Prisoned: A Dark Twisted Erotic Standalone Read Online Free Page B

drove back to Jersey.
    “Kyle, you sure about this?” Anthony asked.
    It was a warning.
    “Yes,” I said, giving him a hug that was all for show. “I’ll see you soon.”
    Anthony gave me a final glare, and he went over to Billy’s mom. I wondered what he could possibly say to her to make this right. How he could look her in the face and lie. It was all so easy for him. He had no hole in his chest, no guilt in his heart.
    We had nothing in common.
    “I can’t believe you came back home,” Garin said.
    Home . There was that dreadful word again.
    I slowly shifted my attention to him. Those eyes. That face. So much dark scruff I wasn’t used to seeing on him. So much anger that was warranted.
    “Honestly, I can’t either.”
    That was the most honest I’d been all day.
    “You’re heading back tomorrow?”
    “Yes.”
    “Flying out to…”
    “Florida. I still live there.”
    “Right.”
    I knew he was living in Vegas, that he was the general manager of The V, a high-end hotel and casino on the strip. I Googled him more often than I should have.
    Silence passed between us, but I still felt his emotion, his questions. I most definitely felt his coldness. “Garin—”
    “Don’t. Let’s go.”
    “Aren’t there people here you want to talk to?” I asked, grabbing his arm to stop him from moving. His eyes told me I needed to get my hand off him, so I immediately lifted it. “I just meant, I can wait for you outside if you want.”
    “I’ve spoken to everyone I need to.”
    And I’d spoken to no one but him and Anthony, which was more than enough.
    “My car is out front,” he said, turning around and walking toward the door.
    My anxiety built as I followed him, keeping my eyes on the floor, knowing I would be away from that shiny box in just a few seconds. From that puffy white fabric that lined it. From the still face of Billy, who never should have been inside. But I would also be alone with Garin, the man I had thought about every day since I left Atlantic City. The man who deserved so much more than I was about to give him.
    The man I could never tell the truth to because I would be in a box next to Billy’s.

Three
    Garin
    Twelve Years Ago
    I opened my bedroom door and shrugged out of my jacket. As I rounded the corner to the bed, I saw Kyle sitting on the floor. She was tucked between the end of the mattress and my window, a blanket wrapped around her, sleeping on her arms as they rested on her bent knees.
    “Hey,” I said, kneeling in front of her. I waited until her eyes opened. “You okay?”
    No one was at my place tonight. Ma was probably partying at some other apartment in The Heart, and I’d seen my sister down at the boardwalk with one of the guys she liked to hustle with. Kyle must have used the spare key I kept hidden.
    “I’m okay.”
    “Come here.” I held out my hand.
    When she grabbed it, I lifted her out of the corner and sat her on the bed. She brought the blanket along, tightening it around her.
    “I couldn’t fall asleep at home.”
    “Too cold?”
    She nodded, sleepy-eyed and cute.
    I paid our heat bill, but Kyle didn’t make enough to help out with her ma’s bills. If Anthony gave his ma any cash, I was sure she’d spend it on dope rather than making sure their apartment stayed warm. That was the kind of bitch she was. My ma was no better.
    But that didn’t matter because I wanted Kyle here anyway. I liked that my place was where she went to get warm and go to sleep.
    “Lie down,” I said. “I’ll take the floor.”
    She kicked off her shoes and rested her head on the pillow. I sat on the carpet and leaned my back into the side of the bed.
    “Is your ma home?” I asked.
    “No, she went out before I got home from school.”
    “What about Anthony?”
    “I haven’t seen him for a few days.”
    Kyle’s fridge was always empty. If her ma was home, she’d get Kyle something to eat. But, with her being out, that meant Kyle had skipped dinner. And there was