Wreck Me (Corrupt Legacy Series #2)

His gaze sweeps over me as if he can read my secret on my face.

I open my mouth to lie and defend myself, but when Dane saunters inside, I freeze.

This is the perfect moment to admit what I did because all things aside, I initiated the kiss and he took it like a starving man.

Neither of us is innocent.

Dane jerks his chin in his direction in a greeting that comes across more like a challenge, and the breath I held inside of me bursts free.

“Abi.” My nickname, a few letters that convey so much more. Fear for me is the most prominent one.

“He makes me feel alive, Kaden. In a world where I am a damn puppet, with him it feels as if I am free.”

“The Family has spies everywhere. And they’re only waiting for you to have a weakness.”

What my best friend doesn’t say casts an even more ominous shadow over my head. My feelings for Dane would put him in danger. In the end, I would have to let him go, anyway.

But how can I stay away? How, when no one ever ignited in me this fiery passion, mad desire, and surreal connection?

The wire between us is a living, pulsating thing tethering us together.

“What do you think the Family would do to him, more than to you? Because that’s the thing. The moment it’s serious, that’s when they can take a part of your soul. Believe me, it’s pure agony, knowing the other part is away from you.”

I offer a small nod, trapped in my thoughts.

One hour chases the other while I am cornered in an unfortunate position. When the day ends, I drag my feet toward the dorm. Dane leans against the wall in the hallway of the boys’ side, and I come to an abrupt halt.

I shrug, letting him see I want this—him—with every fiber of my yearning body and weak heart. I do, and that will be my perdition.

Eyes fixed on each other, we’re having a silent conversation. I’m begging him to understand that I’m not playing games for him to chase me. Regardless, I would drop into his lap and surrender.

I need him to let me go.

We can communicate with mere gestures and grimaces, apparently because he pushes himself off the wall and goes into his apartment. So near yet so far.

The door shuts, detonating in my ear. I fumble with my key card and walk inside mine.

“Hi, you. I made some avocado and cheese sandwiches,” Bailey chirps, peering from the kitchen, but I shake my head. I can’t even bring my mouth to talk. Eating is out of the question.

“Hey, what happened?”

I must really look as dejected as I feel because she puts her phone down and wraps her arms around me.

“Nothing, just a long day.”

“Are you nervous about dinner?”

Those stopped making me fearful a while ago, mostly because when you do nothing wrong, the Family leaves you alone. But today I slipped into insanity.

I change into an elegant tweed suit and ballet flats, apply a bit of makeup, and put my hair in a low ponytail.

The group meets outside, and each one gets into a black Mercedes coupe, the Family’s official transportation brand. But once we go to college, we’ll pick our own car.

Friday night, normal people go out and have fun. We attend dinner with a woman who has the power to decide our lives with a godly snap of a finger. I don’t stand a chance.

We drive past the thick wrought-iron gates and park in front of the opulent white mansion boasting high columns and double-hung windows. Getting out of the car, I curl my arm around Kaden’s. He stiffens while I give him a reassuring squeeze. We have to do what is needed to survive.

He nods, his lips pressing together in understanding.