Every lie they told me. Every memory I can’t touch. Every part of me that feels like it doesn’t belong in my own body.
The truth doesn’t set you free.
It breaks you. Quietly. Irreversibly.
That dream hits like a fist to the gut, dragging me out of sleep like I’ve been yanked from the bottom of the ocean. I shoot up, gasping, heart hammering, head spinning.
Josie’s voice, the one that used to soothe me, is now etched into my skull like a curse.“I’m your mother.”Over and over again. A loop I can’t outrun.
“God… when will it stop?”
I collapse back into bed, burying myself beneath the covers like they can protect me from everything unraveling outside this room. Maybe if I stay buried long enough, the truth won’t find me again.
The only ones who’ve dared to break through my self-imposed exile?
Wyck and the Devils.
They’ve taken shifts, rotating in and out of my room like sentinels. Bringing food I won’t touch. Touching me gently, like I’m some fragile thing that might shatter beneath their hands. Even Wyck hasn’t tried to fuck me,which is saying something.
If I can squeeze the truth out of anyone, it’s Karter. He’s always been the weak link when it comes to telling me no.
I smile beneath the blanket, wicked and amused. I may be heartbroken, haunted, but I’m still me.
And I need a win.
Reaching into my bra, I pull out my phone and fire off a text with practiced innocence:
Me:Come quick. It’s urgent.
The bubbles appear, but no message follows. The anticipation sends a delicious thrill down my spine.
Hook, line, and Devil.
Then, tires screech outside my window.
Karter.
I don’t even need to look. Ifeelhim. The air shifts with his presence like it always does, heat and trouble and something unspoken riding in on the sound of his engine.
I toss off the blanket and shimmy out of my clothes, flinging them across the room. Sliding under the covers again, I lie in wait, naked, pulsing, wicked with want.
The window creaks open.
Moments later, he steps through, eyes scanning the room like a predator.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, jaw tight, voice sharp. “Where’s the fire?”
I smirk. “No fire.” Onlyheat.
He narrows his eyes, piecing it together. “Then what’s so urgent you couldn’t say it in a text?”
I don’t answer. Ireveal.The covers slide off my body like silk, baring me completely to his gaze.
He stills. Then steps back, jaw tight, licking his lips as his eyes lock on my breasts. His restraint is hanging by a thread, and I’m here to cut it.
“Athens…” His voice drops. “What are you doing?”
I arch my back, unapologetically proud of every curve. “I’m tired of all of you tiptoeing around me like I’m broken.”
