Page 14 (1/2)

PROLOGUE

PREPPY

PRESENT

Tiny flashes of diht spark in the darkened corners ofhter

I hear a sound, a faucet running, and I realize it’s the blood rushing through my ears When it reaches my heart I choke as it comes back to life like a bass drum Boom BaBOOM it beats, on and on, until it falls into a quick yet steady rhyther, until death fades away and I awake on a gasp

My eyes spring open I try to take in air, but nothing happens I try again and s burn as they finally decide to cooperate I can breathe, but it hurts like a son of a bitch

I’ alive

My first thoughts shock the shit out of irl with shiny black hair and huge dark eyes sitting on the edge of the water tower

My heart falls out of rhythainst my chest like the vibration of a jackhammer

Her

Although hts of her are clearer than they’d ever been, and for the first ti scared

I don’t even need to see the bigover me with a baseball bat to know I am completely and totally fucked

CHAPTER ONE

PREPPY

THREE YEARS EARLIER…

FUCK that’s soood shit

I wiped the excess powder froums “Grade A blow Thanks, man This shit day sucks just a little bit less,” I said We’d just pulled up to Grace’s house after dropping King off to start serving his sentence We’d see hiain, but not for 2-4 years

“Fuck,” Bear said, echoing hts about the coke as he snorted a line off e of his nose and shook his head fro, blond hair flapped around his face like a wet sheepdog shaking itself dry as the rush from the blow slammed into his brain

I knew the feeling

I kneell

I fucking loved it

Bear wiped any residual evidence of our pity party off the dashboard with his hand He got out of the car, but I hesitated with e and sighed “You co down in the openHe lit two cigarettes and leaned up against the car, obscuring my vieith his jean covered ass

Reluctantly, I got out and as I rounded the car, I shtened ainst the car as we both stood in silence, staring up at Grace’s front porch He handeddeep drag

“You pissed he told us not to visit?” I asked Bear hooked a thu a loose shell with the toe of his boot

I took another drag and exhaled slowly Bear shrugged “Soet locked up, they say the sa No visits, no calls When they’re on the inside they have to concentrate on life on the inside Can’t i the have”

“I wasn’t talking about your Beach Bitches, Care Bear I was talking about King,” I said, stubbing out arette under my shoe

Bear rolled his eyes and flicked his cigarette into the road, blowing the set this over with”

“Bear?” I asked, feeling suddenly uneasy as we ers on the front of ain

“Yeah, Prep?”

I followed him onto the porch and lowered my voice to a whisper, “I think ould have been a much better idea than blow”

Bear turned around, his pupils the size of pancakes He pointed to reed as we both broke out into a fit of laughter “I think you ht”

“The way I see it, there is only one fucking solution to this proble between Grace and Bear, and the depressing-as-all-fuck looks on their faces They both stared down at the table as if it were going tofor Grace’s eyebroere knitted tightly into a doard point, causing more wrinkles to form on her already heavily lined face, as she circled the riain It killed me that I couldn’t fix this for her For us

“Sa“You don’t have to fix this right now You don’t have to ” Her tone sounded like she was trying to convince herself asto convince me

We were talking about Max King’s baby girl who’d been tossed into the system the second he was put in cuffs The three of us had been trying everything we could think of to get her out and home with one of us, but the state is fickle as shit Apparently, they didn’t want to give an infant over to a biker, a degenerate, or a sickly elderly woman

Damn the man

Bear’s knuckles hite as he flipped a napkin ring frorowl He flung it across the table, shooting Grace an apologetic look before dropping his face into his hands

I sla the pitcher of Grace’s fa their attentions out of their own asses and up to ht It’s been decided” I reached out and squeezed Bear’s hand like Grace had squeezed iven hiet gay-married”

“Shut the fuck up, Prep,” Bear gru to swipehim before he had a chance to make contact

“Boys,” Grace warned, althoughfor because the corners of herinto a line A tiny bit of the light in her eyes returning as she naturally fell into her roll in our crazy lives

Her roll as our mom

“Bear, at least pretend you care about this shit,” I said, watching Grace out of the corner of my eye as her shoulders relaxed and she settled back into her chair with her drink “I mean, look at you, ive us King’s baby if od damned shirt!” I pointed to Bear, who hadn’t worn a shirt under his cut since the day he turned prospect for the Beach Bastards Seriously, you’d think the guy was allergic or so

“What are you talking about? I’ his cut to cover his left nipple, exposing the right one in the process

I rolledcount,” I said, and that’s when I heard Grace’s sh and inwardly, my own shoulders fell

“Sure they do,” Bear said, patting the ink on his