Raw and Dirty (Bad Boys MC Trilogy #1) (30 page)

I slump back in my seat and run my hands over my face. Makeup smears across my skin as I drag my fingertips over my eyelids and down my cheeks, dropping my fists into my lap. I would've liked to tell Mathis goodbye, gauge his expression when I told him I was leaving and never coming back. This time though, it was my turn to run off and disappear without a word. Right now, shock's got a cold, white hold on my heart, and I can't seem to feel much of anything. I wonder if it'll hit me later, some sort of overwhelming grief. I mean, Mathis and I weren't head over heels in love or anything, but he made me smile. That's gotta count for something, doesn't it?

“I'm not angry with you, Regi,” Gill says, taking a waterlogged exit out of the flow of traffic, our tires splashing mud and leaves against the guardrails on either side. “And I'm sorry I dragged you into this, truly I am, but—”

“But the payoff was colossal, I get it.” I raise my hands up, copper bracelets jingling. The smell of my perfume drifts in the air between us, the scent of peonies suddenly cloying. I roll the window down a crack and let cool droplets of water splatter against my face. “Besides, my position at the store made it an easy gig and all that. Stop apologizing, Gill. It's not like you forced me into this, remember? I made my own choice.”

I don't let myself wonder
why
I made the choice to begin with. All that matters now is that I've got a chance at a fresh start, an easy life, an opportunity to sit back and figure out exactly what it is that I want from this spinning hunk of dirt. I want to prove to myself that I'm more than stardust, some cataclysmic chain reaction that started with the Big Bang and ended up with little ol' me. I want to feel again, really feel something like I did when I was a teenager, before everyone significant in my life died or left and drew open this gaping hole in my heart.

I grind my teeth again and roll the window down a little further, closing my eyes against the spray of cool autumn rain.

“We're here,” Gill says, not bothering to acknowledge my statements. Why should he? After today, we might see each other one, maybe two, more times. Me and him, we're just strangers now. “Reservation's under the name Mia Logan, credit card's in your bag.”

“I got it, Gill,” I tell him as he pulls the car up in front of the lobby, “I know the plan.”

I shut the door and step back, pausing to say something, anything to him before he leaves, but the window's being rolled up, and the gray Taurus is disappearing into the grainy gray of the storm.

Listen to this playlist for FREE on Spotify by clicking
here
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All That Remains – This Calling
All That Remains – This Probably Won't End Well
Ariana Grande – One Last Time
Atreyu – Do You Know Who You Are?
Avenged Sevenfold – Nightmare
Boys Like Girls – Love Drunk
Bring Me The Horizon – Empire (Let Them Sing)
Bullet For My Valentine – Fever
Chamillionaire – Ridin'
A Day To Remember – Better Off This Way
Devil You Know – Seven Years Alone
Disturbed – Fear
Egypt Central – Over and Under
Escape the Fate – This War Is Ours (The Guillotine II)
Eyes Set To Kill – Darling
Five Finger Death Punch – My Heart Lied
Godsmack – Voodoo
Godsmack – Awake
In This Moment – Dirty Pretty
In This Moment – Black Widow
In This Moment – The Fighter
Katy Perry – I Kissed a Girl
Killswitch Engage – My Curse
Linkin Park – No More Sorrow
Memphis May Fire – Prove Me Right
P!nk – Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
P!nk – Try
Paramore – Ain't It Fun
Rita Ora – How We Do (Party)
Rita Ora – Poison
Silverstein – Smile In Your Sleep
Stone Sour – Say You'll Haunt Me
Stone Sour – Absolute Zero
Three Days Grace – I Am Machine
Woe, Is Me – Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
Woe, Is Me – Vengeance
You Me At Six – Underdog
You Me At Six – Bite My Tongue (feat. Oli Sykes)

Violet Blaze's Super Interesting Life Story (aka Her Biography)

Violet Blaze is the best friend you've always wanted, but still love to hate. She embarrasses you at dinner and flatters you at the club. And you're pretty sure her ugly little dog is a 'poochon', even if you have no idea what that means (it's a mix between a Bichon Frise and a Poodle, just in case you wanted to know).

A California native, Miss Blaze loves the good ol' US of A, and enjoys dressing up in its stars and stripes. She lives in a house with bright pink walls, a chair shaped like a shoe, and a cat named Miranda Rose. Violet's been reading all of her life (often while drinking brightly colored cocktails); her favorite thing about books is that she gets to watch people fall in love over and over again. Really, who doesn't? And if she wasn't a writer, it's likely Violet Blaze would be a pop star who wore too much make up and wore too little clothing.

This raging feminist likes writing books about strong women and strong men who aren't afraid to express themselves (oftentimes in the bedroom). She hopes you'll join her in reading her debut novel,
Stepbrother Inked
, and wants to hear your thoughts, questions, and favorite quotes
@IAmVioletBlaze
#stepbrotherinked.

(or you can be all old fashioned and stuff and email her at [email protected])

www.violetblazebooks.com
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Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
  
• Title Page
  
• Copyright
  
• Dedication
  
• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• Chapter 13
  
• Chapter 14
  
• Chapter 15
  
• Chapter 16
  
• Chapter 17
  
• Chapter 18
  
• Chapter 19
  
• Chapter 20
  
• Chapter 21
  
• Chapter 22
  
• Chapter 23
  
• More Awesome Reads
  
• Stepbrother Inked Playlist
  
• About the Author