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Back Break Us Save as PDF
Chapters (43)
  1. DEDICATION
  2. PROLOGUE
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. EPILOGUE
  38. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  39. BACK AD
  40. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  41. BOOKS BY JENNIFER BROWN
  42. CREDITS
  43. ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

I shook my head and pulled my wrists free. “No. Not that. My dad. It wasn’t my dad.” Nobody liked power and money more than a Hollis. My mom was a threat to both. She was also a great way to punish my dad for torching their dream movie. So they took care of Mom the best way they knew how. The same way they made their little Peyton problem go away. The same way they wanted to deal with me. They got rid of the threat by killing her.

He shook his head disbelievingly. “Of course. We’re talking about you. I’m going back.” He started to walk away, but I grabbed his elbow.

“Don’t leave. I need your help.”

“You always need my help. This is nothing new.”

“Chris. It was the Hollises. That’s who killed my mom. If I could just find Luna—”

He got to the sidewalk and faced me, throwing up his arms. “You know, ever since I met you, you’ve been saying the same thing. If I could just find Luna. If I could just find Luna. And every time you find her, shit gets worse. Maybe you should just let her go. Let her disappear and move on with your life, Nikki. Try finding Nikki.” He started away, but turned back. “And call me if you ever want to help me for a change.”

I watched him as he walked away, keeping my eyes on him until he rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

He wasn’t wrong. The deeper I got into things with Luna and clan, the worse things got. How many times would I cheat death before she won?

“At least one more,” I said aloud. I walked back to my car more motivated than ever. Chris and I might be broken, but Luna would not break me.

I would not let her get away.

23

I THOUGHT SHELBY would never leave her house. I’d been parked across the street for what seemed like forever, waiting. A quick check of the clock told me it had only been about two hours, but being alone made it feel much longer. I tried not to think about Chris while I was waiting, and twice had to force myself to put down the phone while on the verge of texting him.

He didn’t want to hear from me.

I felt a little guilty for the way things had gone down between us. Which was exactly why things needed to go down that way between us. Guilt was just another reason why I thought relationships were bullshit. I had nothing to feel guilty about. I didn’t owe him a damn thing.

Did I?