Page 13 of Dagger's Property
“What’s your story, doll?” He breathes on his exhale. I bet the girls love him. He’s got that smooth charm, and confidence oozing out of every pore. His eyes are a crystal blue, so light they make him look like a wolf. That’s exactly what he reminds me of. A wolf stalking his prey.
“Don’t have a story.” I draw another drag, feeling it burn in my lungs. The panic is starting to settle. Thank fuck because pretty soon I have to face Vale.
“Everyone has a story. What about that nose ring you got? Bet there’s a story around that.”
“I was bored.” I shrug, releasing my smoke into little ringlets, one inside another.
“Cool trick. Here. Watch this.”
He takes another drag and then exhales it from his mouth and nostrils at the same time. Just like a dragon.
“That’s cool.”
“So, how come you’re here, Wynter?”
Those crystal eyes are back on me, hunting for my secrets. Though from that jagged scar running up his neck, I’m guessing he has secrets of his own.
“Because Vale… I mean Dagger brought me here.” It’s hard for me to remember that he has an entirely different identity here.
“Do you always avoid answering questions? Why did he bring you here?”
I’m not avoiding. Just not used to anyone ever asking me such pointed questions.
“Because my family doesn’t want to accept the fact that I’m almost twenty-one years old and I want to drink and party like all the other college kids.” And because I was starting to self-destruct.
He takes another drag, studying me closer. I think he can see through the lie. He’s a smart wolf. Sharp and intuitive. And lurking a little too close to the perimeter of my secrets.
“Do you have a boyfriend, doll?”
The question catches me off guard. He’s a good-looking man. Almost as good looking as Vale. But I’m not interested.
“No. I’m not exactly girlfriend material. Too fucked up for guys to handle me.”
This wolf is too trusting. I just revealed more than I should.
“You just haven’t met the right one yet. You need a strong man, babe. Someone who doesn’t shy away from strength.”
Strength? The wolf has it wrong. I’m not strong. I’m weaker than anyone I know.
10
Dagger
“Careful, Cage.” My voice comes out a firm warning. He’s treading a little too close to my sister.
His head turns and there’s a cigarette drawn between his lips. He takes a drag, letting the smoke slowly release through his nostrils. It’s like he’s snarling at me for ruining his fun. He better not be trying to sniff up my stepsister’s skirt; otherwise, he’ll be answering to my fists. The code is the code and she’s off-fucking-limits.
“You ready to go to dinner, sis?”
I turn toward Wynter, who’s taking a drag from her own cigarette. What the fuck is she doing smoking?
“What the fuck, Wynter?” I snag the thing from her mouth and stomp it under my boot. “That shit will give you cancer.”
After watching my mom pass away from that soul-eating disease, there’s no way I’m going to stand by and let her die of lung cancer.
“I’m twenty years old, Vale. Quit treating me like a kid.”
I’m so fucking done with the attitude. Every time she opens her mouth, she gives me lip. “Then quit making shitty choices. Now, let’s go.”
