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ISBN-13:978-1511502399

ISBN-10: 1511502398

Tristen’s wife will not be named. This would be a spoiler for those who have not read Sinfully or Regretfully. Since these books can be read out of order, I wanted to respect everyone and not ruin anything. I know it might look different with her name not being included but I promise it’s on purpose.

THE FIRST ROUND OF fire came from directly behind me, and I ducked immediately to the ground, covering my head for protection. Six roaring
bangs
sounded, causing everyone to scatter, half screaming in panic and the other half in pain. The lights had gone out; we assumed it had been due from the storm, but now I wondered if it was calculated. The thunderstorm that night was particularly brutal. Just moments before, we were all talking about how we could hear the intense hail and wind that seemed to be getting worse with each passing minute. A few of the guys had mentioned bringing the party upstairs and staying the night if the weather kept up.

Thick, white smoke permeated through the banquet room full of childhood friends, past girlfriends, and school acquaintances. My ears were ringing and I began to panic as the smoke began to take over. A can rolled past me, and it looked like a handmade smoke bomb. Holding my hand out in front of me, I could barely make out the outline. Chaos surrounded me and every logical thought told me to run with the crowd, to get to safety.

I needed to find her. I needed to find them.

Everyone was running, stumbling over bodies on the floor, trying to make it to the exits, but I couldn’t leave without them. It wasn’t an option.

I was damn sure that I was about to cough up a lung as I hunched over, trying to catch my breath. My eyes felt like they were on fire, and it hurt to breathe. I fell to the ground, where I felt other people trying to make their way to safety. Crawling slowly, using my hands to feel my way around, the realization of what was happening kicked in. I wasn’t sure how far I’d gotten. For all I knew, I was creeping slowly toward the reason for the madness.

I felt bodies in front of me. The softness of a woman’s dress with intricate beading slipped through my fingers, and I wracked my brain, trying to remember who’d been wearing it. I felt her body convulse as she coughed, most likely affected by the smoke just as I was.

Realizing Matt’s fiancée was the one in the dress, I hoped and prayed that I was close to them. I’d just gone to pick up a drink from the bar in the back of the room when all hell broke loose. I ran. Trying to get back to them, I realized the smoke and injured bodies in front of me hindered me. Screaming Stella’s name, I had no idea if anyone heard or not. The shots fired were so close to my ears that the ringing was constant. My damn ears needed to start working again.

Someone bumped into me hard as they were running toward the exit and I fell onto the ground. It felt like hours had ticked by as I felt my way to Matt’s fiancée’s face. Hilary was her name, I think. When I was close enough, I saw that she had been shot in the shoulder but was staring past me with squinted yet frightened eyes. Her hands pulled me on top of her just as I felt something kick my back.

Fuck.

Closing my eyes, I lay limp, pretending to be lifeless, hoping that it would work to my benefit and not foreshadow my future.

Heavy steps walked a few feet in front of me; I looked up slightly and instantly knew who it was. Even through the smoke, Victor hadn’t changed much since high school. He gripped a gun in his left hand, and he was looking for more victims. He’d been our third string quarterback and always in the background. Girls paid him no attention and his peeping Tom tendencies made him the outcast of the school. He’d been caught numerous times hiding in the girls’ locker rooms, enjoying himself while he watched the show.

I’d seen him as we walked in but didn’t think anything about him; he was just another face from the past. Besides, I had my eyes glued to the woman who’d captured my attention from the moment we’d arrived. The woman who I had never given a chance in high school because I was so caught up in her sister. They might look alike, but I knew they were worlds apart in personality. I was determined to find out more, but that fucker had interrupted.

Looking down at the woman below me, I mouthed
thank you
for probably saving my life. I looked at her wound, and it appeared the bullet had just grazed her. She’d be okay. As I began to crawl past her, the distinct sound of more gunshots rang through the room. Ducking and covering my head, I looked over and saw Victor, the shooter, fall to the ground. I could feel heavy footsteps around me and prayed that the police had arrived. That this was over and done with, and we were safe.

I needed to get to my friends. My breathing was becoming shallow and black spots were beginning to appear around the edges of my vision. I resumed crawling, my lungs fighting against my will to breathe when I felt her. A soft, weak hand reached for me, and I was instantly comforted. Collapsing to the ground, I knew finding both sisters wouldn’t be possible, but I knew in my gut that I’d gotten to one of them. One was an old flame and the other was still a mystery to me. She squeezed my fingers and the urge to get closer to her, to see if she was okay, was so strong. I was fighting to keep my eyes open, but she was so close. Without seeing her familiar dark eyes, I knew who it was. It was Stella.

Her grasp started to loosen, causing me to pry open my eyes, only to see her start to slip away from me. She looked so delicate, so fragile lying there, cowering to protect herself. She didn’t deserve this, none of us did. She’d just come back into my life, and I hadn’t even gotten a chance with her. Scooting closer to her, I wrapped her in my arms and whispered that everything would be okay, even though it was an obvious lie.

I needed everything to be okay. My life was just starting to turn around and seeing her there seemed like fate. We didn’t have our chance in high school, but maybe now that we were older, we stood a chance. My head was heavy, and it was getting harder to see straight. I could feel the dizziness kicking in and knew it was from the smoke, whatever had been in it.

Fate had a cruel way of putting me in my place, but I’d be damned if I let it win. It wasn’t fair. My friends shouldn’t have to go through this. No one should ever have to witness their loved ones being shot at.

The blackness closed in on my vision and I knew I had lost. I couldn’t help them and not knowing if they were okay was the last thing that crossed my mind. Holding Stella in my arms gave me a small amount of comfort, and I hoped that when I woke, it would all be just a terrible dream. Dreaming of those perfect, brown eyes and a world where we actually had a chance.

The next time I opened my eyes, the same, deliciously dark eyes were looking down at me. Tears filled her eyes. What caused me to stir, though, was the delicate hand holding mine. I felt the sparks, the same ones from that night.

My world had just been turned upside down.