Mayhem is in my blood. My dad’s Unholy, and at sixteen, I’m already on my way to following in his footsteps. I’m positive my best friend, Luke Hayden, and I are why Sheriff Warren is a raving drunk with a nervous tic.
“Yes, well, you would. You’re Unholy royalty.” She plucks the history textbook off my legs. “Light reading?”
I shrug. “Finals are next week.”
Rusty Shaw’s big on school and made me promise I’d graduate. Since I have to be here anyway, I figure I might as well do my dad one better and finish with honors.
If anyone other than Jamie or Luke saw me reading the book, I’d make a joke rather than admit to studying. With her, I don’t have to be that guy. My so-called bad-boy reputation doesn’t impress her.
She examines the photos of old America splashed across the textbook’s glossy page. “Must be nice to be the smartest kid in class.”
I work my ass off to get good grades. Hence, studying while I waited for Jamie to walk her cute butt over to me.
“Knowledge is power.” I’ve adopted my dad’s motto.
“True.” She turns the page and taps the photo of a lit-up and bustling Times Square. “Ever wonder how the world was before the war?”
“Nope.”
According to history, the conflict began on social media at the same time a global pandemic killed off a shitload of the world’s population. Online mobs created a nanny state that decimated fundamental freedoms. The fighting spilled over into the physical world. Riots erupted. Bloodbaths sparked a Second Civil War. Millions were slaughtered, and America burned. When the battle ended, a fractured nation emerged from the ashes with no real winner and only degrees of loss.
We’re still cleaning up the mess, with huge chunks of the country buried under rubble and trapped in chaos.
Jamie sets the book aside and steeples her legs. When she rests her chin on her knees, I get a peek at the black shorts beneath her skirt—and the bruising on her inner thighs.
Christ, no.
My jaw clenches and my muscles stiffen as fury turns my blood to lava. I’m about to ask Jamie the brutal question, already plotting how I’m going to kill Ellis and dispose of his body, when she stops me dead with an announcement that cools my rage and replaces it with dread.
“I’m going away.”
No one strays far from Mayhem. The town has its own gravity, grounding everyone who lives here.
I hide my skepticism. Or is it fear?Whatever. “Yeah? Where are you going?”
“Someplace I’ll hate more than Mayhem.”
I want to put my arms around her, but I don’t, afraid I’ll spook her. Jamie hates being touched. Can’t say I blame her. “Stay. Problem solved.”
“Can’t.” She stretches out her legs. “I came to school to say goodbye and to thank you for being my friend.”
Jamie pops onto her knees and faces me. I stay as still as death when she grips my shoulders. I may not be relationship material, but I would be better for her.Onlyfor her. Then she surprises the hell out of me by leaning in real close to press her mouth to mine.
I lick the taste of apples off her lips.
As of this second, apples are my favorite fruit.
When Jamie moves away, I’m tempted to haul her back for another kiss. But I don’t because teachers are watching, and when she glances over her shoulder, I track her gaze to the squad car parked outside the schoolyard. Her sad smile is a knife in my heart. She stands and brushes dirt off her bare knees. Then she spins on the heel of her scuffed sneakers, and before I can stop her, she marches toward the school. I should chase after her. Instead, like an asshole, I stay stuck to the spot beneath the tree and watch as she disappears inside the old brick building.
Time grinds to a halt, but somehow, the minutes still fly by.
Five…
Ten…
The bell rings, marking the end of the lunch period. I grab the textbook and join the student lineup, taking a place behind Luke. He had a growth spurt this year and finally caught up to my height.
“What’s the sheriff doing here?” Luke asks over his shoulder.
