Page 17 of Drown My Sorrow

My mouth drops open, Nat howls with laughter, Gael curses, but nothing escapes me but a whoosh of air. Keagan simply picks me up and puts an arm around Nat to herd her braying ass back to wherever he wants us.

I look back; I can’t help it.

Gael is standing in the street staring after me.

I want to have that drink with him.

And that terrifies me.

Chapter five

Aspyn

AspynAged14

Mum takes my hand and leans down to kiss it quickly.

She’s trying to find words that I do not want her to speak.

“Mum?”

“Your father and sister didn’t make it out of the house.”

I stare at her. The words are just words, and they don’t make any sense in my mind.

“What?”

“They didn’t make it, honey. They,” she cuts off, taking a huge breath and exhaling with a shuddering sob. “Your father and sister didn’t get out. They died.”

They died.

My dad is dead.

My sister is dead.

The world goes silent but for the roar of water.

PresentDay

You know what sucks? Wanting to stomp around your own house but being unable to stomp.

Instead, I pick up a cup and throw it at a wall. But, to my fury, Beau snatches it out of the air and returns it to me with a kiss on the cheek. I do feel better after the kiss, I will admit, but I wanted to break something.

“You can’t keep me locked up in here. I have to go to work.”

“I’ll buy a fortune,” Beau purrs and waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“I can only tell your fortune in so many different ways, Beau.”

“Tell me again. I like it when you speak to me all low and dirty.”

My cheeks burn, and I can’t hold his gaze, though I do try my absolute hardest.

Beau chuckles and grips my hips, shuffling in close so I have to tilt my head to look up at him.

“We aren’t locking you up, we’re protecting you from idiots.”

“I don’t need protection from Kelly Raines, Ezy, or Gael. What do you think they’re going to do, snatch me up and put a bond mark on me?”

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