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Chapters (53)
  1. Dedication
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Chapter Four
  6. Chapter Five
  7. Chapter Six
  8. Chapter Seven
  9. Chapter Eight
  10. Chapter Nine
  11. Chapter Ten
  12. Chapter Eleven
  13. Chapter Twelve
  14. Chapter Thirteen
  15. Chapter Fourteen
  16. Chapter Fifteen
  17. Chapter Sixteen
  18. Chapter Seventeen
  19. Chapter Eighteen
  20. Chapter Nineteen
  21. Chapter Twenty
  22. Chapter Twenty-One
  23. Chapter Twenty-Two
  24. Chapter Twenty-Three
  25. Chapter Twenty-Four
  26. Chapter Twenty-Five
  27. Chapter Twenty-Six
  28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  31. Chapter Thirty
  32. Chapter Thirty-One
  33. Chapter Thirty-Two
  34. Chapter Thirty-Three
  35. Chapter Thirty-Four
  36. Chapter Thirty-Five
  37. Chapter Thirty-Six
  38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  41. Chapter Forty
  42. Chapter Forty-One
  43. Chapter Forty-Two
  44. Chapter Forty-Three
  45. Chapter Forty-Four
  46. Chapter Forty-Five
  47. Chapter Forty-Six
  48. Chapter Forty-Seven
  49. Epilogue
  50. Preview of Malice
  51. Preview of Incognito
  52. Acknowledgments
  53. About the Author

Blessedly, Nicki switches hands, giving me a perfect view of the ring. In the daylight, the stone appears amethyst, and I flick the lighter, snapping several pictures before allowing the flame to catch.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Garrett smirking, but I ignore him.

Nicki inhales deeply and offers me the herbs. I pretend to inhale, coughing out a puff of smoke before passing it along to Joanna. When it comes back my way, I pass. Feigning dizziness, I wait through a full song that seems to go on forever before announcing I need to use the restroom.

“I’ll come with you,” Eric/Adam/Nash says. “Maybe I can get that hair sample?”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea right now,” I say, swaying, racking my brain for a way to thwart him. “I wouldn’t want them to see herbs in my system.”

“It’s a DNA sequence—they won’t know what you just smoked. But are you feeling okay? You look really pale,” he says. “Let me make sure you can walk without collapsing.”

“I don’t want you to miss the show. I’ll be fine.”

“Let him go with you,” Nicki says, cozying up to Garrett, sitting so close she’s practically in his lap. “I’d hate for something to happen to you.”

Eric frowns at Nicki and Garrett but turns to me with a smile. “Come on.”

Garrett catches my eye, and I realize he still needs to give me the canister with the ring mold. Dammit. I look wildly around for a solution, but then he casually slips a hand into his pocket and I feel the weight in mine. He must have passed it to me when I was lighting the herbs, though I didn’t notice a thing. Apparently, his practice with Kyran is paying off. Allowing precious seconds to pass, I wait for him to tell Eric/Adam/Nash to stay, to offer to go with me, but he’s absorbed in Nicki. She rests her head on his shoulder, and he snakes his arm around her waist. They laugh at some private joke, and I might as well not exist.

My heart thuds as time ticks by, and I can’t wait for him any longer.

I guess I’ll have to take care of Adam/Eric/Nash—whoever—myself.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

March 20X6, San Francisco

“I thought I’d never get you alone,” Eric/Adam/Nash says once we’re out of earshot, his fingers circling my bicep.

How many nights have I dreamed of seeing him again? But not like this. His hands are like shackles.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” he continues. “I thought you were dead.”