Prologue
Wraith
Post–Civil War II
Mayhem, Pennsylvania
“Hi.”
I resist the urge to grin when I look up from the textbook resting on my lap. Shielding my eyes against the afternoon sun, I see Jamie Ellis hovering over me. My pulse quickens, and my palms go slick, but she can’t know I’m excited. I’m friggin’ thrilled, but I’m Eric Shaw, and I have a reputation to uphold. “Why’d you miss school yesterday?”
She shrugs and squats beside me. Adjusts the skirt of her ugly blue dress around bruised legs. The clean scents of soap and shampoo cling to her. “Whatcha reading?”
Most people avoid me. Not Jamie. She’s a tiny warrior invading my space. I don’t mind, though. We’ve known each other since kindergarten, but from a distance. Things changed late last semester. I’d caught Kyle McCarter groping her in the hallway and beat the living shit out of him. When the new school year started, Jamie glued herself to my side. For the last nine months, we’ve spent every lunch period together.
Not going to lie. This girl being in my shadow annoyed the hell out of me at first, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I mean, hell, everyone knows she gets beat by her dad. Saw no reason to be a dick to her. Figured she’d go back to keeping to herself. She didn’t, and then she grew on me, like mold. My friends accepted her because they knew I’d kick their asses if they didn’t.
Now, weekends suck because she can’t hang out. Her asshole father locks her up in their house over on Vine Street, only letting her out to go to school and the library.
The thing is, Jamie got dealt a raw deal, and nobody seems to want to do a damn thing about it. Butsomeonehas to have her back. Standing at over six feet tall and muscular to balance out the height, I’m a big kid. Appointed myself her unofficial bodyguard. At school, anyway. Can’t help her when she’s at home.
Not yet, anyway.
But I’m working on a plan.
Tiny details about her get me going, and I have to remind myself Jamie’s not my girlfriend. Doesn’t stop me from wanting her. Can’t help it. When you get past the skinny and the thrift store from hell wardrobe, she’s friggin’ gorgeous. And guys other than me see it, too, but they know they have to go through me to get to her and that’s not happening.
They’re horny, not suicidal.
Can’t blame them for trying, though. She’s got the cutest sprinkling of freckles on the bridge of her nose. Her green eyes are speckled with golden glitter. Her face is flawless skin and sharp angles, giving her an almost mythical appearance. Like some fairy-tale creature come to life. Hard to tell if the body buried beneath the ugly, oversized dresses has curves or not, but I’m going to go with no. Personally, I don’t give a shit. She’s perfect as far as I’m concerned.
What I do notice is when she’s nervous, Jamie wrings her hands until the skin’s splotchy, and she scrunches her face into an adorable scowl when she’s pissed. And there’s the bruises everyone pretends not to see—myself included. Nor does she talk about them,ever. Most times, it’s like I’m the one person who gives a shit if she’s hungry and hurting. I mean, yeah, I can beat the hell out of all the Kyle McCarters in the whole damn world, but I can’t do for her what an adult can.
I can’t save her from her dad.
But everything changes in two years.
Jamie has to hold on a little longer. Once we’re eighteen, I’m getting her away from her father so she can start a life for herself.
I tap the tip of her nose. “A book is what I’m reading, runt.”
Jamie scoots closer until our thighs touch. Her heat seeps through the denim of my jeans, sending a rush of blood to my dick. Because, yeah, what I need right now is a hard-on in the middle of the schoolyard.Outstanding.Her hand shakes as she tucks a lock of her shoulder-length hair behind her ear. She tilts her face to the sky, her expression, as always, unreadable. “On sunny days, I can imagine being someplace else. Somewhere clean.”
Her head’s angle shows a fresh burn the size of a cigarette on her neck, below her ear.
Sonofabitch.
Jamie squeezes her eyes shut, and I give her a quick once-over to see if the bastard did more damage. There’s a new, fist-sized mark on her chin. Lip’s got a small split, too. My gut tells me if her father keeps this up, he’s going to kill her before I have the chance to get her away from him. Then I’ll have to kill him, and it’ll be a colossal mess.
Maybe it’s time my father teaches Billy Ellis what happens to a grown-ass man who uses his daughter as a punching bag.
“I love Mayhem,” I tell her.
Jamie opens her eyes and gapes at me for a full thirty seconds before laughing in my face. It’s the first time I’ve heard her laugh—truly laugh—since I’ve known her.
“Impossible.”
“It’s true,” I counter.
