Page 6

“Pardon me.”
I jump, surprised someone snuck up on me that easily. Usually I’m painfully aware of everything around me, but when I turn and eye the man standing just behind me I do a double take.
He’s got the telltale tanned skin and sun-bleached highlights of a person who likes the outdoors. Florida seems to suit him, and the thin t-shirt and loose shorts give me the impression he’s laid back, maybe even a surfer or into outdoorsy hobbies. He’s pretty much everything I do not look for in a guy, but he seems nice enough when he smiles.
In fact, he reminds me a tiny bit of Alastair, and that just makes a shiver shoot up my spine again. I step back instead of responding to him, and a memory surges through my head in place of a response.
“I got in!”
Two heads lift at the sound of my voice, watching as I dart back into the living area. Vinny’s home is my favorite place to meet after work, and he’s become my home away from home. A smile splits across Vinny’s face, and he’s up from his seat before the other man moves.
His hands grip my waist, and he lifts me like I’m nothing. The acceptance letter slips from my fingers as we twirl around, and I throw my head back to peer up at the ceiling with a laugh.
We’re leaving Florida. I’m going to get as far away from here as I can.
As Vinny sets me down I turn my attention to the other occupant, and Alastair’s smile is more forced than Vinny’s is. “Congratulations, Joelle.”
Smiling, I gently shove his arm. “You could try to be excited for me, Al.”
“I am excited,” he tells me, reaching out to stroke my cheek. I lean into his touch, feeling as Vinny steps in closer behind me to kiss my neck. “We both are.”
“And you’re both coming, too,” I remind him, reaching out to grip his hand as my other moves to slide down and grip Vinny's arm that’s banded around my waist. “Right?”
“To Denver?” Alastair clarifies, his hand never leaving my face.
“Boulder,” I correct. “The University of Boulder. I got into CGU too, but that’s not where I want to go. We have to get out of Citrus Grove.”
The two of them exchange a look over my head, and it’s only a tad annoying. We’ve had the same plans since junior year when things changed between our little trio, but we all believe in one simple thing:
Citrus Grove is Hell.
“Of course,” Alastair says, but his voice sounds distant. “We’re nearly high school grads, Jo. Our lives are about to change forever.”
“Is this normal?”
Blinking, the memory scatters. I stare straight ahead, but the guy from before is only half in front of me. Vinny is there too, his brows knit with concern, and he reaches out to grip my chin. His dark chocolate eyes meet mine, and it gives me something grounding to focus on. I’m intimately familiar with his features, from the short buzzed black hair to his flawless complexion and the dark facial hair that I love feeling against my skin. His face is what I use to ground me when nothing else seems to matter.
His fingertip brushes over my chin, and the firmness in his tone when he says my name helps to drag me back to the moment. “Jo.”
I shake my head and rock back on my feet, feeling his hand release me without question. Vinny doesn’t hesitate, stepping around to clutch my hand so we face the other man together. He isn’t tucking me away against him, but I feel his strength when he stands beside me.
Then I zero in on the stranger again. He’s looking between us curiously, then a smile slowly works its way across his face. “Oh.So you two are Jo and Vinny.”
Glancing at my husband, I realize he’s as lost as I feel. We haven’t had a chance to talk since I stormed out of the meeting room with Sterling and Jensen, but from the look on his face I know he’s just as confused as I am. Thankfully Vinny responds, because I’m still reeling from the memory. “And who the hell are you?”
“Oh, sorry,” the guy says, shaking his head as he holds out a hand. “I’m Jace. Jace Brocavich. I’m one of the grad students who sits in and speaks with Alastair for credits. You wouldn’t believe the stories he has about the two of you.”
Chapter 3
I watch Jo from the corner of my eye as we drive away from the penitentiary. A weight lifts from my chest when we are no longer on the grounds of the former asylum, and the more space there is between us and Alastair the better I feel.
Knowing she had to face him all alone makes my blood boil. I will punch an FBI agent and get arrested if it means keeping my wife away from him, and somehow Sterling Gideon allowed that monster to cross her path anyway. Trusting Alastair when we were young was a mistake, and it’s one I won’t make twice. I didn’t have a lot of faith in Sterling after spending an unpleasant amount of time with his father when the CGS reigned hell down on Florida, but he couldn’t even keep his promise to keep Alastair away from her for a day. All he had to do was walk out of the room first, have a guard…
Or hell, he could have just let me sit in the room. I would’ve waited outside too, but he went for dual questioning and I had to sit with an agent I've never seen and get asked the same questions as Jo as though we did something wrong. We’re here helping out the Feds, they could at least be grateful for the help.
As much as I want to, I don’t start ranting. Instead I hold my tongue, watching the light in her eyes disappear as we sit together in the rental, and drive towards the property line of the penitentiary.
The security they have around the perimeter is what they actually need inside the institution. The seemingly-endless wrought-iron gate circles around the land and past where the eye can see, with a gated area to allow vehicles in and out by checking with a security guard. I think they should have professional guards at all entry points but, aside from Alastair, nothing’s caused that big of a stir in Citrus Grove the past fifteen years except for maybe my brothers. And they’re more organized crime than mentally unstable serial killers.