Page 32 of Inferno

As tears scalded her eyes, she abruptly rolled away, turning her back on Stan.

Without warning he hauled her against him, his muscular arms banding tightly around her resistant body.

“Let me go, Stan.”

“No, goddamn it! You’re not going anywhere, and neither am I!”

Prissy squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears escape as she cried out, “I don’t know what’s going on with you. I feel like I’m losing you, and I don’t know why!”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Stan groaned against the nape of her neck. “I’m so sorry.”

What are you apologizing for?Prissy wanted to scream.What have you done?

But suddenly she thought of the weekend they’d flown back to Atlanta to visit Sterling, Michael and Marcus after Celeste moved out. She thought of how devastated they’d all been, how utterly lost and bereft Sterling had looked.

And she’d realized, then, that sometimes ignorance could be bliss.Because if Celeste’s infidelity had never been discovered, her family would still be intact.

“I love you,” Stan whispered fiercely, rubbing his face back and forth against Prissy’s hair. “I love you so damn much, baby.”

“Then just hold me,” Prissy pleaded tearfully. “Hold me, and don’t ever let go.”

“I won’t.” His arms tightened around her, as if he were trying to absorb her into his body. “IswearI won’t.”

And for now, that was enough.

Sometime around midnight, Manning was awakened by a light tapping noise.

Groggily opening his eyes, he peered around his darkened bedroom. When he realized that the sound was coming from the window, he threw back the covers, climbed out of bed and padded across the room.

Reaching the window, he shoved the curtains open and was shocked to see Caitlyn’s face pressed to the glass.

She smiled and waved at him, as if it were perfectly normal for her to be crouched outside his bedroom window in the middle of the freakin’ night.

When he stood there gaping at her, she grinned mischievously and mouthed,Aren’tyou gonnalet me in?

Manning hesitated, casting a furtive glance at his closed bedroom door. He was in enough trouble as it was. If his parents caught him with a girl in his room, he’d be grounded till he graduated from high school—assuming he lived that long.

Another tap on the glass drew his gaze back to the window.

Please?Caitlyn silently cajoled, batting her lashes at him.

Needing no further encouragement, Manning quickly raised the windowpane and reached down to lift her through the opening.

“Mmmm,” she purred appreciatively, gripping his biceps as he set her down on the floor.“Sostrong.”

“Shh!” Clapping his hand over her mouth, Manning whispered sharply, “What the hell are you doing here?”

Her hazel eyes glittered in the moonlight as she responded to his question. When her words came out muffled, Manning frowned. “Huh?”

She lowered her eyes, pointedly staring at his hand over her mouth.

“You have to keep your voice down so no one will hear you,” Manning warned. “I’m serious.All right?”

At her obedient nod, he removed his hand.

She smiled coyly, sliding her arms around his neck and pressing her soft body against his. Her dark hair was swept into a bun, and she had on a pink trench coat that made him wonder what she wore beneath.

“I came to congratulate you, slugger,” she whispered, her candy-scented breath fanning his face. “Everyone at school is talking about how you totally kicked Rory Kerrigan’s ass, had him bleeding everywhere and whimpering for his mommy.” She snickered. “No one’s ever stood up to that douchebag before. You’re a hero, Manning.”