RAE “What’s he doing here?” Vickie winced at my curt tone even as she handed me the coffee. “You tell me. What trouble are you in?” Vic asked with a raised brow as she opened the passenger door. Did Rhys tell her something? I glanced at the hulking man and swallowed when I saw him walking up to us. It was early; the car park was busier than usual. Rhys wouldn’t try to kidnap me in front of witnesses. Would he? The glint in his eyes said he would. My stomach muscles clenched as fear took over me again. Why was Rhys so persistent? “Why would I be in trouble?” I asked, turning back to Vickie with an overly bright smile. I knew it was excessively bright because I felt it stretch my face in unnatural ways. “Because you’re acting weird and never explained what happened to your door,” Vickie said pointedly. “Who’s after you, Rae?” The shock that Rhys would go so far as to scare my best friend over that nonsense made my eyes widen as I turned back to him. His face was set in determi
RHYSStupid. I had been stupid for thinking with my dick instead of reasoning with her. I shouldn’t have kissed her like that.Now, I was forced to sit outside Vickie’s house, trying to devise a plan to snatch her from the stupid party that had seemed to matter more to her than the very real issue of a dead human in the park. When Vickie had taken Rae to the spa, I sped back into town to see if Fate had been on my side for once. But I had driven past two of Connor’s cars at the hotel, one outside the park and one in the back parking lot outside my apartment.I had come up with three options, none of which I liked. First, they hadn’t found anything and would stay in town longer. The second was that they had discovered that the hobo sniffing around my apartment building was a rogue and were trying to figure out how the hell he’d shifted back, which would also keep them in town longer. Third, they had found the body and tracked both Rae and me back to the apartment.I hadn’t gotten out o
RAEThe whole house was decorated as if Vickie was holding a royal ball. The professional decorators had done a spectacular job, and the servers walked around the guests, carrying trays filled with expensive alcohol. A live band, a famous band Vickie had hired a year in advance, played music outside. I could feel the wild thumping of their bass under my strappy shoes. A group of girls who didn’t attend our university walked past me at the bottom of the grand staircase, laughing and looking completely at home. They were Vickie’s ‘other friends’—the friends her parents preferred. I looked down at the couture slinky dress Vickie had chosen for me and felt my mood plummet again. Every piece of clothing brought over for us to look at had been handmade, one of a kind and of the finest quality. Most of it now resided in Vickie’s wardrobe, even the larger sizes she had made for me.Was I the poor relation in this story? The one rich people only talked about in the shadows? I felt like it.S
RAE A man appeared on the dimly lit path out of thin air like a ghost and naked as the day he was born. Stumbling and almost tripping over my trainers, I dug my heels into the pavement to stop myself before I crashed into him. There was nothing in front of me just a second ago; I was sure of it. Jogging alone in the park made me hyper-aware of my surroundings. Only people with bad intentions got naked in the park at night. I had to turn back and run, but my feet refused to do as I asked because my gaze lowered to his naked body and short-circuited my brain. The ass was a work of art. Seriously, how the hell did anyone get an ass that looked that good? He didn’t even look like he had to kill himself working out. I’d been trying for years, but mine always remained the chubby, gigantic mess it was. If I had a quarter—hell, if I had several quarters, I knew where I’d aim them. They would bounce right off. My mouth watered when I pulled my gaze from his ass to his back. It was broad
RHYS “Have you got them?” I cradled the phone on my shoulder while I pulled my jeans on. The large trees in the woods kept me hidden, but I already knew no one else was around. Nobody in Eastown stayed out that late unless they were up to no good, like me. Unless I counted that crazy woman who’d run out of the park in front of my car. My heart pounded against my chest when that face flashed through my mind again. It was the face I saw every night in my fantasies— or my nightmares, depending on the day. But she was dead! I’d mourned her. Our love had burned for a short time, but I’d paid the price. I was still paying six years later; my scars and fucked up head were proof of it. There was no way that woman had been Rae. My mind must have been playing tricks on me again. “Rhys!” My thoughts returned to the conversation as I zipped up the bags I’d laid at the tree's base. “Yeah. Sorry, I’ve still got my hands full, Tyson,” I answered. “How many?” “I got two. One slipped throu
RAE “Raechel Bourne!” I cringed and pulled my attention away from the park entrance when Vickie’s loud voice rang through the cafe. She made her way to me between the tables, loaded with shopping bags in both hands. Shit. I’d completely forgotten I was supposed to meet her. Between my sleepless night and trying to finish an assignment before class, shopping had been the last thing on my mind. “Raechel Bourne!” she repeated when she was closer. “Not everyone needs to know my name, Victoria Montgomery,” I said with an eye roll, stirring my latte. I pushed my glasses back up the bridge of my nose as I watched my friend approach. My vision was crystal clear now. I wish I’d had them last night to see what had chased me. Vickie dumped her bags in an empty chair at my table and dropped into the one next to it. “I’ve been calling you for hours! Did you lose your phone again?” Vickie huffed as she raised her hand to call over a server. “Forgot to charge it.” Vickie shook her head
RAE I didn’t want to be there. Crowds made me uneasy. My sixth sense constantly tingled because people with bad intentions surrounded me. They all looked like they were enjoying themselves on the outside, but I could sense the lust, the depraved thoughts mixed in with all of it. Someone would get roofied if they weren’t careful. It made me uneasy how such people could blend in. Innocent young women were hunted by lecherous older men and young men by lustful older women. Give me a picnic in the park any day. Or camping in the woods, surviving off the land, and fishing on a calm lake on a hot day? Now that was a party. But Vickie always dragged me to these places and dressed me up like a sex doll. I pulled the hem of my short dress down even though it wouldn’t get any lower. Vickie sometimes intentionally ‘forgot’ I had an ass when she bought clothes for me. The little blue dress felt completely indecent. I was pretty sure the guy staring at my ass from across the room could see th
RHYS I paced to the filthy window and looked outside for the millionth time. My eyes felt like they had sand in them because I hadn’t slept much. My dreams had consisted of a hazel-eyed, black-haired wench riding me in different positions all over my bed. It had been hours since I’d given up trying to sleep but I was still hard as fuck. Thinking of Rae always did that to me. It was worse now that I couldn’t get her scent out of my head. The sweet vanilla and cinnamon stuck to me, and I couldn't get my head straight. Annoyance surged inside me as I turned away from the window and walked to the kitchen. Why did that have to happen now? I’d been okay for months, and then bam! She was in my head again, and all I wanted to do was fuck her. Fuck a ghost. That shit was messed up. I crushed the empty beer can in my fist and threw it to join the others in the trash before I opened the fridge for another. I’d gone out, hard-on and all, to stock up on food but had only gone down the alcoho