Chapter 1

Daelyn

Murder is wrong. I’d never survive prison. I need to take care of Addie.

I remind myself of these three simple facts while I stare at the asshole sitting on my front stoop. “What are you doing here, Ace?”

“Watching the sunset.”

My little sister is sitting next to him, her smile way too similar to the one I used to wear at her age, and I don’t like it. My stomach twists. “Get inside, Addie.”

“Relax, Dae. I’m not going to bite her.” Ace stares down at Addie with a flirtatious smile. “Unless she wants me to.”

Addie’s smile gets bigger.

I drop my grocery bags on the sidewalk and take a step forward. “Addie. Get inside. Now .”

“Why? It’s not like Ace is a stranger.” She has the nerve to roll her eyes.

My sister is the most defiant sixteen-year-old I’ve ever known. She’s worse than I was at her age. I’m sure a lot of it is my fault, because she doesn’t ever have to suffer consequences for her actions. I usually like that she’s not intimidated by anyone, including me, but right now, I hate it. Especially when she digs down and doesn’t do what I ask in times like this.

“Hey.” Ace gently rests his finger under her chin and makes her look at him. “I really appreciate you keeping me company out here today. How about next time I come, I bring you a present?”

Addie arches her brow. “What kind of present?”

“Be a good girl and go inside, then you’ll find out.” He has the audacity to stare at her mouth.

I stomp forward, grab him by the collar of his shirt, and rip him back from her, breaking the spell between them. Addie glowers at me for a hot second before storming towards our front door, the chains on her Doc Martens clinking as she goes, and then she slams the door shut.

Ace laughs and shakes his head. “She’s such a spicy black cat.”

“Stay the fuck away from her, Ace. She’s off limits and you know it.”

“Says who?”

“Says me . She’s sixteen.” Which he’s well aware of. Ace has been coming around for a couple years now. He’s twenty, the youngest member of the crew I’m involved with, and is great at being bad. Just Addie’s type, I fear.

“She’s legal,” he counters. “Finally.” When my hands ball into fists, his smile morphs into a sneer. “Don’t even think of swinging, Dae. You’ll regret it.”

He’s right. But it could be worth the price I’d pay just to feel the brief satisfaction of knocking his teeth out. Letting out an exasperated breath, I relax my stance a fraction. “Why are you here?”

He pulls out a vape and takes a pull, letting orange cream scented smoke billow around us. I hope he didn’t vape around Addie.

All humor and sarcasm is gone from him when he says, “Kaleb wants to talk with you.”

Fuck . Not again.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I grind my molars together. I can’t say no. “When?”

“Now.” He stands and pulls his keys out his pocket.

Double fuck .

Ace glances at the groceries scattered all over the front walkway. “Pick your shit up off the ground first. I’ll wait.”

Shame heats my face as I pluck the apples that fell out and stuff them back in one of my reusable bags. “Just give me five minutes.”

“Two.” Ace takes another puff of his vape. “I’ve been here a while already, and I got shit to do.”

Biting back a snarky response, I bring my groceries inside and drop them on the counter. “Fucking asshole,” I whisper to myself.

Addie’s sitting on the couch, watching me like a hawk. “He’s not as bad as you think, Daelyn. Ace is actually really sweet.”

Her defending him makes me queasy. “That’s what he wants you to think, Addie. Stay away from him.”

“God, you’re such a hypocrite.” She pushes up and heads for the front door.

“Don’t—”

She slams the door so loud it shakes the walls. Brat .

I rush over to the window and see her stuff her hands in the back pockets of her tight black cutoff shorts as she talks with Ace again. He says something that makes her laugh and my heart trips on itself. Skipping putting the food in the fridge, I run back outside to break them up again.

It’s futile. I can’t keep my sister away from Ace and the other guys any more than I can escape the Hell I signed up for.

But I have to try.

“Addie, come inside and put the groceries away.”

She ignores me.

We got into a fight last night, and I wanted so badly to make up with her today. I’d gone out to buy all the ingredients to make her favorite dinner, but at this rate, it’s a lost cause. If I have to talk with Kaleb now, he’ll likely keep me out late, and Addie will be home alone again.

I hate this.

“I’m going to Tasha’s,” she says, turning to face me.

Good. This at least takes the guilt of me not being home tonight a little more bearable. “Okay,” I say in a lighter tone. “Have fun.” I hope my smile looks easy-going and real. I hate when there’s tension between us. I don’t like fighting with her. And I don’t like being the bossy bitch in the house. But sometimes I have to be the bad guy, damnit. It’s a necessary evil.

Ace takes another puff of his vape and stuffs it back in his pocket as he heads to his car. “Come on, Dae.”

Walking forward, I mentally tick through my responsibilities, rearranging their order of priority. Kaleb. Ace. Bills. Apology dinner for Addie .

My sister stares at me while I do this, and after a few heartbeats, she shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Dae.”

I want to cry. I want to scream. “I’m so sorry, too. I shouldn’t have yelled at you last night. That wasn’t fair.”

“No, I shouldn’t have taken cash out of your purse without asking. It’s my fault.”

We hug and I want to say a million other things. Do better than me. Stay away from danger. Put the groceries away before the milk sours on the counter and our money is wasted. “Have fun at Tasha’s, okay? Be home by noon tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Addie hugs me tight. “Love you.”

“Love you more.”

And just like that, I can breathe easier.

Ace lays on the horn, and we both jump back from each other, startled.

Asshole .

Addie flips him the bird but he doesn’t let up on the noise.

“He’s such a dick,” she says, but there’s humor in her tone.

I change the subject before we get into another fight again. “Can you put the groceries away for me before you go? I bought the ingredients to make your favorite.”

Addie’s eyes brighten. “Sweet! Yeah, no problem. I gotta work from two to ten tomorrow night, but maybe we can make the lasagna together the day after?”

“Perfect.” I tuck stray blue hair strands behind her ear.

Ace doesn’t stop honking even after I get in his car, buckle up, and stare at him with my brow arched. Unfazed, he keeps pressing the horn and glowers at me with this silent threat that says wasting his time will cost me.

He’s just like Kaleb. Heartless, cold, and charismatic only when he wants to drain his prey of something.

Nausea hits me soon after we turn off my road and I take shallow breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. His car smells like grease, weed, and cologne, which doesn’t help my fight against the bile rising in my throat. Meeting Kaleb like this always makes me feel sick. I never know what he’s going to ask of me.

And I can never say no to it.

“Do you know what he wants?”

“Above my paygrade.” Ace blows through a red light.

My palms sweat. “How long were you waiting for me?” I need to figure out how much time he spent with Addie.

“Long enough to piss me off.”

My mouth runs dry. There’s a new tattoo on his forearm, just above the scar that marks him as a possession. I know because I have the same scar on my wrist. It makes me wonder if Ace is in this shitshow because he wants to be, or because he has to be. Not that I’ll ever ask.

“Stop staring at me.” Ace speeds up. “Put your focus where it belongs, Daelyn.”

Right. Any hope I ever get of cracking this guy open and seeing the truth of him always dies fast. Maybe Addie isn’t the only one who slips under his spell. Only she’s a na?ve fool who finds bad boys hot. I’m older than Ace and find this particular bad boy a potential ally.

At least, sometimes I do.

Stop it. Ace is not like you. He has choices and you don’t .

But is that even true? Kaleb is brutal and owns a lot of things, especially people. Ace only started working with him a couple years ago. Maybe he didn’t have a choice either. Regardless of how he ended up in our crew, he still works for the same monster as me, and that makes him a bad guy. I can’t fuck with anymore bad guys, and I know damn well none of them can be trusted. Me included.

We finally pull up to a strip club and confusion has me balking. We usually meet at a hotel. “He’s in here ?”

Ace turns to face me and arches his brow like I just asked a really stupid question. His eyes are bright green and bloodshot. Is that from lack of sleep or something worse?

Why do I even care?

When I don’t budge, Ace leans over and unbuckles my seat belt, then shoves my car door open. “Get out.”

“Fuck you too, Ace.” I climb out and slam the door hard, hoping it’ll shatter his window. He slams into reverse, and I have to jump back so he doesn’t hit me with his car. Gravel dust flies in my face as he leaves the lot in a hurry. “Asshole!”

Sucking in a deep breath, I tap my pocket, seeking comfort in the knife I—

Shit, I left my knife at home. In my purse. On the counter with the groceries.

I’m an idiot.

Looking back at the road, I debate on running. But I learned a long time ago that running gets you chased. Chased gets you caught. Caught gets you disciplined.

I don’t have the strength to go through Kaleb’s punishments again.

Rolling my shoulders back, I swing open the door and am smacked in the face with the scents of stale beer and cheap perfume. Kaleb sits at the bar, alone, staring into an empty glass. He doesn’t look at me when I approach. Doesn’t acknowledge me when I sit on the stool next to him either.

This is bad.

The bartender wipes her hands with a towel and offers me a tired smile. “Hey sugar, what can I get you?”

“Water, please.” I don’t drink alcohol around Kaleb. I need every brain cell in perfect working order in case shit goes sideways.

She sets a glass of water in front of me and immediately grabs the bottle of tequila for Kaleb. He places his hand over the top of his glass, shaking his head once. Without a word, she turns away and puts the bottle back, leaving us alone.

“What do you want, Kaleb?”

He keeps quiet, staring at the selection of top shelf liquor, until I’m positively squirming.

I hold my breath. Blow it out. Take a sip of my water.

“How have you been, babygirl?”

Is he for real? “Oh, you know. Living the dream.”

“Still working from home?”

I hate that he’s playing with me. He knows exactly what I do all day, every day.

“Yup.” I take another sip of my water and stare at the bottles of liquor like he is. The trick to dealing with Kaleb is matching his energy without taking the upper hand.

He’ll likely cut your arms off if you try.

“That’s good. Gives you more time with Addie.”

The worst part about Kaleb is I can never tell when he’s being sincere or not. That unreadability got me in this mess to begin with. Kaleb can come off as the most charming man on the planet and his looks only reinforce that he might be a great time for someone who loves herself a big red flag.

The man’s a wolf with an entire Prince Charming wardrobe.

“What do you want, Kaleb?”

“I just wanted to see you. It’s been a while.”

Not long enough. But he’s right. We haven’t met for several months. I think the worst part about this is that I had a break, and it made me delusional enough to believe he’d forgotten about me. I actually started thinking that maybe I was out, and he was going to leave me alone for good.

Wow. When did I get so stupid?

Kaleb turns to me and rests one of his big, inked hands on my thigh.

The heat of his palm, the weight of it, and the massive size all remind me what he’s capable of. He can bring pleasure as swiftly as he can bring pain.

Kaleb used to be my boyfriend. Sometimes his touch stirs old, familiar feelings that blur and confuse me. My body melts and recoils at the same time. My brain sighs and freezes. My heart stops and stutters. There was a time when I would have given this man the world and he knew it.

Now, I only give him my time because I’m forced to.

His eyes lock onto mine, and the monster finally comes out to play. “I need you to fuck someone for me tonight, babygirl.”

“Fuck them how? Like slash their tires or slip something in their drink?”

“No. Fuck them. Spread your legs and open your mouth.”

My blood runs cold. “Who?”

“No one you know.”

That’s not helpful, but at least it’s not him I’ll have to spread my legs for. I’m ashamed to admit that it took me a long time to get over Kaleb. He fucks like a beast and was so protective and possessive of me when we first met. I fell hard for him.

But he never cared about me. I was a temporary toy turned possession. Once his claws sank into me deep enough, I couldn’t do anything without him knowing about it. Then his control morphed until I could no longer survive without his help.

Now, I depend on him.

“Why do I have to fuck this guy?”

“Because I told you to.”

“But why ?”

Kaleb’s fingers dig into my thigh, making me cry out. “You will do what you’re told.”

“I’m only asking why!” Anger spikes in my veins and I smack his arm hard enough to make his grip slip.

In a flash, Kaleb’s out of his seat and has me pinned against the bar with his hand around my throat. My back is bent at a harsh angle and tears spring to my eyes, but I won’t let them fall. Crying only makes him happier.

His voice stays controlled and steady when he says, “Make it good for him. Make him want you again. Then when you’re done…” He swallows hard, like he’s the one getting choked here. “I’ll let you go.”

I’m not sure if I’m floating from the hope of his promise, the adrenaline spiking in my system, or if he’s lifted me clean off my feet with his hand around my throat, but I’m getting dizzy.

“Okay,” I say, as stars dance in my blackening vision. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Kaleb drops me immediately. “I wasn’t asking.”

I know, but pretending I have a choice makes me feel stronger. Coughing, I grip the edge of the bar and try to take in a full breath. “Who is it I’m fucking?”

“The winner of a fight tonight. Ace will take you.” Kaleb slaps a hundred-dollar bill on the bar. “When you’ve finished this job, we’ll be even.”

It sounds too good to be true. I don’t trust it. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

Kaleb tilts his head and the man I once fell for almost peeks out. It makes me feel too stupid to live because I’m always looking for a glimpse of the good in people who have no such thing left in them.

“Have I ever lied to you, babygirl?”

No. He hasn’t. That’s what pisses me off most. Kaleb’s a twisted bastard with an honesty streak. It’s how he got me to trust every toxic word he’s ever told me.

“Answer me, Daelyn.”

“No,” I whisper. “You’ve never lied to me.”

He tips my chin up with his finger, his voice softening when he says, “And I never will.”

As Kaleb leaves me stranded at the strip club, I trick myself into believing this is the last time I’ll have to put myself in the line of fire.

Even if the scar on my wrist says otherwise.

Fuck the winner. That’s all I have to do. One night, one man, one last job, and it’s over.

That’s not too hard, right?