Prologue
FIVE YEARS AGO
Ishouldn’t be here. I always know when something bad is about to happen. Usually right before it happens and it’s too late to get out unscathed.
“I need to go home. My parents are waiting for me,” I tell Caleb.
Why did I let him lure me into a dark alleyway? I’m smarter than this.
He asked me to meet him tonight, said he had a gift for me. Who am I to turn down a Christmas gift from the hottest guy at school? I’ve fooled around with Caleb a few times over the last couple of weeks, nothing serious, and I’ve never let it go too far. But he’s always been nice enough.
“Already? You just got here. You don’t like my gift?” he asks.
“I like it plenty. Thank you. It’s really beautiful.” I finger the thin gold chain I let him put around my neck. I hate it, but I’m polite.
“Good, because I wanted to give you something that’s as beautiful as you are, Frankie.” Caleb steps closer, pushing me up against the wall. His hands land on the brick behind me. His closeness makes me uneasy.
“Thank you. I wish I could stay longer but I really do need to go.”
He doesn’t budge when I try to move him back.
“Not yet. You owe me at least a kiss.” His lips press against mine. Hard, punishing.
This is wrong. I need to get away from him. I push against him again.
“No, stop.” I try to get him to hear my words but it’s no use.
No matter how much I shove at him, he pushes into me harder. His hands snake up under my sweater and he cups my breasts, pinching my nipples.
“Ow, Caleb, stop.” I bite down on his tongue when he forces it into my mouth.
“Fucking bitch. You just bit me,” he curses. One of his hands wraps around my throat, holding me against the wall. “That wasn’t very nice, Frankie.”
“Let me go.” I’m trying my best not to panic. All the self-defense moves I’ve been taught evade me, because I’m frozen to the spot.
“Not until I get what I’m owed. You’ve been teasing me for weeks, leaving me with fucking blue balls. It’s time you pay up.”
“What? No.” I try to move but get nowhere. I close my eyes, doing my best to remember what I’m supposed to do in this situation. And then the weight of Caleb’s body is off me. Like a flash, it’s just gone.
My eyes spring open as Caleb screams in agony. “Argh, fuck, man. Fuck off.”
“You good?” Emilio’s eyes bore into mine.
I nod my head, unable to speak. He’s here. Of course he’s here. Emilio Lopez, AKA my very own white knight. Always there when I need to be bailed out of trouble.
“You touched the wrong fucking girl, asshole,” Emilio grunts at Caleb.
It takes a moment for it to register, the glint of the knife as it slices through the air, right into Caleb’s torso. The next thing I know, Caleb is on the ground and Emilio is stabbing him again.
“Emilio, stop. You’re going to kill him.” I reach for his arm, and he turns to me.
“That’s the plan, Frankie,” he says.
“No, don’t. Let’s just go, please. Take me home, Emilio,” I plead with him. I do not want him killing people for me. Caleb is an asshole, but does he need to die? I don’t know.
“You touch her again, I will finish what I started here,” Emilio says as he stands. Leaning down, he wipes the small knife on the fabric of Caleb’s shirt. Then he takes my hand and leads me out of the alley. “What the fuck were you thinking, Frankie?”
I pull my hand away and shove at his chest. “What wereyouthinking? You could have killed him.”