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Chapter 10
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Jericho Chapter 11
JERICHOI expelled a sharp breath and pivoted around my bedroom at the Astor mansion. Gunnar had called me this morning and suggested I start packing up everything I wanted. However, I didn't know where to begin. So far, I had three empty piles: Throw, keep, and donate. If I had a choice, though, I'd have kept everything in the room. To both my brother's these halls were haunted. They had been this way for a while. Haunted with memories and sadness so destructive it could probably rip their sanity to shreds. It was a wonder how either of them still came home at night and lived in this place. To me, it was the only thing I had connecting me to my parents. Parents I wished I knew longer. I wished I had the privilege of having my mother fuss over me on graduation day and hearing my dad tell me how proud of my achievements he was. I'd never get that. Instead, I got Gunnar who fussed over me the way mom would. He made sure I was dressed to take over the world that day. And Ace was the on
Jericho Chapter 12
ODETTEI sat on the barstool with my back pressed against the kitchen island. Gunnar looked like a raging bull with his nostrils flared in anger. He was doing his best to stay calm, breathing in through his nose and expelling harsh breaths through his mouth. Before Quinn came into his life—according to Jericho—Gunnar had serious issues when it came to controlling his anger. Now, he was better at it but I wouldn't go as far as calling him a timid, changed man. There were times, like this instance, when his anger got the best of him. But, it wasn't just anger. He used that as a base emotion to cover up everything else he felt. I watched him from where I sat with Jericho standing between Gunnar and myself as a barrier. Usually, I would insist that I didn't need Jericho to place himself as a sounding board between me and his brothers but this situation was different. This was a sensitive topic for all three Astor brothers and I knew this. That was why I kept it away from them. But things
Jericho Chapter 13
ODETTE"Get dressed, we're going out," excitement rolled off Jericho in waves. He came barging into my room with this gleam in his eyes that I hadn't seen in ages and a smile so wide I was certain it would split his face into two parts. The one thing I had learned over the years of knowing Jericho, was that his excitement was not only palpable but it was contagious. He was an enigma and it was impossible not to feel what he felt. I was grateful that he hadn't hardened to the world around him the way his brothers had. He allowed himself to feel and absorb the emotions of others and himself. His excitement crashed into me, sinking into every crevice of my body until I could feel it buzzing through my veins. It had excitement of my own brewing at the base of my stomach. I couldn't remember when last I actually felt excited about anything so this new emotion after so many dull days was welcomed. It was the splash of color I needed when everything around me was gray and bland. I placed
Jericho Chapter 14
JERICHO "Are you sure about this?" Odette shifted uncomfortably next to me. We were tucked at the back of a coffee shop across town from where I lived. It seemed like the safest place to meet and, considering the dim lighting in the booth we were seated in, I was certain no one would be paying us any attention. "It's the best option we have. I trust him completely. There's no need for you to worry," I reassured, weaving my fingers with Odette's and squeezing. Her gaze dipped to our joined hands on her lap and a frown weighed the corners of her lips down. I wondered if she could feel my thumb caressing the top of her hand, tracing the scarred flesh, or at least feel the slight pressure of me squeezing said hand in assurance. By the grimace twisting her features, I knew the answer to my questions. I forced myself to withdraw from her even though I didn't want to. If I attempted to comfort her in some other way right now, I knew I'd only make her feel worse. She was doing better, th
Jericho Chapter 15
ODETTEI softly padded into Jericho's room to find him hunched over his desk, two arms folded under his head while snores left his parted lips. He only ever snored when he was exhausted, otherwise, he was a pretty silent sleeper which made sleeping next to him comfortable. I remembered when we were younger I'd sneak him into my room through the back door of my house so we could have sleepovers. My dad would have never permitted him to stay over because—as cool as he was—he was a very conservative man. It was why he wasn't so thrilled about having me stay here with Jericho when I first came home from the hospital after my accident. Until the age of thirteen, my aunt—my dad's youngest sister—would babysit me whenever my dad pulled all-nighters at work. When I turned fourteen, I somehow convinced my dad that I was able to take care of myself and that I didn't need a babysitter. He hated the thought of leaving me alone and it went against his moral code but he caved and allowed me to ga
Jericho Chapter 16
ODETTE"Don't you look happy," Miranda crooned, leaning in to kiss my cheek before taking a seat beside me. Her sister, Tory, and Quinn slipped into the seats opposite, greeting me with a chorus of 'hey'. "Want to tell us what's got you smiling like that?" Quinn prodded as she rested her elbows on the table and perched her chin on her hands. She wiggled her eyebrows at me suggestively with a knowing smirk curving her lips upward. For a brief moment, I wondered if Jericho had called her and said anything but then I shook the thought away. I was usually the first person he called when he had news. If it wasn't me, then it was Ace. He was probably talking to Ace right now about the kiss we shared. I shook my head when I realized I hadn't answered Quinn and bit back my smile, "We aren't here to discuss me. We're here because you said you have something to tell us."Quinn shrugged a shoulder, "We're just waiting on Priyanka."I had only met Priyanka a handful of times but she seemed li
Jericho Chapter 17
JERICHO"Did you find anything useful?" Gunnar asked as he leaned back in his chair behind his desk. He had requested for Ace and me to meet him in his office at Astor Architecture but he hadn't given us a reason as to why. I couldn't tell if something bothered him or if he had good news to share because my brother kept his face neutral, hiding what he truly felt behind an ironclad wall. It had anxiety assaulting my mind, causing the cogs to turn at double the usual pace. I loved my brothers but they were unaware of the stress they occasionally put me under. I tucked my fists into the pockets of my jeans and clenched them until pain shot up my arms from my nails digging into my palms, "I'm not sure if it's useful but I did find something in the book."Ace glanced over his shoulder from where he stood at the window—the view over the city from my brother's office was aesthetically pleasing but I doubted he ever had the time to properly appreciate it, "Care to share, cub? If you've for
Jericho Chapter 18
JERICHOI swerved into my designated parking and was out of the car in the next breath. Ace hadn't explained what the rush was but I couldn't ignore the trepidation which sunk in my gut after Ace had disconnected the call. All he said was that the girls were in trouble at my apartment. No one even knew how the girls ended up at my apartment considering they were all meant to be out for lunch. My first thought was Odette. I was petrified that something had happened to her and she had no way of defending herself. The thought of her injured yet again—looking as battered and broken as she did on that hospital bed a few weeks ago—had my heart thrusting against my ribcage in heavy, hard drum beats. The organ pumped with the ferocity of a jackhammer, determined to break through the confinements of my ribcage and land at my feet. No matter how much I willed myself to calm down so I could start thinking rationally, the foreboding feeling only intensified the longer I was away from her, and di
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