Adeline saw Damien at school, and her chest tightened. He looked like someone brutally beat him. He had bruises on his face and a cut at the corner of his lips. What did he get himself into now? She tried to ignore the feeling of concern, but it was hard, so she walked away from him. Out of sight, out of mind, she thought.She saw the guys from the Irish Brotherhood hanging out by the water fountain. She paused as she heard Damien's name."Did you hear what happened yesterday? Damien Sky got his ass kicked by some Armenian guys. It serves him right! Fucking asshole," one of the guys chuckled."That's great, but why did they beat him?" his friend asked."Well, he was supposedly trying to defend his stripper girlfriend and messed with t

Adeline was feeling restless. Her body was hot, her heart racing. The only person who could make her feel good was Damien.  Damien.  She loved him. She couldn't help it. He was so sexy  and so beautiful.  I love him, I love him, I love him!  She kept repeating it in her mind. Could he hear her? Did he know how much she loved him? "Addie," Damien let out a low growl and kissed her. He was licking and sucking her tongue and it felt good.  She couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else. She just wanted to do everything with him. She gripped his shirt and pulled it over his head then rubbed her hands all over his chest and abs. She started to kiss and lick his chest then his neck. Go

Adeline felt sick to her stomach. The drug must not have worn off yet. She decided to spend her entire day locked in her room, staring at the wall. She ignored her nagging mother and annoying stepbrother and stepfather, even when they yelled and banged on her door. Today, they don't exist.She looked up the after-effects of ecstasy online and figured out that was why she felt sick. She basically used up a year's worth of dopamine in one night. No wonder she was miserable.She couldn't stop thinking about Damien. Her mind showed her vague flashes of Damien making love to her. She kept remembering him being gentle and loving. Only she felt detached from her body, and it was as if she was watching from the ceiling.No, there was no way he was gentle. He raped her, right? she thought. But

Ten years later...Adeline had the rare Saturday day shift. She was off by 3 pm. Of course, she started at 4:30 am, but now she'd have some time to spend with her half-siblings: Marla and Little Dave, who were thirteen, and Stewie, who was ten.She hadn't seen them in a while because she worked nearly seventy hours a week at the diner as assistant manager. She planned to make the best out of this day. Thankfully, Tommy wasn't getting out of work till eight this evening.She stopped by Dunkin Donuts, even though their mom Steph watched their sugar consumption like a hawk, but Addie seldom got to visit them these days so she was pretty sure her stepmom would let it pass this once.She and Tommy lived in Humboldt Park, while the James-Silvermans lived in Beverly. After her father died seven years ago, she and Stephanie struggled by themselves for a while, until Steph met Dr. Brian Silverman, an English professor at the University of Illinois, a couple of yea

Damien flung the quarterly reports across the room and lit up a cigarette. His bodyguard Akiko raised an eyebrow but didn't flinch. She's used to her boss's occasional outbursts of rage. This was actually one of his better days. Usually, it was a paperweight she had to dodge."What the fuck am I looking at, Robbie? Why have our profits taken a fifteen percent dive from last quarter?" He nodded at his other bodyguard Nemiah, who was in the Israeli secret service. She stepped forward and filled his glass with Balvenie thirty-year single malt scotch, his favorite.Robbie had become an accountant who was in charge of keeping track of the investment firm's profits and was also the compliance officer, to make sure that Damien did nothing to violate the SEC. "Damien, I warned you about Eastside Crips teaming up with the Cubano Manos. They're trying to corner the distribution of crack cocaine in all of Detroit.""Well, shit, Robbi