Prologue
Corvus
Hitting my signal to indicate my turn to the car behind me, I began braking so I could slow down enough to turn into Hudson’s driveway.
Kreed, Hudson’s stepfather-turned-boyfriend, asked me to come chill with my best friend while he was at work because of Hudson’s crazy fucking mother, and it was easy to say yes.
Hudson was my brother in every definition of the word except blood.
He was literally my favorite person on this planet, and through thick and thin, through shitty parents and abusive households, we’d stuck together like glue.
Of course, I’d come sit with him in case she showed up. I hated it when he faced her alone. Hudson was a lot stronger than I was, but his mother was crazy as fuck and abusive as hell. I had no idea how his sanity was still intact.
I frowned at the large black SUV sitting in the driveway of Hudson’s house.
It didn’t have a tag, and I didn’t recognize the vehicle.
It definitely wasn’t something Kreed or Hudson would drive.
A bad feeling sank into my gut and lodged my heart into my throat.
Hurriedly, I shut off the engine, then shoved open the door, not even bothering to yank my key out the ignition or shut the car door behind me before I ran as fast as I could toward the front door.
And the closer I got, the louder Bonnie’s voice got. Hudson’s mother was a vindictive bitch who blamed Hudson for everything. Kreed wasn’t wrong in wanting someone here with Hudson because she was unpredictable and unstable.
But I’d taken too long to get here. Even with me leaving my parents’ place much earlier than I’d planned, I’d still been too fucking late.
I shoved open the front door, and my heart dropped right out my throat and landed on the tips of my shoes before rolling onto the floor.
A big, beefy man I’d never seen before held Hudson by his throat.
Bonnie screamed something about the plan being fucked up, while the stranger told her to open the trunk.
Hudson was unresponsive. Blood pumped from his gut and spilled onto the front of his body too fast. Way too fast. A puddle had already formed beneath him and the man holding him up.
He was dying.
My best friend was fucking dying.
“What the absolute fuck?!” I yelled, surprised my voice was steady when my sanity was fraying apart. If I lost Hudson, I’d lose my mind. He was my rock. The only constant in my life. I needed him alive and at my side. I couldn’t lose him.
I vaguely made out someone talking from the driveway, but I was too afraid to rip my eyes from Hudson’s unconscious, bloody form and the man holding him captive.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I yelled, stepping farther into the house. “Let him go!”
The man dropped Hudson carelessly, and Hudson thumped to the floor, the sound sickening.
My stomach rolled, and vomit threatened, but I swallowed it down.
Rushing forward, I dropped to my knees beside Hudson, frantically pressing my fingers to his pulse, which was weak but there. Just barely, but fuck, it was there.
He was still alive. Still fighting.
“Hudson, hang on for me,” I croaked, tears running hotly down my cheeks and dripping onto his face.
“We need to go,” the man told Bonnie. “Stop fucking panicking. Shut the fuck up. We need to get out of here, or we’re both going to fucking prison. Should’ve never let your stupid whore ass talk me into this—”
The sound of sirens reached my ears. Multiple cars, if the sound was anything to go by.
I tore my gaze from Hudson’s pale face and looked toward the front door, sobbing in relief when I saw cop cars and an ambulance arriving on the scene.
The man shouted something. Bonnie screamed back at him, but I couldn’t hear anything over the sudden ringing in my ears.
“Sir, I need you to move.” A woman kneeled at my side, her hand gently on my shoulder.
“Breathe, okay? Your friend is going to be fine, but we have to help him now if he has any chance of making it to the hospital, understand?” She tugged on my elbow, and I shakily rose.
“That’s it, honey. He’s okay. Do you want to ride with him? ”
Somehow, I managed to nod. She gently patted my back. “Take a seat on the couch, and once he’s loaded in and stabilized, I’ll come get you. I promise.”
I jerked awake, sweat clinging to my skin.
I was crying all over again, just like I’d been in my flashback, and I could disgustingly taste snot on my lips.
Grabbing tissues from my nightstand, I cleaned my face then pulled my knees up, tucking my face between my legs to try to catch my breath and slow my racing heart.
Didn’t matter how often I went to therapy—something Kreed paid for after what I witnessed that day—the flashbacks never fucking stopped.
I’d led Hudson and Kreed to believe the nightmares were getting better, but really, they were there every fucking night, just waiting to drag me under and fucking drown me in fear, pain, and the horrifying feeling of almost losing my best friend all over again.
Huffing a breath, I tossed my blankets back then slipped out of bed.
Shoving my feet into my slippers, I grabbed a pre-rolled joint from my nightstand then headed outside.
The sky was just beginning to turn from black to midnight blue, which meant it had to be somewhere around six-thirty to seven in the morning.
Too early for me to be awake, but I hadn’t been able to sleep in since that godawful fucking day.
The back door was nearly silent as I slid it open and stepped out onto the patio. Yawning, I dropped into one of the deck chairs then lit up and leaned back, inhaling the smoke into my lungs and holding it before I slowly released it.
“You’re up early,” Kreed said quietly. I jerked in surprise and looked over at him.
He was stepping outside with two mugs of coffee, one of which he passed to me when he was close enough.
In black slacks, a maroon half-zip sweater, and expensive, shiny black Oxfords, Kreed was hot as fuck.
It was easy to see why Hudson was so damn hooked on the man.
He was classy, old-money wealthy, and had just enough sprinkles of gray in his hair to make him look like a hot-as-fuck DILF.
If my best friend had his way, he’d be making the D in DILF come true just as soon as he finished college.
He had plans to use Kreed’s sperm with an egg donor of his choosing, so he and Hudson had a baby that was all Kreed.
I’d tried to warn him Kreed would probably want the opposite if he even agreed.
More than likely, he’d want a baby that looked like Hudson, but Hudson wouldn’t hear of it.
In his opinion, his bloodline needed to end with him, and I wouldn’t fight him on it. If anyone understood that feeling, it was me. I wanted my bloodline to end with me, too.
“Got sucked into a show last night. Haven’t been to sleep yet,” I lied. I sipped at the coffee. “Damn good coffee.”
He hummed, a sure sign he didn’t believe a word I’d said, and took a seat in one of the chairs at the patio table before frowning at me. “If things are getting bad again, Corvus, you can just tell me. I’m here if you need to talk about it. Or about anything.”
I shook my head, hoping he wouldn’t see through my bullshit more than he already was. “Nah, I’m good. Promise,” I lied, even smiling at him. It was a smile I’d practiced so much, it was second nature to use it. Only Hudson had ever been able to see through it.
Kreed just nodded, his face and his eyes not revealing anything, then he stood. “Hudson will probably sleep the day away like he always does.”
I smirked. Summer vacation had finally come around, and we’d only been home for two days. Hudson was drained from school, and he’d been sleeping all night and nearly all day to recuperate. I’d barely seen him.
“If either of you needs me, just call,” Kreed said, his hand on the door handle. “Credit card is on the kitchen counter if either of you don’t want the food that’s in the house.”
“You’re spoiling me, Kreed.” I leaned over onto the arm of the chair a little, fluttering my lashes at him. “Got room for one more in your adorable-as-fuck relationship?”
He snorted a laugh. “Hudson would kill you.”
I laughed and sat back. “He would, but I’m only messing about.” I waved him off. “Have a good day at work. And don’t forget to send my best friend a dick pic. You know how much he loves those.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Kreed muttered then headed inside. I chuckled to myself and lifted my blunt back to my lips, determined to relax and maybe catch a few more Zs before the sun came out to play.