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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 sipped in breaths, trying to get my feelings under control. Damn it! This was why I didn’t do feelings. He was fine. And if he wasn’t, it was his own fucking fault for trying to White Knight the entire world.

The housekeeper turned in my direction and I only managed to just barely pull my head back into the stairwell in time. My synesthesia had lied to me before. The TV was far away and there was no sound. The colors could have totally tricked me into seeing something that wasn’t there. One of those license plate letters could be wrong. And who knew how many people drove cars just like Chris’s?

He was alive. He was fine. He would be calling any minute. And I needed to be in a place where I could talk to him when he did.

I climbed to the upper deck and went back to the staircase door. I dropped to my knees, straightened the bobby pins, and stuck them in the lock, wiggling and twisting until it opened.

Damn, I was getting good at this.

I pulled open the door and peered inside. It was dark and dusty and God only knew what kind of bugs might be lurking, but save for a few empty boxes, there didn’t appear to be much in there. A perfect place to hide.

I crawled in, feeling grit under my palms, and pulled the door shut. I fumbled in the dark until I found the lock and swiveled it so that it was shut again, then slithered behind the boxes. I couldn’t sit up straight, so I curled up on my side and closed my eyes, hoping that when I opened them again, they would be adjusted to the dark. I slowed my breathing, and my heartbeat followed. I rested my head on my arm, pulling my hair over my shoulder so it wasn’t lying in the dust.

My stomach growled. I ignored it. I had no choice. I had to stay here and wait.

My chest felt tight, filled bumpy gray and black with fear. I ignored it. I had no choice.

I checked my phone. Nothing from Chris. I ignored that, too.

I had a party to go to tonight.

I had a date to wait for.

Two, really, if you counted Luna.

And why wouldn’t I count Luna?

31

I WAS AWAKENED by a deep rumble and the sense of movement. I opened my eyes, confused and frantic. It was pitch dark, and my entire body was cramped from being in the fetal position, and at first the movement and the dark and the discomfort tricked me into thinking I was back in Jones’s van, racing to Tesori Antico. But I could smell boxes and dust and ocean water. It was the last that jogged my brain back into place.