Walke

Javier Mack was one of the first out of his seat. He slung his backpack over one shou

books and stuffing them into my own threadbare ba

ast laughing cheerleaders and boisterous jocks. He was the sun, and

wn. He kept glancing back, a mixture of impatience and something e

hat cut through the silence between us. The hung

" I said, my

perfectly sculpted eyebrows pul

ngry. I haven't

s were an inconvenient detour on his path to

is gaze without flinchi

yes. He was weighing his impatience against the risk of me backing o

ably down the street. "There's a pl

oney," I said simpl

he bit back whatever insult was o

ions. The vinyl on the booths was cracked, and a thin film of grease coated

gg fried rice. He paid the cashier with a crumpled bill

a look of pure disdain on his face as I devoured the food. He

seen someone eat b

illing the agonizing emptiness in my stomach. This feeling... I re

ke disguised as a concerned wife. She had poisoned my father, Dustin, against me, turning him into a weak,

othes, a car, a future-I had to have nothing. Anita' s method was simple and brutal: financial deprivation. She gave my father just enough of his

th a sickeningly sweet smile, while Kimora chomp

de my head spin, turned my world into a hazy fog of desperation. It was designed to make me fai

n my first life, it

et my fork down with a satisfied sigh. It was the fir

e," I an

is feet, relieved.

and grabbed his arm. My fing

l the heat of his skin, the sudden, sharp tension in his muscle. A pure, primal rea

e hoarse. He cleared his throat. "You n

ips. He was so predictable. "You know, the

ing his ear. The scent of his cologne

ed. "The Azure Inn, just down the

in town, where illicit affairs and drug de

ing. The predator thought his prey was walking

was the one abou