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I used to read it over and over, praying for change that never happened. What was I doing? Still holding out hope for a life that was impossible to have? I’d been clinging on to my last shred of naivety with everything I had. But that was gone now too. After what I’d seen in William’s office, my family was into deeper things than I could have ever guessed.
Someone cleared their throat from behind me, and all three boys went rigid. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. River stared at me with worry, while Elias and Weston glared at William over my shoulder.
“Time to go, Katalina,” William ordered. “Now.”
“Go where?” Elias hissed, stepping forward.
“Don’t keep me waiting.” William was making it clear he didn’t want me to tell them anything. I looked at each of them, silently saying goodbye before spinning on my heel and striding across the court. I passed a trash can, and a tear trailed down my cheek as I dropped the ring into it.
I’d never have my own future.
CHAPTERONE
NINE YEARS LATER
“No one will be herefor an hour,” I complained, swinging the car door closed. “Why did we have to get here so early?”
My best friend rolled his eyes. “We need to practice.”
“We practice every day,” I grumbled as Elias grabbed the basketball out of the trunk.
“We’re not losing tonight.”
I scoffed. “Have we ever lost?”
“It’s our last year, West.”
He didn’t need to elaborate. Our senior year of college started next week. It would be the last year we could pretend every aspect of our lives wasn’t controlled because of who our families were. College was our freedom. We led the basketball team, playing like our dream was to go to the NBA. Even though we both knew leaving this city would never happen.
“Isn’t that your cousin?” Eli asked.
I jerked my head up and stared across the outdoor basketball court. Lights surrounded the court, making it easy to see the two people on the far side. The girl standing to the side was definitely my cousin, Everly. Her hair was the same deep brown as mine was. I remembered she was spending the summer here in Braidwood. She was a year younger than me and went to college a couple of hours from here.
Now that she was older, she was expected to help with our family business. She was nowhere as deep in it as I was, since she technically wasn’t from here. But my dad was more than happy to have family in other cities. It gave him better connections.
“Looks like she made a friend.” Eli nodded his head to the other side of the court, bringing my attention to the other person. The guy was draining three-point shots with ease, and suspicion burned through me. Everyone on our basketball team knew who my cousin was—and that she was fucking off-limits. I couldn’t see his face since his back was turned to me. He was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie that swallowed him. His hood was pulled up, and I began to cross the court, wondering who my cousin was hanging out with. She didn’t even like basketball.
I didn’t want Everly to get herself any deeper in this city than she had to. And that included falling for a guy here. She could find someone in her own city where she was far from the dangers that Braidwood attracted. I froze mid-step when the guy pulled his hood down.
Fuck. Not a guy.
A shock of purple hair was exposed as she pulled the hoodie off and tossed it to the side. Her hair was pulled high in a ponytail and stopped at her mid-back. I stared, never having seen that color before. It was a dark purple with lighter streaks throughout. Eli stopped next to me as we both stared at the girl, who was still sinking every one of her shots.
Her baggy sweatpants hung low on her waist and did nothing to hide her round ass. The top she was wearing was skintight and barely covered more than a sports bra would. She was a natural athlete. She wasn’t skinny; her curves were carved in muscle, and I saw a peek of tattoo traveling down her hip as she turned slightly toward me. The flower tattoo trailed under her sweats, and I had a sudden urge to see the rest of it.
I knew she was going to be fucking gorgeous without even seeing her face.
“Have you seen her before?” I asked Eli, without taking my eyes off her.
He shook his head. “We know everyone on the women’s basketball team, and she’s not on it. Unless it’s someone who dyed her hair.”
Doubtful. If I had seen that body before, I most definitely would have remembered it. We didn’t move a muscle as we watched her switch from far shots to closer foul shots.
“Mine,” I muttered. “I’m calling that now.”
Eli chuckled. “She looks like trouble. I don’t have time to deal with that.”
Bullshit. He liked a challenge as much as I did. But I wasn’t going to argue. That meant I could keep this purple-haired beauty to myself. We moved closer, and she must have heard our footsteps because she whirled around, letting the ball roll away as she faced us.
