Out of the Cage Box Set: Out of the Cage

Also by Lane Hart

Cocky Cage Fighter Legacy

Xavier

Sage

Cocky Cage Fighters

Jax

Jude

Linc

Mace

Senn

Nate

Trick

Luke

Alex

Jax: A Christmas Story

Logan

Haven

Dark Redemption Series

Redeemed

Exploited

Dark Redemption Box Set

Dirty Aces MC

Malcolm

Devlin

Nash

Silas

Wirth

Fiasco

Gambling With Love

All In: Double or Nothing

All In: Betting on a Full House

All In: Calling His Bluff

All In: Playing the Fool

All In: Playing to Win

All In: Paying to Play

All In: Paying His Way

All In: Raising the Stakes

Lovestruck

Tainted Love

Crazy in Love

Mercy Academy

Crave Your Mercy

Have Mercy

Beg for Mercy

Out of the Cage

Cain

Ivan

Knox

Out of the Cage Box Set

Playboy Billionaire Club

One Night with a Billionaire

Two Nights with a Heartthrob

Three Nights with a Player

Playing Dirty

Ballbuster

Delay of Game

Eligible Receivers

Perfect Spiral

Playing Dirty Box Set

Standalone

Indiscretion

Let Him Reign

Wreck Me

Thrill Ride

King's Road (Savage Kings MC Book 0)

Mercy Academy Collection

Encore

Rush

King's Road

Dirty Aces MC Complete Series

Watch for more at Lane Hart’s site.

The Out of the Cage Box Set

Lane Hart

Contents

Cain

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

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Ivan

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

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Knox

Prologue

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

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Epilogue

Thank you so much for reading!

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue were created from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual people or events is coincidental.

The author acknowledges the copyrighted and trademarked status of various products within this work of fiction.

© 2017 Editor's Choice Publishing

All Rights Reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Editor’s Choice Publishing

P.O. Box 10024

Greensboro, NC 27404

Edited by Angela Snyder

Cover by Addendum Designs

http://addendumdesigns.com/

WARNING: THIS BOX SET IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ANYONE UNDER 18. PLEASE NOTE THAT IT CONTAINS SEXUAL ASSAULT SCENES AND/OR DESCRIPTIONS THAT MAY BE A TRIGGER FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS.

Cain

Chapter 1

Gabrielle Kelly

Three years ago…

I t’s freezing out, Robbie! Where are we going? I ask my older brother as I wrap my arms around myself to try and keep warm. The bitter winds here in Raleigh are almost strong enough to knock us off the cracked sidewalk in the rundown neighborhood, so my thin jacket isn’t doing me much good.

We should be there soon, Robbie says, back hunched over with his hands buried in his tattered brown leather jacket.

I don’t tell him, but I’m not sure how much further I can walk with my backpack weighing me down. My arms and legs are so weak I can barely lift them which I know is from not getting enough calories lately. How many calories are in a twin pack of saltine crackers? Not enough, that’s for sure, and the crackers are all I’ve had to eat in two days, washed down with dingy water from the faucet of the roach motel that tasted like rust.

Where are your things? I ask Robbie, noticing he didn’t bring his duffle bag.

Coming to a stop on the sidewalk, my brother faces me and says, Listen, Gabby, I’m not gonna be able to stay at this new place with you.

What do you mean? If you’re not staying, then I’m not either. You said that wherever you go, I go, remember?

Looking down the row of houses on the street and then back at me, he says, You have to, Gabby. I can’t find any work, so I need to try and do this fighting thing. But they don’t allow girls in the dorms…

Have you even asked? I snap at him.

Yes, he says, his blue eyes just a little lighter than mine looking just as weary, if not more so. And I can tell that no matter what I say, he’s not gonna budge on this.

"So that’s it? You’re just gonna…gonna drop me off with some stranger and leave?" I shout at him as tears prickle my eyes.

It’s the best I can do for you, Robbie says. "And it’s only for a few days at most. As soon as I can save enough for an apartment, you can move in with me. So, will you please just do this favor for me? Please?"

Maybe we should just go home… I start, but Robbie immediately shakes his head in disagreement.

No! We’re not going home! he yells. Even if I wanted to, we don’t have enough money to get back down to Columbia, and there’s nothing at home for us but our cracked-out mother, who will steal the clothes off of our backs to feed her drug habit!

There’s her sister, the one in Florida, I remind him.

Aunt Betty doesn’t give a shit about us either, okay? She’s too busy hustling rich men to take in two teenagers, he tells me. Then, lowering his voice he says, I’ve already called and asked her.

Oh.

This is it, Gabby, our last resort. All I have left of our savings is a handful of pennies, he says, pulling his palm out of his coat pocket to show me the copper coins in the center. There are no other options for us unless we want to live in a homeless shelter.

You promise that this is just for a few days? I ask with my eyes burning from the wind and tears.

Robbie glances over my shoulder. Just for a few days, he repeats, then nods behind me. And we’re here. See, it’s one of the nicer houses on the block.

Turning around, I take in the white, two-story colonial with black shutters. The place looks gigantic compared to our tiny apartment back in South Carolina. What I like best about it are the flower boxes all around the porch that I bet will look pretty in the spring. Not that I’ll be here that long…

Go on inside, and I’ll come check on you soon, my brother says while gripping my shoulders to nudge me toward the walkway that leads to the front door.

You’re not coming in with me? I ask him in disbelief.

Nah, you’ll be fine, he says.

How do you know? Have you ever met these people? At least come in to make sure –

Don’t worry. It’s just a little old lady and a few kids that are probably your age, Robbie says.

Are you even sure this is the right house? I ask him.

It is. Now go on in and get warm, he urges me. When I don’t move, he barks out, Just go, Gabby!

Fine, I grumble in defeat, biting down on my chapped bottom lip so hard I can taste blood.

I trust my brother, and he’s never let me down before. If he says I’ll be okay at this place, then I believe him. Besides, I’m too cold and hungry to argue about it anymore.

Chapter 2

Cain Knight

Snap.

The tip of my pencil pressed into my notebook so hard while I was shading the feathers of the angel’s wings that the lead broke again.

I reach for the pencil sharpener on the coffee table to scrape away the jagged pieces left behind just as there’s a knock on the front door.

It’s open, I call out from the sofa across from it without getting up or caring who’s on the other side. Everyone in town knows who this house belongs to. Someone would have to be suicidal to come in here with guns blazing trying to rob us, and I seriously doubt they would knock first.

First of all, none of us here have anything of value, especially not money. And secondly, they would die trying. Mrs. Engle might look defenseless and frail, but the old lady always shuffles around in her bedroom slippers with a Ruger cocked and loaded in the pocket of her housecoat.

Eventually, the front door cracks open until it’s spilling so much winter sun into the living room that it’s nearly blinding. When it shuts again, my eyes land on her…a new girl. She’s tall and so lean in her thin pink hoodie and frayed jeans that she must be half-starved and freezing to death. Her chin trembles as she peeks around the room from beneath long blonde locks so pale that with the sunlight streaming in from the windows she practically glows like an angel.

Great, she may be gorgeous but I bet she’s gonna be a crier.

Are you gonna say something or just stand there all day? I snap at her.

He’s…he’s coming back for me. My brother said he’ll be back in a couple of days, she declares, her narrow shoulders squaring up a little more, as much as she can with her backpack weighing them down.

Sure, he is, I remark with a roll of my eyes while I keep sharpening my pencil. Until then, why don’t you put your shit down and take a load off?

She shrugs out of her backpack and lets it fall to the floor before she hesitantly comes over and takes a seat on the couch beside me.

What is this place? she asks, rubbing her small, delicate hands together to try and warm them.

The asshole in me starts to tell her the harsh truth about this house; but then I look over, and her sad, watery, blue eyes hit mine so hard the breath is knocked right out of me. Never in my life have I seen such a stunning sapphire color. What’s more potent than the beauty of them is the worry swirling around with a pleading hope that things aren’t as bad as she thinks they are.

So I lie, or at least I leave out the painful truth for now.

Clearing my throat, I say, This is sort of a community center. Food and shelter for us, even clothes when we need them. It’s not so bad. The other boys here are pretty cool and won’t give you too much shit. I’m Cain, by the way.

I’m Gabrielle, and I won’t be here long.

What school were you going to? I ask, rather than argue with her about the length of her stay.

Northeast High, she answers while twirling on a lock of light golden hair that’s hanging next to her face.

Not anymore, I tell her when I go back to shadowing my drawing. You’ll be going to Southern High now.

But I just got used to Northeast. I don’t want to transfer and start all over! she exclaims.

You’re pretty; you’ll make new friends fast, I reply, and then cringe when I realize what I just said. Fuck, if Ivan or Knox heard that, they would never let me live it down.

Um, thanks, Gabrielle says rather than teasing me for letting my opinion on her looks slip. Do you go to Southern too? she asks.

No. I don’t go to school.

Why not?

Because I don’t want to! I snap at her. Dammit, I don’t want to be an asshole to the girl, but I sure as fuck can’t just come out and tell her the truth — that I’m wanted for questioning in a murder.

Then I don’t want to go either, she replies, crossing her arms over her chest.

Yeah, you don’t get a choice. You’ll have to go with Ivan and Knox or you’ll get in trouble.

But you –

Just drop it, okay? I grumble.

Fine, she huffs. Then, What are you drawing?

When she leans over for a closer look at the notebook on my lap, a strand of her long, flowery-scented hair tickles my forearm, causing some sort of chain reaction that ripples through me, all the way down…into my pants.

Oh, an angel, the girl gasps in recognition as her face lights up. She’s beautiful.

A dark angel of death, I correct to protect my teenage masculinity. There’s no beauty in my past, only suffering, and death.

You’re really good, she says. How did you learn to draw like that if you don’t go to school?

Not much else to do around here except workout, play video games or draw, so I draw. A lot, I reply, downplaying how much her compliment warms me. Fuck, how much just her presence on the sofa cushion next to me warms my frigid soul.

Workout? Gabrielle repeats. Aren’t you too young for that?

The earlier we start the better fighters they say we’ll be, I explain.

Fighters? Like my brother is going to fight?

Yeah, probably so, I agree, already hating the bastard. He’s man enough to take hits to his face but too much of a pussy to take care of his sister? Worse than that, he obviously sold her to Scarfone and she has no idea. What a fucking asshole.

When I hear the girl’s stomach rumbling with hunger, I close my notebook and get to my feet, tucking it underneath my arm. Come on. I’ll show you around and introduce you to everyone, then fix you something to eat.

…

Gabby

I’m still angry at my brother for just dropping me off and leaving me at this random house in a shitty part of town. The jerk wouldn’t even walk inside with me.

Ivan, Knox, meet Gabrielle, Cain, the first guy I met here with dark eyes and messy, chestnut-colored hair falling into his eyes, says to the two boys who look my age or a little older. They’re sitting on the floor in front of a television with video game controllers in their hands.

The one with jet-black hair keeps his eyes on the screen, refusing to even look up at me while the other one with hair spiked down the middle streaked red, turns to look at me with a wide grin on his face and says, Fresh meat! Good, I’m starving.

Knox, Cain grumbles what sounds like a warning.

I’m just fucking with her, he replies with a chuckle before his eyes go back to the game where tanks are exploding.

Come on, I’ll let you meet Mrs. Engle, if she’s awake, and then we can make some sandwiches, Cain starts.

Make me one too, bro! the guy with red hair pipes up.

Go fix your own shit, Cain mutters before he leads me out of the room.

At one of the bedrooms, he peeks inside and then shakes his head before we walk past.

She’s asleep. The old bird isn’t able to do much lately so we’re pretty much on our own, he whispers.

As we pass by, I glance over and see a white-haired woman curled up in bed. She looks like she’s in her eighties or nineties.

There are no other adults here? I ask him in concern when we enter the kitchen.

Nope. Just her, Cain says when he goes over to open the fridge and start pulling food out. In his arms is more to eat than I’ve seen in two weeks, making my mouth water and my stomach grumble even louder.

He obviously hears it because his dark eyes lower to my belly before he says, Grab a plate and fix whatever you want.

After he pulls some chips down from a cabinet, I’m unable to resist any longer. I grab a handful of them and start cramming the salty chips into my mouth before I even start working on a sandwich.

Once my turkey and ham is devoured along with the rest of the bag of chips, I ask Cain, who is finishing up eating on the other side of the counter on a barstool, So are there any other girls here?

He shakes his head and chews up his bite of food before answering. Not anymore.

Those two words sound ominous, making the food in my stomach turn sour.

What…what happened to them? I ask.

We’re only allowed to stay here until our eighteenth birthdays, then we have to go to work.

Oh, I mutter in relief since that doesn’t sound so bad.

How old are you? Cain asks.

Fourteen. I’ll be fifteen in August, I answer. How old are you?

Just turned fifteen in December, he says.

Happy belated birthday, I tell him.

Thanks, he grumbles. But birthdays aren’t anything to celebrate here. It means I’m even closer to having to leave. Knox and Ivan can’t wait to get out of this place because they have no idea what’s coming.

What’s coming? I ask in confusion.

We’ll have to fight for them, whenever they fucking tell us to, and probably each other.

Who’s them?

Scarfone and his henchmen, Cain responds.

Just the name sounds scary.

That’s who my brother will be fighting for too? I ask.

Probably. He doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into, Cain replies.

Will he be okay? I ask in concern.

Maybe. I haven’t seen him so I couldn’t tell you if he’ll get his ass beat or not, he tells me with a smirk.

Hey! That’s not a very nice thing to say, I tell him through narrowed eyes.

And I’m not a very nice person. You’ll get used to it, he says. If you’re finished stuffing your face, go grab your shit and I’ll show you where your room is.

I sit there on my stool and stare unblinking at him after his offensive orders. Eventually, he reaches up and grabs a handful of his hair to push it out of his eyes before he asks, Do you want me to show you where the fuck to sleep or not?

Yes, but I’m not doing anything if you’re going to be rude, I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest.

Suit yourself, he says, getting up from his seat to throw his trash away. On the way out of the kitchen, he tells me, Look for the room upstairs with a bunch of pink and purple girly shit in it.

Chapter 3

Cain

During Gabrielle’s first night, I’m not at all surprised by the sniffles coming from across the hallway. Everyone cries their first night here, even me. Not because I was scared but because I was in so much pain and kept hearing the screams in my head…

Hearing Gabrielle’s sniffles turn into sobs is almost as agonizing as that night when I picture the tears running down her beautiful, angelic face.

Ivan and Knox don’t appear to notice since I can hear both of their soft snores from their bunk beds, but mine is closest to the door.

Climbing out from underneath the sheets, I tiptoe down the hallway and into the room that’s empty other than Gabrielle. There have only been two other girls over the few months that I’ve been here and they both just turned eighteen. That means that now they’re working at the club. Neither wanted to leave, knowing what future was ahead of them, but there’s no choice once you walk through the doors here. Scarfone owns us, even pays good money for pretty girls like Gabrielle. So as soon as we become adults, we have to pay him back for giving us a place to stay and feeding us. There are no exceptions.

Hey, I whisper when I step into the dark room. Go to sleep. Those tears won’t do you any good here.

I don’t want…to be here! she hiccups from her bed, curled up in a ball with her back to me.

Did Ivan or Knox say some shit to you? I ask in concern. Don’t listen to Knox. He’s always screwing off and joking with everyone.

No. I just…wanna…I just wanna go home, she answers.

This is your home now. It’s not bad, and it could be worse, I tell her, knowing from experience.

I’m scared, she whispers. And I miss Robbie.

Robbie your brother? I ask as I approach her bed just to keep her talking instead of crying.

Yeah. He’s nineteen. A few months ago, we ran away from home in Columbia, South Carolina and came up here, but then he couldn’t find any work…

When was the last time you ate a whole meal before you got here? I ask her.

A few days ago, she mumbles softly.

See, that’s one thing we’ve got going for us. Here you can eat whatever you want whenever you want it. There’s always tons of food, and Mrs. Engle might be slow but she can cook, I point out to try and cheer her up. Honestly, the endless supply of food was my favorite part when I walked through the doors. I was emaciated, fed only scraps and forced to drink spilled water from the floor like a dog before I ran away.

Robbie’s gonna save some money and come get me soon, she tells me, regurgitating whatever lies he obviously told her.

Look, not to be an asshole, but don’t get your hopes up, I reply. No one gets to leave this place, at least not until you’re eighteen.

No! That’s not…he won’t leave me… Gabrielle argues before she begins crying again even harder.

Please stop crying, I beg when I grab her shoulder. You’ll wake up Mrs. Engle, and she’s old as fuck. She’ll probably break a hip coming up the stairs. The old bat can’t hear worth a shit. But as much noise as this girl is making, she’ll get up to come check on her. Just last week, Ivan found her sprawled out on the kitchen floor after she slipped and fell.

Shhh, it’s okay, I keep telling Gabrielle until her whimpers begin to die down. Go to sleep, I whisper before I pull my hand away from her to return to my room.

Wait, she says when she rolls over and grabs my arm. Will you…will you stay with me tonight?

Eww. This girl wants me to sleep in her bed with her? Knox would give me so much shit if he found out…

Please? she begs so sadly that my decision is instantly made for me.

Will you shut up if I stay? I snap.

Yes, she agrees. I hesitate a few more seconds before I lift the covers and slip into her twin bunk bed. Gabrielle slides over toward the wall to make room.

She’s still facing me once I lay my head on my half of her pillow. Grabbing a handful of the front of my shirt in her fists, she clenches it tightly before her puffs of breath in my face begin to slow and she drifts off to sleep.

That’s when I know I could pry her fingers off my tee and sneak back to my bed, but I don’t. She’s so close I can feel the warmth radiating from her body, and she smells sweet like flowers.

I must drift off to sleep fast, because the next time I crack my eyes open the sun is rising outside the bedroom window. It’s unfortunately not the only thing rising. I definitely need to leave before anyone else wakes up and catches me in here or Gabrielle wakes up and slaps me.

The sad girl is no longer grasping my shirt. Instead, she’s facing the wall and I’m molded to her backside with my arm thrown over her waist.

That’s not even the most embarrassing thing.

My dick is pressed into the swell of her curvy bottom and it’s rock hard. I’m surprised Gabrielle hasn’t yet noticed or complained about how it’s trying to drill its way inside her.

When she squirms in her sleep, causing friction on my hard-on, I nearly come in my athletic shorts. The pain is so excruciating that I can’t take another second of it.

I jump up out of bed and go straight to the shower where I touch myself to make it go away.

…

Gabby

Maybe this place won’t be so bad after all.

That’s my first thought when I wake up in a strange bed, alone in an unfamiliar bedroom.

At least I’m not starving. And last night was the first time I had ever slept in the same bed with someone else. It was…nice. More than nice to know that Cain was there and I wasn’t completely alone.

And then this morning, when I felt his lower body protruding into my backside…well, that was a brand-new and exciting sensation. His shorts were thin, so his entire hard length was noticeable. The contact caused a warm, tingling ache to spread through my lower belly and made my skin feel like it was overheating. I’m not entirely sure what it was, but I do know that I want more of it again and soon.

After just knowing Cain for a day, I’m starting to think there’s more to him than the tough exterior he portrays. He must have lost his parents or be a runaway if he ended up here with those two other boys. I wonder how long they’ve all been here. Guess I’ll have to ask them.

Once I’ve had a shower and changed into one of the few outfits I have in my backpack, the smell of bacon has me jogging down the stairs to find breakfast.

Morning, dear, Mrs. Engle says when I step into the kitchen. I finally got to meet the sweet little white-haired lady last night at dinner after she woke from her nap. The three guys are already sitting around the long, wooden dining table, shoveling food into their mouths.

Morning, I reply.

How did you sleep? she asks.

Glancing quickly over at Cain whose eyes remain lowered on his plate, I tell her, Pretty great actually.

Well, good. You let me know if you need more blankets, okay?

I stayed warm, but thank you, I tell her.

Fix yourself a plate. Ivan and Knox are about to go off to school. You should go with them and get registered.

Yeah, sure, I agree as I grab a plate from the counter and start piling up some eggs, bacon, and toast.

There’s an open seat at the table next to Cain, but I don’t take it because I get the feeling he wouldn’t appreciate me crowding him, especially in front of the other two guys. Instead, I take the one next to the black-haired boy who doesn’t say much.

So, how long have you all been staying here? I ask as we eat, just to break up the silence.

Forever, Knox, the guy with red streaks in his hair, says. And I’m not sure if he’s serious or being sarcastic. Ivan’s been here for two years, and Cain just got here a few months ago.

Oh, I mutter in surprise. I want to ask how they got here but figure that might be pushing my luck. So, you’re all training to fight? I ask.

Yep, Knox answers before using his fork to point at my plate. Eat faster or we’re gonna be late.

Taking the hint, I scarf down every delicious crumb, then thank Mrs. Engle for cooking before I grab my backpack and follow the guys out the door. Cain doesn’t say a word to any of us when we leave, although, when I sneak a peek over my shoulder, I find his eyes on me. The frown on his face makes him look sad like he wished he could go with us, which is crazy since I would do anything to get out of starting a new high school in the middle of the year.

Why doesn’t Cain go to school? I ask Ivan and Knox as we walk along the sidewalk with me in the middle.

They say he can’t. Lucky SOB, Knox replies. Not sure what’s up with that, though.

Must be wanted, the silent kid speaks up and says, the first words I’ve ever heard him say.

Whatever, Knox mutters. Ivan swears Cain’s a criminal on the run or some shit. I figure he probably just got suspended for brawling and can’t go back to school for another year.

That would make sense, I agree. "More so than him being wanted," I tease the quiet kid, hoping to get a response from him, but he keeps his eyes straight ahead and doesn’t smile.

Anyway, Knox starts. Just keep your head down in your classes. There are a lot of jock dickheads running around campus, and the girls aren’t much better.

Yeah, okay. So, it’s pretty much like every other school? I ask as the tall building with an American flag flying out front comes into view.

Pretty much, except with probably more drugs and criminals. You’re in the Italian mafia district now, sweet cheeks, Knox tells me as we approach. And again, I don’t know whether or not to take him seriously.

The Italian mafia? I repeat in disbelief. Those guys are just in the movies, right?

They’re real, Ivan speaks up and says. And they own us.

I assume he means him and Knox; but before I can ask, we reach our destination. Some kids are standing around in groups smoking cigarettes while others are rushing inside the building to get out of the cold.

Grabbing my arm to pull me to a stop, Knox whispers, If anyone messes with you, just tell them you’re one of Scarfone’s girls.

But I’m not, I reply with my brow furrowed in confusion.

Uh, right, yeah. Don’t worry about that right now. Just remember the name, okay? he asks.

Yeah, Scarfone. Got it, I agree.

The office is just inside on the left. They’ll get you registered and give you a schedule. Meet you here after the bell?

Ah, yeah, I agree nervously because I hate being in a new place with a bunch of strangers. Not for the first time, I start to wonder if up and leaving home with Robbie was a huge mistake. But I guess new and different is better than the old and familiar hell of a single mother who sold everything we’ve ever owned for her nasty drug habit. When she owed her dealer more than she could pay, he threatened to come after Robbie and me, so leaving town was our only option.

Hopefully, things will calm down soon so that we can go home.

Chapter 4

Cain

I’m on edge all day, thinking about Gabrielle and wondering how things are going at school.

And for the first time, I actually wish I could go too like a regular teenager. That way I could be there to make sure no one fucks with her.

At the gym, I keep an eye out for the piece of shit who sold his sister. It doesn’t take long to spot him in the boxing ring, sparring with Vaughan, one of the coaches. Robbie’s hair is a little darker blond than his sister’s but there’s certainly a resemblance. He’s taller than I am by several inches and probably has thirty or forty pounds on me. I may not be able to take him one on one right now, but someday I’m gonna kick his ass for sentencing his sister to this god-awful life.

After I finish weightlifting, I pull up my black hoodie and start in the direction of the campus to check on her. But just a block from the building, I talk myself out of it.

The heat is still on me because of the fire, so it’s not worth risking someone recognizing me from the news. At the gym, I’m safe because they’re all Scarfone’s guys who would never rat, but anywhere else and I could be spotted, setting myself up for a world of trouble.

Back at the house, I try to sit down in the den and draw. Unlike most days when the dark images are trying to fight their way out of my head and onto the page, today I’m coming up empty.

Well, not exactly empty.

There’s one thing that I can’t get out of my head, so eventually, I give in and sketch her, remembering in detail the heart shape of her face, the slope of her feminine nose, the way her pink bottom lip is fuller than the top.

Usually, I only draw in black and white, but for Gabby, I need colored pencils to do her justice. That’s the only way to capture how beautiful and angelic she is with her pale blonde hair, dark lashes, and eyebrows that make her bright cerulean eyes stand out even more…

Fuck.

Once the picture is finished, I look down at it and feel like the biggest pussy on the planet for drawing her. What if Ivan or Knox find my notebook and see this shit? I’d be the laughing stock at the gym with all the guys, big ass dudes I’ll have to fight in just a few years.

Even though it pains me to do it, I rip the thick sheet of paper out of the notebook and start shredding it into tiny pieces before I go dump them in the kitchen trashcan.

Bracing my palms on the counter, I close my eyes and hang my head to try and rid myself of this stupid, juvenile obsession with a girl I just met yesterday. It’s so damn ridiculous that I’m ashamed of myself for how I’ve been thinking about her, especially the filthy fantasies I woke up to this morning and thought about in the shower when I was jerking off.

Gabrielle is certainly not the first girl I’ve thought was sexy and wanted to fuck, but thinking about her that way just seems wrong. She’s not much younger than me but she’s one hundred percent innocent, and I’m…a murderer who doesn’t deserve to lay a hand on her. I shouldn’t have slept in her bed. I’m so fucked up it could rub off on her, and she’s so bright and sweet that she doesn’t deserve to have even a speck of my darkness tainting her.

…

Gabby

This school is…dangerous.

I had no idea how calm and quiet the high school in my hometown was until today.

During my American History class, I was asked to pass some sort of white powder in a baggie to the girl sitting behind me. At lunch, I sat at the end of a table with a group of kids, and even four chairs down I could smell the alcohol from their water bottles.

And at the end of the day, just when I’m tossing my Algebra textbook in my locker, a fight breaks out behind me between two big guys.

One of them slams into my back, causing my forehead to crash into the edge of my open locker door, leaving me with one hell of a headache and a big knot.

Whoa! Knox says when I walk up to meet him and Ivan on the sidewalk out front when I’m able to escape the chaos in the building. What the fuck happened to you?

Ugh, I groan, reaching up to brush my fingers over the growing egg that’s pounding with every beat of my heart. Some guys were fighting in the hallway, and I ended up becoming collateral damage, I explain.

Who was it? Ivan asks, his hazel eyes cutting over to the school and his fists clenched at his sides.

No clue. Haven’t learned everyone’s name yet, I tell him. Anyway, it was an accident. Let’s just go home.

Home.

Am I already referring to that house as a home?

That’s ridiculous.

Who knows? If we can’t go back to Columbia, maybe in a week or so Robbie will have a job and be able to afford for us to get a place of our own here in town.

Otherwise, how was your first day? Knox asks as the three of us start walking, again with me in the middle.

It was…different, I answer. Nothing like my previous school, or even the one I went to across town for a few weeks.

I bet not. It’s a rough place, but you’ll get used to it, Knox says. At least the teachers are pretty lenient. Not much time to teach shit when they’re constantly dealing with a bunch of fools.

Guess there’s that, I reply with a smile.

Come on, we’ll go in the back way. Mrs. Engle usually has cookies ready for us when we get home before we head to the gym, Knox tells me over his shoulder as he leads the way to the back door. I can smell the sugar cookies as soon as he opens it.

Fuck yes, Knox says, seeing the tray piled high with cookies on the dining table.

Cain comes into the kitchen before I can grab one. What the fuck happened to her? he shouts.

Some guys were fighting and bumped into me, I tell him as he comes closer to look at my head. It’s no biggie.

Did you kick their asses? Cain asks, turning to Knox and Ivan, who are unable to answer because their mouths are both full of cookies.

Knox shakes his head until he swallows, then he shrugs. Don’t know who it was.

Then you find the fuck out! Cain yells at him before he storms over and bursts out the back door.

Fuck, Ivan mutters around his cookie.

We better go with him, Knox says, grabbing two more cookies. Stay here. We’ll be back soon, he tells me before he and Ivan jog out the back door.

Chapter 5

Cain

D ude, I don’t know why you’re a hermit, but I doubt kicking someone’s ass in the middle of the afternoon will help your situation, Knox rambles as I storm toward the school.

Won’t take long, and you can do the talking to figure out who it was, I tell him, pulling my hoodie up to cover some of my face.

And then you’re gonna kick their ass? he asks.

Fuck yes.

It was an accident, Knox says.

Yeah, because the assholes didn’t take that shit outside, I tell him, fuming because of that fucking huge red welt on Gabrielle’s gorgeous face. She was perfect and innocent, and they hurt her.

It takes a few minutes for Knox to find an eyewitness, but he finally gets the names of the two brawlers, along with their home addresses.

The three of us decide it’s probably best to wait until dark before we show up at their houses and give them a beat down.

I can’t believe you let someone touch her on the first day! I tell them as we sit on the rail of the bridge near fuck face number one’s house.

Look, bro, we had classes and shit of our own. We can’t follow her around like a shadow every second of the day, Knox replies. And now my and Ivan’s asses are sitting here instead of working out, so Vaughan’s gonna chew us out tomorrow.

Well, these fuckers need to know they better stay the hell away from Gabrielle, I say as I eye the apartment building off in the distance.

Damn, you really wanna hit that, don’t you? Knox asks.

Shut the fuck up, I snap through gritted teeth before I shove his shoulder so hard he has to jump down onto the road.

Hey, I don’t blame you, he says, looking up at me with palms out in surrender. I wouldn’t turn down a chance to sleep with her either.

I didn’t – I start to say but Ivan interrupts from beside me.

Yes, you did, he says with a chuckle. Saw you leaving her room this morning.

Better go by planned parenthood and stock up on condoms before we head back tonight, Knox suggests.

I’m not gonna fuck her, I tell him.

Yeah, you are, both dickheads say simultaneously.

"You’re tracking down two dudes to whoop their asses for giving the girl you just met yesterday a bruise on accident. And she wanted you to sleep in her bed last night, Knox responds. That’s got one-way ticket to Bone Town written all over it."

Whatever, I grumble. "You two just need to worry about making sure no one touches her at school or I’ll kick your asses."

Sir, yes, sir! Knox replies, straightening and giving me a military salute that makes me roll my eyes.

The guys are wrong, because no matter how much I want Gabrielle, that’s a line I refuse to cross. Yeah, I may want to fuck her, and I bet it would be fucking amazing, but I could still get picked up by the police any day now and then everything would go to hell.

I can’t take the risk of starting something with her and then getting locked up, but I don’t think I’ll ever be strong enough to refuse to sleep in her bed with her.

A few minutes later, the three of us go up and knock on an apartment door. When the dickhead answers, I knock his lights out before he knows what hit him. At the second house, the bastard tries to run, so I tackle him on his living room floor.

What’s your problem? the fucker asks. I ain’t got any money or dope.

You got into a fight at school today, I tell him as I dig my knee into his back and squeeze his neck. And because you were both being dumbasses, you hurt an innocent girl. This is your punishment.

Turning the asshole over, I pummel him with both fists, fucking up his face like he marked Gabrielle’s pretty one. Not that it made her less beautiful, I just can’t stand to see anyone so gentle and sweet get hurt.

That’s enough, man, Knox says as he pulls on my shoulder to make me stop hitting the guy sprawled and bloody on the floor.

He’s right. I’ve made the fucker pay, so hopefully he’ll think twice before swinging punches with women around. I wish someone would have taught my mom’s boyfriend that lesson in life…

Come on, let’s go, Knox says when I get to my feet again.

On the short walk home, I flex both of my hands and wince at the sting from my bleeding, busted knuckles. Tomorrow, they’ll probably be so swollen I won’t be able to hold a pencil to draw, but it’s worth it to teach the assholes a lesson tonight.

The guys and I are a block away from the house when, from the corner of my eye, I spot a patch of something else crimson, rare and beautiful this time of year, standing out underneath the street lights.

You guys go on, I’ll be right there, I tell Ivan and Knox because I don’t need any more of their ribbing for shit tonight.

Hurry up, Knox mutters before they go on ahead of me and I pull out my pocket knife.

…

Gabby

After icing my swollen noggin for a while, it seems to have stopped growing. In the upstairs bathroom, I turn my head to the side to examine it in the mirror and realize it’s now turning shades of blue, which is even more hideous. Oh well, at least it’ll be gone in a few days.

I decide to go ahead and change into my pajamas since it’s getting late. The guys still aren’t back yet after Cain stormed out earlier, which sucks because it meant I was alone in the house with a sleeping Mrs. Engle all afternoon. She must have sensed that the guys were gonna be out for a while, because she didn’t bother making dinner and just gave me a few twenties and told me to call in a pizza. I ordered several, figuring the guys would be hungry whenever they got home.

Back in the bedroom, I tidy up my dirty clothes, dumping them into the hamper Mrs. Engle put in the closet for me, then I turn off the light and pull back the covers to climb in bed. My head hits the pillow before I smell it — flowers.

What the – Bolting up from the mattress, I sit up and feel around the pillowcase. Finally, my fingertips come across the long, smooth stem and I lift the flower up to my nose to inhale a deep breath of the fresh scent. An enormous smile stretches across my face at the sweet gesture.

I hear Cain clear his throat before he speaks, nothing more than a dark shadow in the doorway, but I’m certain it’s him. Are you okay? I mean, I didn’t know if…

Come in. I could use some company, I tell him without hesitation. The house has been lonely tonight.

Yeah, sorry, he says as his voice gets closer.

Where did you go? I ask, but he stays silent, refusing to answer. Thank you for the flower. A rose, right? I ask since it’s too dark in my room to see it.

Yeah, he replies. I cut off all the thorns.

I love flowers, I tell him, taking another whiff of the bloom. And roses are my favorite.

My mom liked flowers too, especially red roses, Cain says, but he doesn’t add anything more or climb into bed.

I keep talking just to keep him from leaving because I’m too embarrassed to just ask him to sleep with me again tonight. You know, I totally get why people take flowers to the hospital when a friend is sick, or to a funeral when a family member dies. That’s why I want to work in a flower shop, making beautiful arrangements and delivering them to see the smiles they put on people’s faces, I admit to him, twirling the rose around in my fingers. "It’s not like flowers have magical healing abilities or anything, but they do help. No matter how bad things are, you can always look at the bright, colorful flowers you received from someone and know for certain that you have at least one person out there thinking about you."

Yeah, guess so, Cain mumbles. But flowers didn’t help my mom when she was in the hospital. She got sick, and then she, um, she died.

She did? I ask, my heart breaking in half for him. Is that how you ended up here?

I ran away, he responds.

Oh. I’m so sorry, Cain.

Yeah, thanks, he mutters. Well, goodnight, Gabrielle…

You can just call me Gabby, I say. Before he can leave, I reach out blindly with my free hand to find his and stop him. He hisses at the contact.

Sorry, I tell him, realizing I must have hurt him.

When I start to pull away, though, he grabs my hand and squeezes it before he finally lets go and says, Move over.

Grinning even though he can’t see it, I scoot backward toward the wall to make room for him. Once he’s settled in on the pillow just inches away, I ask, What happened to your hand?

I hit the guys who hurt you.

You did? I say in surprise, not just because he hit them for me but because I don’t even know who they were.

Yeah, he mutters. They deserved it.

I could make the argument that they didn’t, that it was an accident, but I think it’s…sweet of him to stand up for me.

I hate that you hurt yourself for me, I tell him. Reaching for his hand that’s next to his face, I gently lift it and bring it to my lips to kiss it.

It’ll heal, he says like it’s no big deal.

Thank you, Cain, I say, before I release his hand and tuck mine underneath my cheek. So, is that why you can’t go to school? Because you got into a fight with someone else who deserved it? I guess, remembering the conversation with Knox and Ivan this morning.

No.

I wait for an explanation, but it never comes.

You’re not gonna tell me what you did to get kicked out of school?

No, he answers. I’ve already told you more than I’ve ever told anyone.

That makes me happy, even if he won’t answer more of my questions.

Certain from his tone that he won’t tell me any more, I say, So, I guess we should get some sleep.

Yeah, we should. Good night, Gabby, Cain replies.

Night, I say, and then I roll over so that my back is to his front, the rose still in my hand so that I can smell it all night.

Just as I had hoped, Cain moves closer until he’s pressed against my backside with an arm thrown around my waist. It doesn’t take long before I feel him get hard against my bottom. So I guess that means he must like the way my body feels. I try to get up the nerve to move his hand underneath my pajama top, but then he apologizes.

Sorry, he grumbles. Just ignore that. It happens to every guy at night and in the mornings.

Oh, I mutter in disappointment.

So, I guess I was wrong. He doesn’t want me that way. And now I really feel like an idiot for thinking he might.

…

Cain

The next few days Gabby begins to settle in like the rest of us. For the following nights, I don’t even try to sleep in my own bed. After I experienced it, the thought of not being next to Gabby’s warmth is unimaginable. And I really like being needed by someone for the very first time. Having that purpose fills me with something I’ve been missing my whole life.

By the end of her first week at the house, she has me trained like a puppy; and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She may have been sad because she missed her brother and she refused to give up on the idea of him coming to get her, but I prayed each night for the opposite. I wanted to keep her beside me for as long as I possibly could.

Even in twenty or thirty years from now, I’ll never forget the day Gabby walked through the front door of our home for orphans and misfits, and into my life. Her long, golden hair shined like a beacon, and then her blue eyes hit me with the force of a tidal wave. From that second I knew I would do anything for her.

Gabby was both my ray of sunshine in a bleak existence and my rainbow painted across the sky after a dark and cruel storm. Her warmth, beauty, and innocence even at fourteen called to me to protect her from the reality of our harsh world. She had no idea about the life she had just walked into.

Within days, Gabby even had Knox and Ivan wrapped around her little finger. The three of us would become the brothers she needed thanks to the piece of shit biological brother she had. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for her, but she was mine. I was the one who got to hold her each and every night.

There was nowhere else I would rather be for the next three years, until my eighteenth birthday when I’ll have to leave her.

And while I may ache to be more than her friend or her protector, deep down I know that Gabby deserves so much better than a murderer like me.

That’s why I’ll always keep my hands off of her even if it’s the worst torture imaginable, and do whatever it takes to keep Gabby safe, especially from the truth.

Chapter 6

Gabby

Three years later…

T ake me with you! I beg Cain in the darkness, clutching the front of his soft cotton t-shirt in both of my fists as we lie facing each other, just like every night since my first one here. But tomorrow he turns eighteen and the mafia goons will come for him, the same as they did with Knox and then Ivan on their birthdays.

You know I would if I could, angel, Cain whispers, keeping his voice low since there are two younger girls sleeping in my room now, unlike when I first got here three years ago.

His refusal reminds me of the same words Robbie told me when he dropped me off at the front door. That I couldn’t stay with him while he was training to fight. That no girls are allowed there, but he would save up his money and come back for me when he could afford his own place.

That obviously never happened.

Three years later and Robbie’s still fighting for Mario Guerra who took over after Vito Scarfone went to prison. I get to see my brother whenever I want, but he’s always at the gym training and still lives in the men-only dorms.

If you leave me here like my brother did, I’ll never forgive you, I tell Cain, tears threatening to overflow from my eyes.

I have to go, and you have to stay. That’s how it has to be, Gabby! he replies. "If I take you with me or if you run away, they will find you, and then you’ll wish you were dead."

We leave here all the time and nothing happens, I point out.

"Because that’s temporary. We always come back every night