My mind jumps to my house in Miami. Nannie always worked so hard, making sure it shone while we bustled around her. The walls were white with gold trim. The marble floor was hard and unforgiving. The six-bedroom house was large, lavish…and nothing like home compared to this beat-up cabin in the woods. With a little work our hideout could become a refuge in the middle of nowhere.
It’s safe. Inviting. In spite of the winter chill, there’s a warmth here I can’t explain.
Last night we huddled around the fireplace, Riley stoking the flames while Kade told a story. We ate beans out of cans that were probably ten years old. Trey’s arm was around me, keeping me close, protecting me.
And we laughed. We joked. We talked, just like we did in the guys’ room at Eton. It was a surreal moment, but once again reminded me that I felt more at home with these three wayward guys than I’ve ever felt in my life. In spite of our circumstances, we were a family.
But can we really stay here forever?
We’re kids. What do we know about owning a property like this, making it sustainable?
People are going to be looking for us. What about the school? Kade’s and Trey’s parents?
The three of them are putting their lives on hold…for me.
It doesn’t feel fair.
Biting my lips together, I gaze down at the trio. Riley and Trey start laughing over something one of them said. There’s so much trust and history between them. You’d have to be blind not to see the connection.
Eton Wolves, brothers for life.
It’s the perfect mascot. Wolves are a pack…just like these guys.
Kade stands and I turn my gaze on him. He’s wiping his hands on a rag, staring down at the bike with a look of longing I don’t quite understand. His chest rises as he pulls in a heavy breath, then holds it. He turns to gaze out across the mountain view. His body seems tense, his movements jerky.
I can’t see his face.
I don’t know what he’s thinking.
But I can’t help wondering if one member of this close-knit pack doesn’t want to be here.
#Kade:
I don’t think I can do it.
I love my brothers. I don’t want to hurt them, but I can’t stay trapped in these mountains.
I’ll go stir-crazy up here, living life like some backwards farmer.
I need a city.
Hot girls.
Parties.
Drinks.
I can’t do cozy cabin life.
Trey loves Chris. He’ll do anything to keep her safe.
But those rules don’t apply to me.
She’s not my girl.
Not my responsibility.
Trey won’t want me to go though. He’ll see it as breaking trust.
But he’s not my boss.
He’ll lecture me about the risks. People will be looking for us. Showing my face outside of this isolated nowhere could lead to trouble. Big trouble.
But I didn’t sign up for this.
I acted in the spur of the moment, helping Trey out because he was desperate.
Now I’m not sure I did the right thing.
I look down at the bike I’m fixing up. It’s gonna be my ticket out of here, but maybe not just yet.
I’ll give it a little time. Wait for the hype to die down. Wait until the police aren’t looking anymore. It’ll be safer then. I can head away from this place and find some action. Something to keep me entertained.
Rubbing my hands with the rag, I’m grateful that Grandpa Wade let me hang out in his workshop when I was a kid. He taught me everything he knew about engines. He was the only one who ever understood me. Too bad he had to be the first to die. He and Grandma were a reprieve from the string of annoying nannies. Once they died, my parents sent me to live with my other set of grandparents—sticks so far up their asses they could barely sit down. Since then I haven’t been emotionally attached to anyone.
I glance over my shoulder and spot Trey and Riley carrying a plank of wood around back.
Except maybe those two.
Gritting my teeth, I ignore the pang in my stomach and crouch back down to keep working on the bike. I’ll give it a month or two, but if we’re still stuck on this nowhere mountain, I’m gonna have to leave the pack…be the lone wolf I used to be.
Keep reading to learn more about Kade’s story, SPEAK NO EVIL…
Coming in January 2017
SPEAK NO EVIL
Kade Kingsley is sick of hiding out in the middle of nowhere.
He should be having a good time, partying and living it up, not playing bodyguard to his best friend’s runaway witness girlfriend.
When he decides to leave the mountainside he’s called home for the last two months, he promises to be careful. He knows the stakes are high, and he knows that the makeshift family he’s leaving behind is counting on him to come back.
What he doesn’t count on is getting mugged and left for dead.
And he definitely doesn’t count on being rescued by a girl with secrets of her own…secrets that rival his.
As Julienne Bishop, a down-on-her-luck girl hiding from an abusive ex-boyfriend, nurses Kade back to health, an uneasy bond forms between them. They need each other, even if they don’t realize it, and even if they have a hard time accepting it.
Because danger is coming at them from both sides, and they must figure out if they can trust each other.
Before it’s too late.