It’s difficult to keep my mind off Mom and Krew. I constantly worry whether they’re safe. I catch myself hesitating whenever I think about going back to Delaware to check on them. Mom insists I stay in Jersey; she says it’s for the best. Part of me wishes they’d never moved back to Delaware. I know it’s our home, but after everything that happened, I don’t think I’ll ever feel secure there again. I won’t return until mafia boss Ettore and Aleksandr—the Bratva leader who seized our territory—are dead. Especially Ettore; he’s got a personal vendetta against me after I took out his men: a Capo, his bodyguard, and his littlebrother, the pedophile. Until they’re both gone, I refuse to set foot there.
Vi grabs my arm, swinging me around the half-empty dance floor. “Are you ready for another fun night?”
I giggle. “I am. After that last test, all I want to do is drink until I’m numb.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad.” Nila loops her arm through mine. “Imagine fucking a gorgeous guy who says he’s packing.”
Laneesha laughs, “He wasn’t.” She wiggles her pinky finger.
I glance at Pera. We both bend over laughing.
“I’m not done,” Nila continues. “He fucked like a racehorse. I wanted to push him off me.” She shakes her head as she dances to the beat.
“I faked an orgasm,” Nila admits.
The girls release me and I toss my head back laughing.
“Hey ladies,” a familiar voice says.
I lock eyes with Malik. His amber gaze trails over me, taking in every detail. His short, dark curls are perfectly styled. His honey-brown skin mirrors my own. We’re both mixed, and maybe that’s why I’m drawn to him.
“Ladies!” Levi shouts, clapping his hands. “Looks like the party can really start now that we’re all here.”
Levi is always the life of the party in our circle. I’m pretty sure he’s into Laneesha, though he dances with everyone of us. His green eyes trail her every movement, clearly showing his affection, and I believe she feels the same.
Malik is Levi’s best friend, so of course he hangs with us too.
“Hey! We were just talking about an unfortunate, funny incident,” I blurt out.
Pera bumps my arm with hers. “That’s a good way to put it.”
“I’d say it’s time for drinks, then we can come back to the dance floor,” Nila suggests.
After we get our drinks of choice, we sit in a cozy corner in the frat house and talk for a little while. A new song I’d heard recently booms through the speakers. I down my vodka lemon drop, slam the red cup on the small table, and run to the dance floor. Pumping my fists in the air, I shake my ass to the beat. The feel of the bass electrifies my soul. My eyelids lower, and I get lost in the moment. Something I try to do at every party now. Take my mind off the murders I committed. And the fact that I still have to see my family in secret.
I feel two muscled bodies rub against my curvy frame. My eyes pop open and meet Malik’s. Levi’s cologne wiggles up my nostrils from behind. Malik’s hands cascade down my sides as the three of us move to the beat.
“Get your hands off her,” a deep voice booms to my right.
I come to an abrupt halt.
“Chill, man, we’re just having fun,” Levi says.
I’d been at the party for an hour. How did he get here so fast? Was he already in town?
I glower. “Nico, I can dance with whoever I want.”
“Dancing with your friends is cool. But being sandwiched by two guys, Serenity… No.”
My gaze sweeps over him. He always had a nice build but now at twenty, he’s taller, and his chest and back are wider. Pure muscle. The man is irresistibly sexy. Women can’t help but gawk and giggle whenever he’s near. His raven hair is longer, like he’s in some phase of growing it out.
It’s straight—did he blow out his curls? The hair sweeps away from his face, falling loosely around his ears, trimmed a bit shorter at the nape.
The way he stares at me makes my skin heat under his gaze.
He stretches out a tatted arm and curls a hand around my neck, pulling me close. “I want you to sit on my face now,” he mutters in my ear, and my body tingles all over.
We hadn’t had sex in months. I admit I’m horny.
