Page 9

CHAPTER TWO

Jigsaw

Present Day

Some ghosts haunt you. Others show up out of nowhere and fuck up your night.

As I wind my way through the back roads leading into Empire, my lungs tighten. Instead of calming me, this ride sends dread crawling over my skin with every mile.

How did Cain find me? Why’d he go to Crystal Ball of all places? On paper, my income comes from the laundromat and Crystal Ball. Cain can’t be more than seventeen or eighteen. Tracking me down at a strip club probably seemed like the fun choice.

Why did he have to choose tonight , when my president’s the one managing Crystal Ball? Any other night, Dex would’ve been there. Dex—who’s a lot more understanding and asks fewer questions.

What’s Cain been doing for the last decade?

Did Ruth drag him into another religious cult? Or was he able to grow up like a normal kid? Is he here to extract justice for his dead father and messed-up childhood?

The road can’t give me any of these answers.

I twist the throttle, taking the back roads faster than wise.

Margot knew something was wrong. We were just about to…

fuck, my balls still hurt. Cain’s a cock-blocking little fucker.

I had to leave Margot unsatisfied after mumbling some excuse about Z needing an extra set of hands at the club.

She frowned, asked if everything was okay.

I don’t think she was worried about me going to the strip club.

No. By now she has to know I’m so motherfucking obsessed with her I can’t think straight.

Staring at strippers for a few hours isn’t a temptation, it’s torture.

How the fuck will I explain to her that I’ve known about Cain all along?

I’ve had a little half-brother out there all this time and wanted nothing to do with him.

To someone as sweet and compassionate as Margot, I’ll sound like a monster.

Killed the kid’s dad, evicted him from his home, handed his mother a box of cash, then shoved them out into the big, bad world all by themselves.

Then I did what I do best.

Buried the truth.

Forgot his name. His face. Went on about my life as if he didn’t exist.

And now, somehow, he’s found me.

Why?

Closure? Family connection?

Or does he want revenge?