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For an instant, she was ready for Tyler to refuse

But then he shrugged and said, "Okay," and she realized she’d been hoping he would refuse

The lock gave and she was through the door She closed it gently, quietly, leaving it unlocked to spare her one extra second if she needed to get out fast

This was ridiculous, creeping into her own house Back before the fire, when she’d lived around the corner froround level, and she hadn’t needed to pass anyone to get in and out of her room Thehad worked fine for that And while their house had never been large, everyone had their own roo

Even now, the living room was empty and dim Her one out, too But Quinn could see light beneath her own bedroom door

She could hear the up

She wanted to turn and run through the door and tell Tyler all her clothes had been stolen

And then ould she do? Go back to his place with her dance shorts and her worn fleece pullover? Wear that to school?

She hated that her life had devolved to the point where she had to choose the lesser of two evils

Butmaybe Tyler wasn’t evil at all She still couldn’t tell

The kiss, the ad a moveshe couldn’t wrap her head around it

God, she was stalling Ridiculous She needed her stuff and she was going to walk in there and get it She straightened her spine, stalked over to her bedroom door, and threw it open

The room smelled acrid and foul She stumbled back Jake sat on the floor with three of his friends They all looked up when she entered

Two guys looked dazed and confused She’d never seen the up against her bed like they had no intention ofnext to Jake, looked interested, and not in a good way In a don’t-touch-me-you-creep way He also looked filthy, like he hadn’t showered in three days Lank dark hair clung to his forehead, and he wore a tank top and shorts despite the fact that it was getting below freezing at night A glass pipe sat in his hands

Nice

Jake got to his feet, a little unsteadily He was tall and lanky anda star basketball player But whereas he’d once been quite a looker with blue eyes and that shock of blond hair, now he looked drawn and washed out His eyes were bloodshot And paranoid "Get the fk out of here, Quinn"

"I just want my stuff," she said

Greasy tank top snorted "She’s cute, J, where’ve you been hiding her?"

She expected his voice to be lazy and drawling, to ht, but it wasn’t

His tone was too interested Too alert It rab clothes from her dresser, but she remembered the last time she’d run into one of Jake’s friends, and she kept her distance

"Get out of here," said Jake He took a step toward her and grabbed her ar withwith you!" she snapped "I haven’t even been here!"

He came after her "Look, you--"

She ducked under his arrunted, and she half expected hi by the racket he made, he must have stumbled into the doorja open a dresser drawer "Just let s burn out"

"That’s not pot"

Tyler’s voice Quinn spun

He’d caught Jake’s arainst the wall

Her brother was struggling, but though he was tall, Tyler had the advantage in ave her a look "Hurry up, huh?"

Quinn hustled

Greasy boy took all this in stride, his sharp eyes watching everything "Is that Tyler Morgan?" he said "Dude, I didn’t know this was your scene"

"It’s not," said Tyler His voice was even, as if Jake wasn’t trying to buck his hold

Quinn flung clothes into her backpack without looking Her heart was in her throat Jake was cursing at Tyler now Tall-dark-and-sinister was flicking a lighter, but he couldn’t see better or worse than if Tyler hadn’t intervened

The bag wouldn’t hold any more, and she jerked at the zipper

"Get the keys out of my pocket," said Tyler "Go down and start the truck"

The dark-haired boy flicked the lighter again Still no fla?"

"I’ she had not to kick hirabbed her ass when she skittered by him

She whirled, her hand balled into a fist

"Go," said Tyler "Ignore hi to fk you up," Jake wheezed "You think you’re so--"

"Yeah, yeah," said Tyler "Quinn The keys"

His body was tighter than a bow string, taut and rigid as he held her brother against the wall Quinn had to get close to fish the keys fro the front of his hip, searching for a ers

"Go," said Tyler "I’ll be down in a second"

"The hell you will," Jake snapped

Quinn hesitated That lighter kept flicking, never finding a flalanced over his shoulder "Go on," he said, and for the first time, she heard a breath of strain in his voice She saw the warning in his eyes This could unravel in a real hurry "Don’t stop Start the truck"

She ran Halfway down the stairs, she heard the Then a wo

Her un fired Glass shattered The shrieking stopped

Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe There was no love lost between Quinn and her family, but had Tyler shot--had he--?

And then he was just there, grabbing her hand, yanking the keys out of her fingers, physically picking her up when she couldn’t run with him