by Jordan Ford
Pulling back, she hovers near my swollen lips. Her breath whispers against my mouth and there’s only one thing I can do.
Cupping the back of her head, I decimate whatever space is keeping us apart.
Her lips are soft and supple, pressing against mine like they were made to be there. They’re wet and cold from the rain, but a quick fire is building inside of me.
I kiss her top lip, then move to the bottom, intoxicated beyond anything I’ve felt before. She’s so soft and sweet.
Resting my free hand on her hip, I pull her a little closer.
My body’s taking point on this one and before I can even think about what’s happening, I’m skimming my tongue against hers.
Electric bolts fire through me, sparking a ravenous hunger I’ve never felt before. Tipping my head, I deepen the kiss and forget about everything but what Chloe Barlow is doing to me right now.
17
Sweet, Naïve and Stubborn
CHLOE
Vincent’s tongue is warm and commanding. I like the way it feels against mine. Our slow dance is in sync and natural. I’ve never found a rhythm so easily with a guy before, and it just reinforces the fact that I was supposed to come and find Vincent today.
Poor, beat-up Vincent.
I pull back with a gasp. “I’m not hurting you, am I? Is your mouth okay?”
He doesn’t even wait a beat before he’s whispering against my skin. “Your kisses could never hurt me.”
I smile and lick his tongue, heat spreading through me as we deepen the kiss again. I love how strong his body is, the way his sure fingers grip my hip and pull me a little closer.
Our wet clothes stick together.
I’m pressed right against him, my arms around his neck, my heart beating in time with his.
The rain above is the perfect soundtrack, and my romantic heart is full to overflowing right now.
Eventually Vincent pulls back for air, resting his forehead against mine for a moment.
His breaths are shaky and he still can’t seem to find his voice.
“I knew I’d like kissing you,” I whisper and lean back so he can see my smile.
“You thought about it before, huh?”
“Maybe.”
His eyes sparkle with a smile. “Is that why you came today? So you could kiss me?”
“That was just an added bonus.”
His hands run down my arms as I step back.
Threading my fingers between his, I look him in the eye and admit, “I’ve been worried about you. And I had every reason to be.” My forehead bunches; I can feel my eyebrows wrinkling together. “He should not be treating you like that. You need to tell my dad.”
He’s shaking his head before I’ve even finished talking. “I know you think that works, but…”
“He’ll listen to you.”
A scowl flashes across his face. “It’s too risky.”
“Involving the police is too risky? The police are there to serve and protect. That’s their job.”
“It’s not that simple, Chloe.” Gently tugging me closer, he wraps his arms around my waist. “Justice doesn’t always win. The police can’t always get the bad guy. They can try, but then if Uncle Enzo or Diego don’t get convicted or get a really small sentence for assault, my life’s not worth it. They’ll kill me if I betray them.”
Those words are like a knife to the heart.
“You can’t…you can’t live like that.” Tears scorch my insides, rising up my throat and building on my lashes. “It’s not fair.”
He swipes his thumb beneath my eyes and softly whispers, “It’s okay. I’m going to be okay. I’ll be free one day.”
“How? When?”
“I don’t know. The only step in front of me right now is my high school diploma. Once that’s done, then I’ll think about what’s next.”
“That’s over a year away!”
“I can do it. I know how to survive. I just have to do it their way until I can get out. Sure, it was easier when Nick was around. He’d step in. I wasn’t outnumbered.” He dips his head, his swallow thick and audible. “I miss him.”
As if my heart wasn’t breaking before.
Resting my hand lightly on his beat-up face, I press my forehead against his. “We need to get him out of jail. We need to prove he’s not guilty so he can be acquitted and you can have your bodyguard back.”
He gives me a pained smile. “It’s not that simple.”
“I know that.” My soft voice grows strong with conviction. “It’ll be really hard. And we might fail. But we have to try. We need to get your brother out.”
His shoulders slump as he leans away from me and looks up at the rain. “I don’t know how.”
“I think we need to start by asking him what really happened. Obviously everyone who could help him gave up for some reason.”
“Or he’s guilty,” Vincent mutters.
I lightly thump his shoulder and wriggle out of his grasp. “Would you stop saying that?” I swallow, hating his doubt. It only fuels my own. I want to be convinced that Nick is innocent, and negative talk won’t help us. Licking my lower lip, I stare Vincent in the eye, hoping I sound stronger than I feel. “If your brother is anything like you, he’s not guilty. And it’s not fair that he’s stuck in some prison while the person who set him up is walking free somewhere. I can’t just ignore that. I won’t.”
An emotion I can’t decipher flickers over Vincent’s face.
“You need to go see him and find out the truth. Once we’ve got that, we can work backward, dig up the right evidence and hand it to the right people.”
“Your dad,” Vincent mutters.
I cross my arms. “I know you don’t like him, but—”
“I think it’s more a case of him not liking me.”
“He doesn’t even know you.” I spread my arms wide. “Besides, he was the one that stopped you from getting expelled.”
“I bet he’d hate the thought of his daughter hanging out with me. I bet he’d expel my ass if he knew that.”
I have to concede with a huff. Turning my back on Vincent, I stare out at the rain trickling down the dirty glass panes.
An involuntary shiver runs down my spine, the cold, bleak air nipping at me.
Vincent moves behind me, his slow footsteps closing the distance between us. His hands touch my shoulders and very slowly glide down my arms until I’m completely enveloped.
Resting his chin on my shoulder, he whispers, “I haven’t seen Nick in a while. I should probably go visit him. Maybe when I’m there, I could ask. I’ve never outright asked for the truth before. Maybe it’s time.”
Turning my head, I press my smile against his cheek. “I want to come with you.”
He tenses. “No. You are way too beautiful and sweet to be walking into a prison.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t put me on some pedestal. I might be sweet—naïve, even—but I’m also very stubborn and when I believe in something, I won’t back down.” I turn in his arms so I can look him in the eye. “I believe in you, Vincent, and I’m helping you whether you want me to or not.”
He tightens his hold around my waist and I’m waiting for his gruff refusal.
But it never comes.
Leaning forward, I rest my chin on his shoulder and can’t help a small, triumphant smile.
Looks like I’m visiting my first prison tomorrow.
18
Mouth Shut
VINCENT
I made Chloe wait in the car. She’s kind of annoyed with me, but there’s no way I want her walking into some prison. We “discussed” it for most of the two-hour trip, but finally, about five minutes from the parking lot, she conceded on the one condition that I’d tell her every single detail when I got back to the car.
I promised her I would.
And I will.
Because telling Chloe stuff makes me feel better.
She believes in me.
She believes in Nick.
The prison door buzzes, allowing me entry into the visitation room. I follow the prison guard’s instructions and take a seat on the chipped wooden stool in front of the Plexiglas cubicle.
Gazing at the black phone, I wait for my brother to join me.
About two minutes later, I see him shuffling in. He’s surprised to see me, probably because the last time I came, I was so mute he told me I didn’t have to come again.
“It’s a long way, you know? And you’ve got school. You take care of you. I’m fine.”
I went along with it because it seemed easier somehow, but now as I watch him thump into the seat in front of me, a wave of brotherly love storms through me so fast I’m nearly taken out.
I grit my teeth as we stare at each other. His brown eyes assess me, a hard look washing over his face as he takes in my bruises.
I reach for the phone.
“Hey, big bro.” My voice is kind of croaky, so I clear my throat and grip the receiver. “How you been?”
“Is that Diego’s work?” He points at me.
“I’m fine, man. It’s Spring Break, so I’m not missing any school.”
He lightly thumps the counter in front of him and lets out a soft string of curses.
I wait it out. It never takes him long to rein it in.
“I wasn’t going to come, but…” I drop my gaze, wondering how much to say.
Do I mention Chloe?
Do I tell him that she’s motivated me to be here?
“I told you, you don’t have to, Vin. I hate you seeing me like this. I wish I’d never let you down.”
I glance up, looking him right in the eye. “Did you?”
He frowns at me, his dark eyebrows wrinkling.
“Did you let me down? Did you kill that guy?”
His jaw works to the side.
“I need to know.”
“I don’t want you to get caught up in this, bro.” His eyes flash with warning. “Just let me do my time. It’s better for everyone.”
“That’s bullshit, man! Tell me the truth. Did you kill that guy?”
The phone goes slack in his hand and I’m worried he’s about to hang up on me. He lightly taps the receiver against his chin before closing his eyes and slowly lifting it back up.
“No.” He says the word so softly I nearly miss it.
“No?”
He shakes his head, his nostrils flaring when our eyes connect.
Relief spikes through me, followed by a healthy dose of anger. “Why have you never appealed?”
“My lawyer told me it was pointless. The evidence is too compelling.”
“Your lawyer's a dick. I never liked that guy,” I mutter darkly, remembering the public defender with his potbelly, cheesy smile and pointy-toed shoes.
Nick tips his head in agreement, then sighs. “Look, he's probably right, and I can't afford a new one. The best I can hope for is early parole.”
The best he could hope for?
“But you shouldn’t be in here, man. You’re innocent. You—”
“It doesn’t matter. They don’t care about that shit.”
An irate snort puffs out my nose. “Who did it?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want you finding out.” His brown eyes, so like mine, flash with warning.
“Why? We have to. You shouldn’t be in here.”
“I can’t, man.” His expression turns dark and stormy. “You need to leave this alone.”
“No.” I tap my finger against the Plexiglas. “You need to tell me what happened.”
“It won’t do any good. I’m not getting out of here.”
“Tell me everything that happened from the time that guy was killed to when you got arrested.” My voice is full-on shaking, but my glare obviously has more power because Nick’s shoulders deflate.
Pressing the phone against his mouth, he softly whispers, “You sat through the entire trial. You know the details.”
“Tell me the parts that are true.”
Fear swamps his expression before he pulls it back into line, clenching his jaw and gritting out, “I don’t want you getting mixed up in this. I was saving for your college fund, working for certain people that Enzo didn’t know about.”
He was what?
I blink, trying to ignore the emotion surging through me.
My brother was doing extra work to put me through college?
Clearing my throat, I shuffle in my seat and sniff. “So, you think it was them?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. It doesn’t matter that I got a text telling me to pick up that car and take it to the chop shop in Brazenwood. When I got there, Todd McCrae was already dead inside of it.”
I swallow. “They said you shot him trying to jack his car. The gun had your fingerprints all over it.”
“Because it was my gun! That didn’t mean I pulled the trigger on anyone. My boss made all of us carry in case we needed protection.”
“But the ballistics matched.”
“Because someone else used it. That night I went to collect the car, I didn’t know where the hell my gun was. I didn’t exactly want to fess up to my boss that I’d lost it, so I went to the pickup unarmed. I never thought…” His voice trails off and he shakes his head. “Look, it’s done, man. There’s no fighting these people.”
“Who sent you that text?”
Nick obviously doesn’t want to tell me who he was working for. He must suspect them of setting him up.
Shit!
I huff and try again. “Why was that text never presented as evidence in court? Why didn’t anyone ask you about it?”
“Because it doesn’t exist anymore.” Nick’s voice is dark with defeat. “And my lawyer advised me against admitting that I usually carried an unregistered weapon. I was dead in the water before the trial even started,” he mutters. “Someone wanted Todd McCrae dead. I can’t figure out why, but they were smart enough to put the murder on me. And I’ll take it.”
“What?” I snap.
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with. I’m keeping my mouth shut for you. So you do the same for me, you hear me? Do not get involved.” His steady gaze is telling me to obey him. “You wanted to know if I’m innocent, well I am. Now, just focus on being a teenager. Graduate for me, man. Please. Stay out of trouble.”
Before I can reply, he hangs up and stands from his chair.
The guard jumps to attention, cuffing my brother’s hands and ignoring my cries for Nick to come back.
I stand and watch him disappear behind the thick door. My head is pounding as I slowly return the phone to its cradle.
He’s staying silent for me?
What the hell is he talking about?
Feeling kind of numb, I turn and head back to the parking lot. I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to tell Chloe. My brain can barely compute what just happened. My brother’s innocent. He was set up, but he’s happy to do the time?
That’s bullshit!
Something’s got him scared.
It should scare me too, but I can’t think past the righteous anger burning my numbness to dust.
Someone set up my brother…and scared him enough to take the fall.
I’m not okay with that.
I am so not fucking okay with that!
19
Looking in the Wrong Direction
CHLOE
I jump when Vincent wrenches open the driver’s door and slams it shut behind him. He grips the wheel, breathing like a bull ready to charge.
“Are…are you okay?”
He shakes his head. It’s a stiff, minimal head movement. His knuckles are white, his jaw muscles going to town as he smashes his teeth together.
“He’s innocent, isn’t he?”
“Yeah,” Vincent growls, firing up the engine and speeding out of the parking lot with a squeal of tires.
We tear away from the prison like we’re trying to outrun a tidal wave.
Vincent swerves around the next corner and I’m thrown into the passenger door.
I can’t help a small gasp and he immediately slows down.
His expression crumples with a pained apology as he starts to pull the car to the side of the road. It’s a lonely country lane—the only route into the prison. There’s barely space to pull over.
“There’s a rest stop just past the intersection. Do you remember?”
He nods and accelerates forward, but much slower this time.
We putter down the road and through the intersection before pulling into a quiet spot that looks over a small gorge.
The car hiccups to a stop and then we’re drenched in this stony silence that I’m trying to work out how to break. I’m worried if I ask too many questions, it will shatter like glass.
But Nick’s innocent! I mean, I know it’s just his word, but Vincent believes him, which means I do too.
Licking my bottom lip, I unlatch my seat belt and turn to face him.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, reaching for his hand and tracing a slow pattern with my thumb. “It’s not fair.”
My touch seems to calm him, so I keep holding his hand even though he’s not talking.
“Does he know who did it?”
Vincent shakes his head. “He doesn’t want me finding out either.”
“Why not?”
“He seemed scared.” Vincent’s dark eyebrows dip together. “Said he was staying silent for me. I don’t understand that.”
“Maybe someone’s threatening him. Or you. Maybe he’s had some kind of warning that if he appeals, bad things could happen.”
Vincent’s eyes flick to mine. “He told me to stay away from it. He’s probably right.”
“Yeah, probably.” I tip my head. “But I don’t think we should.”
“Of course you don’t,” he scoffs, wrenching his hand out of mine and tipping his head to the roof.
I gaze at his tormented profile, my heart breaking and opening up at the same time. “Do you really want to let this lie? That’s not who you are. You’ll put up with injustice against yourself, but you’d never take it for someone you care about. You’re a warrior. You put your life on the line to protect others.”
