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Before I could even register what was happening, something barreled down on me, slamming into my cheekbone just below my eye. The force of the impact knocked me back, my feet slipping out from under me again. A scream pierces my ears, ringing out for a few moments before it finally registers that the noise was coming from me. He hit me, not like earlier, he actually struck me—backhanded me in the face.
Tommaso caught me before I crashed to the floor, scooping me up and flinging me unceremoniously onto the bed. My hands immediately flew up to cradle my face in shock, the tender skin already swelling. He stepped forward and I flinched back automatically this time.
“You think that was bad?” he asked incredulously, looking down at me in disgust. And at that very moment I vowed never again. I didn’t care if I had to live on the street. Two weeks was all I had to get out of here. I wouldn’t let this sorry piece of garbage put his hands on me a second time. The throbbing in my face and the stabbing pain in my back wrestled for control, the agony melding together into something nearly unbearable. “That was nothing compared to what the Demon Riders would’ve done to you if they found out who you were.” He shook his head, looking down at me in a mix of revulsion and pity. “Get some sleep,” he instructed, walking off toward the closet to get changed.
So I laid back and closed my eyes, and in place of the nightmares that usually haunted me I pictured the singer convulsing on the ground, my taser firmly placed against his neck. A tremor ran through his body with each shock that vibrated the weapon in my hand. But instead of the singer’s mottled face, I imagined Tommaso was the one writhing in pain, and despite the agony still stabbing through my body, I drifted off to sleep with a faint smile on my lips.
Chapter nine
Giana
Six years ago …
Ifloppedbackontothe brown leather couch and relaxed back into the thick cushions, thankful for the reprieve. After a long day at school and a seven-hour shift at the diner, I seriously could’ve passed out right here. But I fought off the wave of exhaustion that washed over me as I finally took a moment to relax today. This was one of the only times we all had to spend together. The rest of the weekend we would all be at work, saving up for our big escape. It would all be worth it in a couple of months—we just had to get through it.
I wished we had more time to enjoy the last summer before adulthood, but in reality, we were already there, dealing with adult problems while still being treated like kids. But at least during the summer we wouldn’t have school on top of our already full schedules. Luckily, I already got my acceptance to NYU, including a full scholarship and financial aid. I just had to keep my grades up, but I crammed most of my courses into the beginning of the school year so I could have more time to work now and less pressure with homework. My dorm room was being paid for by school but we all wanted to split a place. We’d been inseparable throughout our childhoods, and there was no way we would go to the big city and be separated.
“Have you thought about coming to work with me at the community center?” Kellan asked, settling down on the other side of me. I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my lips just at his proximity. He’d been over the moon when we showed him the place, excited to finally have a place to call ours. He’d even pulled all the boards off the back windows in his excitement, to give us some extra light, and a heads-up if anyone was coming. Even though we cleaned up the firehouse over a year ago and organized the furniture into our own little hangout, the guys usually both crowded around me on the one couch. They claimed it was because it was the most comfortable, but I wasn’t so sure.
“No, she’s going to work with me at the shop,” Merrick offered, squeezing in on my other side. I groaned in frustration and scrubbed a hand over my face. It had been like this ever since I told them I wanted to get a second job for the summer. My parents promised they would keep me on evening shifts for July and August, meaning I could get a second job during the day.
Sure it would suck, but I had to take some money with me. Kellan had a paid internship lined up at a tattoo shop in Queens, and Merrick would be doing an apprenticeship in an automotive shop. He probably knew more than anyone else already, but our society cared more about if there was a certificate or diploma hanging from your wall than actual knowledge. But they both had jobs to help pay for the rent, and I had no idea what my workload would be yet. They assured me they could take care of it, but I couldn’t do that to them. We found a place, and it was affordable—or more affordable than most places there—but I didn’t want them to take care of me, not with the cost of living already so high there.
“I haven’t decided yet.” I chuckled. “Maybe I’ll have to find something else if you two keep arguing about it.”
“Us, arguing? No, I don’t think that was us, you must be mistaken.” Kellan gasped, clutching a hand to his chest as though my words physically wounded him. “Besides, Merrick, do you really want her to work with you at the shop? You realize she wouldn’t just be working with you, right …?” Kellan trailed off giving Merrick a pointed look.
Merrick’s brows furrowed for a moment as he thought it over, and his lips pursed a moment later, the look of confusion transforming into a glower. “You’re right,” he grumbled, his look turning apologetic as he glanced at me. “Sorry little devil, you’ll have to work with Kellan.”
“Again, who said I was working with either of you?” I reminded them, pinning them each with a glare. “And why exactly can’t I work at the shop?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Kellan chuckled, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his side. I huffed out a breath of annoyance but allowed him to pull me over. Nestling into his warmth, I closed my eyes and relaxed into him. Merrick grumbled something unintelligible from my other side and my lips tipped up into a grin. Reaching out, I slid my hand onto his leg in a reassuring gesture.
Kellan wrapped his other hand around the back of my head and placed a tender kiss on my forehead, his lips lingering there a few seconds longer than could be considered friendly. We were tiptoeing that invisible line more and more often lately. My thoughts were constantly consumed by thoughts of both of them … and not in an only friends kind of way. But I could never act on it, just like I knew neither of them would. I wouldn’t want to screw up the dynamic of our friendship. Besides, I could never choose between the two of them. My feelings were deepening each day, and I knew it was a dangerous path I was exploring, but I couldn’t help it. I’d tried to distract myself by looking at other guys at school, but none of them could compare, none of them lit the same fire in my soul as Kellan or Merrick.
I sometimes caught the furtive glances they cast my way, the looks of longing for something more. But none of us ever said anything, we all locked our feelings down, refusing to let them bubble up to the surface. Was it healthy? Probably not, but I wouldn’t say anything to either of them out of fear that I’d imagined it all, that they only thought of me as a friend and nothing more.
I hummed in contentment as Kellan rested his cheek atop my head and Merrick pulled my hand between his, warming the chilled skin between his large palms. I had no idea what would happen between us all in New York, but I couldn’t give this up, I couldn’t let go of either of these men.
“So what’s the plan for my birthday?” I asked curiously. The thought had been rolling around in my mind for the past week since they brought it up. My birthday was two weeks away, and graduation was the week after that. Thankfully it fell right after exams, so we’d all be able to let loose to celebrate my eighteenth birthday.
“You left it up to us to plan, so it’s a surprise,” Merrick teased, squeezing my hand between his.
“That’s not fair. Can you at least give me a hint?” I pouted, glancing up at Kellan. Between the two of them he would give in the easiest. His lips twitched with amusement, but his smile fell as I held his gaze.
“Don’t do it man,” Merrick warned, Kellan’s gaze breaking with mine to look past me at Merrick. “Don’t give into the devil.” I dug my nails into his palm. He let out a hiss of pain but only squeezed my hand tighter in response rather than pushing me away.
“Don’t listen to him, Kellan. Tell the devil all your secrets,” I purred, lifting a brow in what I hoped was a seductive look. If the way his throat bobbed was any indication, I was almost sure I hit the nail on the head.
“She really is the devil, isn’t she?” Kellan murmured, his eyes flicking from me to Merrick and back again.
“I told you, bro, she’s pure evil. She could get you to sell your soul just by batting those long lashes,” Merrick groaned, tugging my hand with him as he leaned back against the couch.
“Ha-ha, very funny guys,” I said dryly, nestling back into Kellan’s side and resigning myself to not prying any information from them.
A buzzing sounded beside me, and I reluctantly looked over, leaving my little cocoon of warmth to glimpse my phone which must’ve fell out of my pocket. I groaned in frustration, not wanting to move or pull my hand from Merrick’s to check the message.
“Can you check my phone please?” I pouted at Merrick, batting my lashes just for fun.
