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A slow, wicked smile curls at his mouth, sending a ripple of heat down my spine.
Jesus, this boy is hot.
Hot… and dangerous.
“Theo Ashworth.” He leans into my space, his warm minty breath fanning my face. “It would do you well to learn that name. And remember it.”
“Oh my God.” Laughter peals out of me. “Does that line actually work?”
“Who the fuck are you?” he asks again.
“Raine.” I get all up in his face, smirking with amusement. “It would do you well to learn that name. And remember it.”
“What—”
“THEO!” Someone yells, and his entire demeanour changes.
“Fuck,” he mutters, grabbing my shoulder and yanking me away from the door.
“Hey,” I sneer, spinning around to give him a piece of my mind.
But he’s gone.
And for as much as I hate it, all I can think is who the hell was that boy?
2
THEO
Every single inch of me vibrates with anger. It’s been the same every single fucking day of the holidays.
Christmas is meant to be the best time of the year. When you spend it with those you love. Laugh, eat, drink, and be merry.
What a load of bollocks.
With my arms locked around whatever snacks I could find in the girls’ kitchen, I walk back to where I left Millie, desperately trying not to crush everything to dust.
“What took you so long?” she asks, stepping out of the shadows still with tears clinging to her lashes.
I hate it.
I hate the life she’s forced to live. I hate the shit she’s forced to witness. I hate that I can’t protect her in the way I really want to.
“I got what I could find. It should tide you over until I can get to a store tomorrow.”
“I could have just stayed at home,” she argues quietly.
My teeth grind as I fight to bite back my response to that comment.
Millie doesn’t get it. Well, not all of it.
She might think I’m just an irritating, overbearing big brother. But it’s more than that.
She didn’t hear the argument between Dad and Maria because she was in her room with her headphones on. But I did. I heard the barely veiled threats; the way Dad was starting to lose his control as his anger surged.
There was no fucking way she was sleeping under that roof while he was in that mood. Even if I was there too.
It has been brewing all Christmas, but something happened tonight that shattered through the mask he’d been wearing.
