remind myself not to shudder at his touch. The sex was good, but the look on Brooks ' face the next morning when he woke up to find me standing in his kitchen in his brother's oversized shirt had been better.

" You didn't."

I grin at him. " Oh , but I did. Three times, actually."

I watch as his face contorts with rage. " But you hate him!"

" No . I hate you. You are nothing. In fact, you're less than nothing. And every time you see me, I hope that you're reminded of that," I say calmly.

He opens his mouth to speak, but his half-brother's voice fills the space instead as he enters the kitchen. " Shut the fuck up, or get out."

" I can't believe you're actually fucking her."

" Need I remind you whose house you're staying in?" Gage's voice is ice cold. If it were directed at me, I would be terrified. He sits at the table and pulls out a switchblade from his pocket, flicking it open and watching as the sunlight glints off of it. It may be my imagination, but I swear I see a speck of dried blood on it. " You don't have to be here, but she stays as long as I want. Got it?"

Whatever Brooks sees in his eyes makes him back off. He looks at me and scoffs before walking out the door. I hadn't planned on staying here past the morning, but I really don't want to go back home. It's not like I have many options. So , I pour myself a cup of coffee and join Gage at the table.

Somehow , the man who so deeply unsettled me last night has become my saving grace in the daylight.

Since I've moved out and will no longer be covering the household bills, I treated myself for my birthday and booked a hair and tattoo appointment. Now , I have Lucious —the snake—on my back, and my blonde locks are jet black. I'm in the bathroom getting ready for the day and as I look at myself in the mirror, I barely recognize the person staring back at me, which is fitting since I don't feel like myself anymore. I was never na?ve—something that life made sure I couldn't afford, but the person who I was on the eve of my twenty-first birthday died right there in that bedroom.

Gage joins me in the small space, wrapping his tattooed arms around my body, watching me through the glass. If he feels me tense, he gives no indication as I stare into his dark brown eyes, not the slightest hint of emotion in his gaze. They say that eyes are the window to our souls, but I'm not convinced that Gage has one.

Still , I force myself to relax in his hold.

Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

One year later

" Do you know who that man was?" Gage asks as I walk out to him after I've counted my money for the night.

" Which man?" I say, confused.

I'm not in the mood to deal with one of his fits of jealousy tonight. We aren't exclusive, although we may as well be. It's understood around Ravenscroft that I'm attached to Gage , and while that grants me a certain level of protection around town, it also means that no guy will look at me for longer than two seconds… unless he's paying for a dance.

My fear of Gage is no longer at the forefront, but that's only because he's getting what he wants… me. So , I have nothing to be worried about.

" The one that stuck about eight hundred dollars in your thong. Don't play coy."

" I'm not playing and it was seven hundred," I mutter, ready to call it a night and sleep. I glance over to where the man is still sitting, with Jeannie now whispering in his ear.

" Well , it's a damn shame it wasn't more."

I turn my head, not understanding what he's talking about. Gage is a lot of things, but ironically, he's never had an issue with my job.

" You want to give me pointers?"

" No . What I'm saying is that he could have given you a lot more money." He leans in and the gleam in his eyes makes me nervous. Wherever this is going, I don't think I like it. " That was Matthew Croft ."

He says the name as if I should know who it is, but I'm lost. And then, it clicks. " Like Croft Marketing ?"

" Bingo ," he replies, leaning against the wall.

Croft Marketing is one of the biggest digital marketing firms in the world, with its headquarters only a forty-five minute drive away in New York City . " Why would he be here?"

" He's not the first. Those guys like slipping out of the city and coming to smaller towns to carry out their less-than-savory acts. He'll be taking Jeannie back to whatever shady motel he's staying at."

Sure enough, when I look over, they are standing, ready to leave. " Doesn't he have a wife?"

" Sure ." Gage smiles and his gold tooth glints in the low lighting. " But she's well-kept and provided for, so when her husband leaves for the night, she's not asking questions."

I snort. " Well good for J , I guess."

" It could be good for us, too," he says, and I'm not sure I understand. " Sersh , baby, how about we play a little game?"