Page 1 of SINS & Riley (Dante & Riley #2)

RILEY

The Past

T he closet reeks of stale sweat and rot.

It’s disgusting.

And still, this is our safe space. Me and Kennedy.

As safe as we ever get from Step-monster Jimmy.

Her fingers lock around mine, tight.

“Riley, stop. Don’t.” Her whisper trembles.

I barely register the plea. I’m too busy.

My fingers are raw, sticky with blood as I drag them over splintered wood.

R-I ?—

Kennedy yanks my hand away, sharper this time, her eyes blazing in the slivers of light from the slats.

“Enough. You’re hurting yourself.”

Hurting myself?

She doesn’t get it. It doesn’t hurt at all.

“I need to finish the L,” I snap, the sound grating out of me as I dig in just a little more.

“Look. I brought your favorite book.”

“It’s too dark to read it.” She knows that. She thinks Da’s last Christmas gift will keep me distracted.

It won’t. E’s take a lot of work. I dig in more on this letter.

She flips a page, nudging me. “Look,” she coaxes.

“What’s the point? Jimmy tore out the last pages, Kennedy. The beast doesn’t turn back into a prince. He just stays a beast.”

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The sound of work boots slamming against wood jerks us both silent. Heavy. Getting closer.

Kennedy freezes, panic sparking in her eyes. She peeks through the crack, then snatches an old jacket, draping it over me in a frantic rush. Her breath comes in harsh, ragged whispers. “Stay underneath.”

I shove it off, tears burning hot, my chin tilting in defiance.

“I’m not scared of him.”

The truth is, I’m scared—of everything. The dark. The scrape of boots on the floor. The terrible things he’ll do when he finds us.

But not this.

The warmth under my fingertip when I cut another line. The small, bright splash of red when the letter is done. It’s beautiful. The color of a rose. And it feels so… good.

Kennedy’s face isn’t the wide-eyed horror it used to be, but she still grabs my shoulders hard enough to bruise.

“Don’t.” She squeezes my hand until my knuckles go white. “Promise me, Riley—if you get the chance, run. Don’t look back.”

Run? I yank my hand free.

“I’m not leaving you.”

She leans in, her voice trembling but firm.

“Remember the story Da used to tell us? About the prince? If you run, a prince will find you. He’ll rescue you.”

I fold my arms, scoffing under my breath as my fingertip traces the bloodied E, the wood raw beneath it.

“He’ll have to rescue both of us. And he won’t be some shiny, noble prince. Mine will be dark. Fierce. Strong enough to destroy anyone I point him at. Starting with Jimmy.”

Kennedy’s eyes flare, fear slicing through them as she rips my hand away.

“Stop it, Riley.”

“I have to finish the Y,” I whisper, another line down. “My prince will be strong enough to burn the whole world down to get to me,” I vow. “To get to both of?—”

Kennedy clamps a hand over my mouth. Footsteps stop outside our hiding place.

Jimmy’s voice slides under the door in that stupid song he does when he’s drunk.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are…”

She throws a blanket over me. “Stay here, Riley. No matter what happens.”

I know what’s going to happen.

He’s going to take her.

He’s going to hurt her.

I tremble so hard I might throw up—anger burning, near frozen with fear.

I want to fight.

I want us to run away and never come back.

But fighting only makes it worse. Especially for Kennedy.

So I bite my lip until it tastes like pennies, and scratch one last line into the wood.

Y.

There. Now my beast can find me.