“Fuck you!” she screams in my face. “And fuck everyone.”

  I don’t know what to do except one thing. I lean forward, crushing my mouth against hers. She jostles in my lap and only struggles for a moment before she kisses me back.

  Her lips are punishing in their pursuit of mine. She is filled with rage and is taking it out on me, kissing me back with so much ferocity, I can barely breathe.

  I grip her hands tighter, holding her captive as our tongues move in sync. I get lost in her, drowning in her taste, her smell, and the feel of her body pressed against mine.

  The woman is so infuriating and intriguing at the same time, I can’t stop myself from wanting more. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met before and nothing like the little girl I barely knew when I was young.

  “Nevin,” she breathes against my lips.

  I release her hands, wanting them roaming my body and needing her touch. I moan as she slides her hands across my neck, resting her fingers on my back.

  She pulls back, and I think it’s over. The moment has passed. Fuck. I shouldn’t have let her hands go.

  “I’m sorry,” she says, staring me in the eye. “I’m so, so sorry.”

  “I’m sorry, Luna.”

  She leans forward, placing her forehead against mine. “I think I’m falling for you,” she admits, closing her eyes. “And that scares me to death.”

  “Me too,” I confess. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before you, but don’t be scared.”

  She places her palm flat on my chest and leans into me. “My uncles are out there doing God knows what, and what if something happens to them or to you?”

  “Why would something happen to me?” I glide my arm around her waist, holding her again. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I don’t know. Anything can happen.”

  “Babe,” I whisper and kiss her forehead. “Going to take something really big to tear me away from you. We just found each other, and I’m not giving that up without a fight.”

  “But what if Chad…”

  I move my hand from her cheek to her lips. “He’s a nonissue.”

  “He is an issue,” she mumbles against my fingers. “Especially now that everyone’s involved and he found my uncle. That wasn’t by chance.”

  “He won’t get near you. I’m not scared of Chad.”

  “He’s a maniac. If he tries to do something to you…” She squeezes her eyes shut. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

  “He’ll be handled.”

  “Don’t go and try to be heroic again.”

  I pull her closer, cupping her jaw in my hand. “I’ll always protect the people I care the most about, and that includes you now, Lu. I’ll give everything I’ve got to keep you safe, and not because Ian asked me to, but because I want to… I need to.”

  She relaxes in my embrace. “But if you ever call me a bitch again…”

  “Whoa. Whoa.” I shake my head and hold in a laugh. “I didn’t call you a bitch.”

  “I’m not your bitch either.”

  “Got it. Loud and clear, li’l moon.”

  “We’re dating.”

  “Exclusively?” I ask.

  “Uh, yeah.” She nibbles on the corner of her lip. “I’ve never been in a relationship, though. We’re going to fuck this up big-time.”

  I don’t hold it in anymore and laugh softly. “Lu, I’ve never been in one either.”

  “No? I thought maybe you had a long-term relationship with someone in prison.”

  “Babe,” I mutter through my laughter. “I’ve never been anyone’s bitch either. I also don’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing.”

  “We’ll go slow and be gentle with each other.”

  “Please. I like going slow with you,” I say with a smirk.

  “Then kiss me slow and fuck me slower,” she demands, and my cock comes to life, wanting exactly what she said.

  I stand, taking her with me as she wraps her legs around my waist. I plan to spend all night giving her so much pleasure she has no time to think of anything else.

  We’re two paces down the hallway when there’s a pounding at the door. Luna freezes and pulls her lips away.

  “Luna, open the door,” her father barks and continues his pounding.

  “Fuck,” she whispers with wide eyes as her legs squeeze my body so tight, I can barely breathe. “I’m in so much trouble.” She slides down my body and slowly turns toward the door, wiping her lips as she walks.

  I move to the couch, taking the seat I’d sat in before our blowout. But I have wood. Not a little bit of wood, but a massive boner. I grab a pillow from the other end, placing it over my lap.

  “Daddy,” Luna says cheerfully as she opens the door. “What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong?” he asks, stalking into the apartment with his shoulders squared and his jaw set. “What’s wrong?”

  “Yeah. What’s wrong?” She glances at me, playing everything off. “We were just watching a movie.”

  He peers down at her and takes a deep breath, trying to hold his shit together. I know the look well. I’ve worn it a time or two. “Who’s Chad?”

  “Don’t be mad,” she begs him.

  “Baby girl, I’m not mad at you. I’m worried. There’s a difference. You’re my daughter, and I’m hurt you didn’t tell me someone was bothering you.”

  She steps forward and wraps her arms around her father’s waist. “I can’t tell you about every weirdo.”

  “Yeah, you can. It’s my job to protect you.”

  She peers up at him. “Dad, I’m grown.”

  “I don’t care how old you are. You’ll always be my little girl, Luna.”

  “Crazy,” she whispers, hugging him tightly.

  He touches her shoulders and pushes her back a little. “Tell me about Chad, honey.”

  “Want to sit down?” she asks him.

  It’s then that he sees me. I ready myself for a new round of anger, but he gives me a chin lift followed by a “Hey,” which totally fucks with my head.

  He follows her to the sitting area and takes the empty chair next to the couch. As soon as she sits down, he grabs her hand and speaks softly. “What happened?”

  “He’s a guy I went on one date with, but he’s been popping up and hasn’t stopped calling and texting me. He doesn’t understand the word no.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about him?”

  She shrugs. “I figured he’d go away.”

  “You were going to run when you saw him at ALFA too, weren’t you?”

  She nods.

  Fuck me. Even when confronted with the asshole at her uncle’s office, she still wasn’t going to spill the tea on Chad and his dickhead behavior. Luna and I are going to have a talk about personal safety and when to believe someone is a threat.

  “Always tell someone.”

  “I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” she tells him, to which he groans.

  Same, buddy. Same.

  “She didn’t tell me either,” I say, wanting him to know.

  That statement earns me a handful of eye daggers thrown my way. “Shut it,” she chirps.

  “Promise me, you’ll tell someone…anyone, from now on.”

  “I promise, Dad.”

  Mr. Gallo peers over at me. “Chad’s in the wind. MIA. Luna’s going to come home with me until we find him.”

  “No,” she barks, not letting him finish the statement or me to answer. “I’m not going home with you. This is my home, and I’m staying here.”

  “You’ll be safer there than you are alone.”

  Luna raises her chin. “I’m not alone.”

  Mr. Gallo looks at me again, studying me, and then stares at her. “Fuck,” he groans. “You two a thing now?”

  I’m not saying shit. I got myself into trouble with Luna last time someone asked that same question, and I am not about to dig a hole with her father by being honest.

  “We’re dating, Dad. I feel safe with him. If anyone’s going to protect me, it’ll be him.”

  “I believe he will, Luna,” he says while looking directly at me. He scrubs his hand down his face and groans. “After we almost lost your sister, though, I think it’s best if—”

  “No,” Luna tells him point-blank.

  “I won’t leave her side,” I promise. “Not for a second until Chad’s behind bars and no longer a risk. I’d lay down my life for her, Mr. Gallo.”

  Mr. Gallo cocks his head and doesn’t take his eyes off me. “Not for a second?”

  “Not for a second,” I repeat.

  He tips his head back, cursing under his breath for a few seconds before he looks at his daughter again. “Why are you three girls so impossible and hardheaded?”

  Luna smiles at him. “You made us this way, Dad.”

  He grumbles some more before turning his attention toward me. “Keep her safe, or you better run. My kids and my wife are the most important things in my life.”

  “I promise, sir.”

  No one ever talked about my brothers and me that way. I wonder what we’d be like if someone had? I wouldn’t be the same man I am now. Maybe I’d be a shit human, but hearing those words at least once would be something else.

  Luna turns toward me. “I’m going to walk him out,” she says.

  “I’ll wait at the door,” I tell her, knowing her dad won’t want her alone even for a minute.

  “Don’t be ridic…” she starts to say until her father puts his hand on her shoulder.

  “Good,” he says to me, ignoring her. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”

  “I hate this,” Luna mutters.

  Her dad smiles down at her, not caring if she likes it or not. “I want you alive. Now, walk me out.”

  She walks out the door first, and he gives me a look, one I can feel in my bones. Luna has tried him his entire life, and this is just another moment when he’s showing exactly how much patience he has. I don’t know if I’d be the same in his shoes, but he somehow pulls it off as calmly as possible.

  I give him a chin lift, and he returns the gesture before following Luna out the front door. I trail behind, never leaving the entryway as they talk and walk to the parking lot.

  Without being told, I know the next few days are going to be a struggle. Luna will make sure of it.

  22

  LUNA

  I’m crabby. Not just a little, but a whole lot. It’s been three days since Chad disappeared, and Nevin hasn’t let me out of his sight. He’s taking the role and responsibility very seriously, and it’s annoying. No one has watched over me so much since my father did before I moved out of my parents’ house.

  “You may as well get your things from the Wayward,” I tell Nevin, lying sideways on my recliner, letting my legs dangle over the arm. “Doesn’t seem like you’re going anywhere anytime soon.”

  Nevin turns around with the container of milk in one hand and the butter in the other and stares at me. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea, Luna.”

  I sigh, feeling a bit dramatic and bored. “No reason to pay for a place you’re never at, and at the rate we’re going, you’re never going to be there again.”

  Nevin shakes his head, returning to cooking. “A little over the top, aren’t ya?”

  “Not one bit.” I watch as his back and shoulder muscles move as he stirs the boiling noodles. “And to be honest, it hasn’t been a hardship having you around either.”

  He’s taken up cooking. Something the food at my grandmother’s must’ve sparked. I can’t say I hate it because I’m getting a break from my normal processed-food rotation.

  “You think you can put too much cheese in mac and cheese?” he asks me.

  “No such thing as too much cheese, Nev.”

  He reaches to his side, opening the fridge without having to move the few steps. I wish I were that big; it would make life so much easier. “Cheesy mac is what we’re going to call this, because I’m going to drown the bitch.”

  “Did you find the recipe online?” I ask him, wondering where he’s finding the inspiration.

  “I got it from your grandmother when we were there last time.”

  I sit up a little straighter, wondering how I missed that interaction. “You what?”

  He nods without turning around. “I ate an entire plate of it after the hurricane, and she gave me the recipe.”

  “And you’re just whipping it up, thinking you can cook something so complicated?”

  He spins around, staring at me like I’m not normal. “There are directions, Lu. It involves boiling and stirring.”

  I shrug, knowing what it involves, but also knowing the dishes always end up like garbage when I’m the cook. “You think it’s easy, but it’s not.”

  My phone rings before Nevin has a chance to reply. “Hello,” I say without looking at who’s on the other end.

  “Lu.”

  My heart jumps at the sound of the familiar voice. “Ian? Oh my God, is that you. Are you okay?” I say, rushing all the words out without giving him a chance to reply to anything. “I’ve been so worried.”

  Nevin drops everything on the counter and rushes to my side. “Ian,” he says, not thinking.

  “Nevin?” Ian says, and it’s hard to miss the surprise in his voice.

  “Where are you guys?” Ian asks us.

  “We’re at Luna’s,” Nevin tells him.

  “Oh,” Ian replies.

  “It’s a long story, but the short version is someone is bothering me and Nevin’s been tasked with babysitting,” I explain.

  “It’s not like that,” Nevin argues, giving me the stink eye.

  “It’s exactly like that,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him.

  “Who’s after you? What the hell is happening over there?” Ian asks, and I hate that my best friend isn’t around to tell everything to.

  “Some random dude I went on a date with. His name is Chad.”

  Ian growls. “I remember you talking about him after the date. He’s coming around?”

  “He’s missing right now,” I say.

  Nevin takes the phone from my hand, and I lurch forward, trying to get it back, but I fail. I stare at Nevin as he marches back into the kitchen with my phone, setting it next to the stove as he checks on the noodles. “The guy showed up at ALFA. Luna freaked and tipped off her uncles. They’re searching for him, but someone had to make sure she was protected, and I’m staying here until we know she’s safe.”

  “Don’t leave her alone for a minute,” Ian tells him, much to my surprise. “She doesn’t always think about her safety, and I don’t want to be here and worried about her at the same time.”

  “I got you, brother,” Nevin says to Ian.

  “You two getting along okay?” Ian asks.

  “We’re good. She’s good. I’m good. We’re good,” Nevin repeats. “How are you?”

  Ian doesn’t answer right away. “You two a thing now?” he asks Nevin.

  This time, Nevin is the one who doesn’t answer right away, and he stops stirring his dumb noodles. “I don’t…”

  “It’s okay if you are. You both deserve good people, and there’s no one else I’d trust with my best friend more than you, brother. It’s just that…”

  “That what?” Nevin asks.

  “I wish I were there with you.”

  “I ain’t into that shit,” Nevin tells Ian.

  Ian laughs. “Dumbass, I didn’t mean it that way. I just feel like everyone’s living while I’m…”

  “I get it. I get it better than anyone.”

  I sit there in shock. I was worried about Ian finding out about what is happening between Nevin and me, and he doesn’t even seem the least bit fazed by any of it.

  “Anyone bothering you?” Nevin asks.

  “Not yet. I’m barely settled in. Trying to figure out who to trust and who not to.”

  “Trust no one. Not even the guards,” Nevin tells him. “I mean that too, Ian. No one.”

  “No one,” Ian repeats.

  “No one is your friend.”

  “I feel it.”

  “Just keep your nose clean so you can get home to us sooner,” Nevin says, reaching for the oven mitts.

  “That’s my plan.”

  When Nevin has the boiling pot of water in his hands, I use the opportunity to take the phone back. “He’s emptying the boiling water,” I tell Ian.

  “Boiling water?”

  I stalk toward my bedroom, leaving Nevin to finish his concoction. “He’s making mac and cheese. He thinks he’s Emeril or something.”

  “Anything he makes will be a hell of a lot better than the slop in here,” Ian says, sounding so far away.

  I collapse onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Are you really okay with this?”

  “With what?”

  God, he’s dense and impossible at the same time.

  “With Nevin being here?”

  “Luna, you’re grown. He’s grown too. You’re my best friend, and all I want is good things for you. Why would I be upset?”

  I exhale and close my eyes. “I don’t know. I just thought…”

  “Are you happy?”

  “Kind of.”

  “Kind of?” he asks.

  “You’re not here. I’m pretty miserable without my friend.”

  “Best friend,” Ian corrects me. “As long as you don’t give Nevin that title, I’m good.”

  I smile, but then remember he’s not at his place; he’s in prison. It’s not like I forgot, but it is still so foreign and unbelievable. “Are you really okay? Is it awful?”

  “It’s definitely not a vacation, but…” He pauses, covering the phone to talk to someone else. “Sorry. It’s given me a lot of time to think.”

  “And?”

  “I hate that my brother lived this way for something I did.”

  “I know,” I whisper. “But the only person who deserves to be behind bars is dead. You don’t deserve it either.”

  “I’ll survive,” he says, and I know if anyone can, it’s Ian. “My cellmate isn’t a total douchebag.”

  “What’s he in for?”

  “Drugs.”

  “Better than murder.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” he mumbles.