My grip on the photo is so tight it twists in my hand as she turns and leaves her friends to unlock her vehicle. I watch as she slings her backpack into the passenger seat. She’s dressed in a pair of tight blue jeans that seem to be painted on her slender legs. Her hoodie covers her top, so I can’t tell what she’s hiding underneath. But I I’ll find out.
Her feet are encased in a pair of Chuck Taylors. A tomboy at heart, perhaps, but I’m almost certain she could bring a man to his knees if she were all dressed up.
I don’t move.
I hold my breath.
My blood runs hot through my veins. Need and desire mingle with the hunger and yearning I’ve come to know as intrigue, which could twist into a beautiful game. She’s not my first. Perhaps she won’t be my last, but right now, she’s all I see.
I remind myself to blink. To breathe.
She doesn’t get into the Jeep just yet, and she’s interrupted with whatever she was about to do by her phone. I watch her pull it from her pocket, staring down at the screen for a long while, and jealousy races through me like white-hot pain.
When I get home, I’ll be doing my research. I’ll find out everything there is to know about this beauty, and when I do, I’ll enjoy her company immensely.
Soon, little mouse . . .
1
Micaela
It’s October, and the fact that I’ve been sent all the way to the middle of nowhere is evidence that my father has lost his mind. I have to admit Thorne Haven is beautiful, but as much as I love being independent, I do miss my old friends. The classes have been good so far, and as I make my way through the quad, I find a couple of girls I know from class standing near the parking lot.
“Micaela,” one of them, Paula, says with a smile. She’s gorgeous with long, dark curls and ice-blue eyes. “How are you finding your first week in our little town?” she asks.
“So far, so good, I guess. It’s taking a little getting used to.”
“This place will be the death of me,” Tamika says with an eye-roll. “I just want to get out of here and head back to LA.” From what I can gather, she’s been modeling for glossy magazines and designers since she turned eighteen a year ago, and before that, she was a child star on HBO. Her long braids hang to the base of her spine, and her dark skin matched up with hazel eyes is alluring. She really is a beauty.
“This place definitely is far from the city life I’m used to.” Shrugging my backpack, I smile. “I mean, I’m used to nobody knowing who I am. And somehow, I doubt that will be the case in Thorne Haven.”
“Oh god, no,” Paula says with a shake of her head. “This place is like the gossip pages of a magazine. Every move you make will be watched by those who love to talk. And if you ever get noticed by the Havens, you’ll only be worse off.”
“Yeah.” Tamika laughs, bumping her shoulder against Paula’s. “This one ended up getting off with the middle Haven boy and got her heart broken.”
“Oh please,” Paula says, her eyes rolling skyward. “He wishes he broke my heart.”
“He did break your hymen,” the third girl, a stunning blonde, teases as she looks up from her phone. She’s been at it with that thing for a while, but when she meets my gaze, she shrugs. “Just telling it like it is.”
“This is Miriam. She’s our local party girl,” Tamika tells me, pointing at the girl. “Anything you need to know about parties, who’s sleeping with whom, she’s your go-to.”
“Good to know.” I grin, but I doubt I’ll be needing any party information. I’m here to finish my studies and get the hell out of town. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll catch you ladies tomorrow,” I tell them.
“We’ll be here, same time, same place,” Paula affirms with a wink. I offer them a wave before I head away from the trio. Perhaps being here will be okay if I can make some friends.
Prickling on the back of my neck has me stilling at my car. My gaze tracks everyone around the quad, but I don’t see who it is watching me. Growing up the way I have, you become aware of danger before it strikes. A predator doesn’t hide under the bed; it stalks you in broad daylight.
I unlock the door and slip into the driver’s seat of my dark purple Jeep. When Dad offered to buy me a car, this was my choice. He didn’t approve, but he couldn’t refuse. My father has two weaknesses—his love for his daughter, and the loyalty to his organization. If I were to ask him for anything, he would always appease me. Some would call me a spoilt brat, others would say I’m nothing more than a pawn in a game.
When I pull out of the lot, a shiver races down my spine, but still, I don’t see anyone who seems out of place. There are too many students milling around for me to pick out one person amongst the sea of faces.
Perhaps it’s just the fact that I’m new. Transferred to a brand-new school midway through my studies. I have one year left, and now I have to get used to small-town living. Leaving my life back in New York, I have to focus on school, and even though I never wanted to run and hide, Daddy insisted on it. Now I find myself in Thorne Haven with sickeningly rich kids who have grown up with silver spoons shoved up their asses.
Don’t get me wrong, I come from money too, but I know where our fortune originates, and it’s not ancestors and old money.
It’s not far to the apartment I now call home, and when I pull into my spot, I
