When her dad’s gone, Emma moves to a new academy for a fresh start, but the town’s BIG FOUR, Rowan, August, Liam and Karl, rule everything. Each dangerous, magnetic, and unpredictable, they pull her into their dark world. But the real danger isn’t them—it’s the secret deal that ties her to a deadly game she was never meant to play.
Dad came to check on me, refusing to leave until I convinced him I’d talk with him later. Finally, he relented and left to break the news to Jamie, Ky, and Kell, about Elise. I can only hope it won’t devastate them too severely. I’m old enough to see the repugnant person she was. Jamie…
Before he can respond, someone calls Shay’s parents’ names, and my gaze snaps up. I grip Karl’s hand watching the doctors speak to the Warrens, looking for a sign of what’s happening. When Shay’s mom falls, my heart stops. “No. No fucking way.” I jump from my seat and run across the hospital lobby. “She’s…
I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep, but the shuffling of clothes and muttered curses wakes me. Turning, I see Karl fumbling to put on his pants in the dark. “Where are you going?” He jumps. “Shit. I thought you were sleeping.” “Surprise,” I joke. He shakes his head and continues to pull on…
Emma closes her eyes, welcoming the comfort from her father. “Please tell me she’s okay,” she finally stutters. “We’re not sure. She was taken to the hospital, Angel,” Karl answers-his tone gentle. “Well, isn’t this fucking touching,” Elise croaks, and all our heads swivel in her direction. “The only thing missing from this pitiful family…
“How could you ever threaten your own kids?” Disgust oozes from my words. This woman is beyond vile. Elise looks amused by my confusion. “They were spares and nothing else. If you weren’t necessary, you’d be dead.” Rage engulfs me, and I spring from my seat, tackling her to the table. I land on top…
* * * “I can’t believe you’re out at another party,” Shay says to Eva. “The end of the world must be upon us,” she jokes. Eva laughs. “Hey, I wasn’t that much of a recluse.” “Yes you were, bitch,” she quips. “If I didn’t see you around school on occasion, I would’ve thought your…
AUGUST “Seriously, I thought there’d be more than this,” I mumble. We’ve been at this for hours, and we’ve only decrypted ten names- all people we’ve known about. “You can’t rush the process. The scraper we’ve created will decode each change in the encryption,” Coop says through the screen. A notification sounds and I watch…
“What do you think they’re up to?” I ask after twenty minutes pass. I don’t have to wait long for the answer when I hear screams and shots before the third-floor door opens. “Clear,” Karl shouts, and when we climb the stairs, Karl’s standing there covered in blood. “Is that- is that a piece of…
Sebastian stands, nearly knocking over his chair. “Bullshit. You sleep with your flesh and blood’s fianc?e, and then again once she’s my ex to help impregnate her- if that’s what you call fatherly love to me, I’d hate to see what it would look like to O,” he snaps. Theo turns his face up in…
“Unless you’re feeding me your dick, no thank you.” He growls, “Don’t tempt me.” I reach between our bodies and slide my hand inside his boxers, jerking his shaft. “Tempted enough yet?” I coax. “You’re being a brat, Emma.” “What are you going to do about it, Rowan?” I taunt, twisting my palm around the…