Capture

"Yup." Lincoln reached for my purse and a jacket then grabbed a cap.

"Wow, never thought I'd see the day," Zane said under his breath.

"What was that?" Linc snapped.

"It's going to be a beautiful day." Zane smiled in my direction. Then, when Linc turned back around to open the door, he winked.

A white limo waited out front, back passenger door open and attended by an elderly man in a black suit and white gloves.

"Hope you don't mind," Linc said at my side. "But since you've never ridden in one, I thought, why not try and see if your car-riding experience gets better."

Happy that he'd done something so thoughtful, I had to hold back a squeal of delight as we piled into the plus-stretch limo.

The minute my butt hit those soft leather seats, I wanted to sigh and then take a really long nap. For some reason, maybe because the shape was different, but riding in the limo didn't affect me the way riding in a car did. My anxiety hadn't shot through the roof, and I wasn't ready to scream.

Wordlessly, Lincoln handed me a bottled water. I took a hit and watched as he clenched and unclenched his fist then shook it in the air.

I typed out a text then nudged him with my foot.

He glanced at his phone and smiled.

Dani: WTH was that?

"That? That was life."

And what? In life you were allowed to punch people at six in the morning?

Dani: Are you guys friends?

Lincoln snorted and took a long sip of coffee, his eyes piercing as he stared me down. "We're… amicable."

Big word.

It sucked that he had to miss out on all my lovely sarcasm just because I couldn't say it out loud, though I was sure the eye rolling and scowling was helpful.

"My sister… you may have heard of her, Angelica Greene? She's been after him for months, finally cornered him, and he may have turned her down…"

I frowned. So? Normal people got turned down all the time.

"In front of the media, and let's just say his words weren't kind, no matter how true. Shortly after that, according to my sources, she nearly relapsed, though she's good now. He's apologized, but I told him that I still had to defend her honor, so he said I could punch him next time I saw him."

Dani: Guys are stupid.

He burst out laughing. "Yeah well, nobody really defends Angelica… probably because nobody really likes her, and she's a bit crazy. But I'm her brother. It's my job to be protective. So the punches? He deserved them, even if he was right to turn her down."

I frowned.

"What?" Linc leaned forward. "What's on that pretty mind of yours?"

I would not react to his words.

My body didn't listen as a shiver ran down my spine while I typed out another message.

Dani: He doesn't seem to be the type to turn anyone or anything down.

A knowing look crossed over Linc's face as his eyes met mine. "I don't know, looks can be very deceiving. Especially in our business. I think you'd be surprised."

Hmm.

"Hey." Linc snapped his fingers in front of my face. "No. I know that look. Don't go there. He asks you out, you say 'hell, no' and run in the other direction."

I giggled and shook my head as if to say "Yeah right."

"I'm serious." Lincoln set down his coffee and popped his knuckles. "Don't give me another reason to kick his ass."

I huffed.

"I mean, you're seventeen." Did he know any other numbers? Seriously? "He wouldn't dream of it, but still…"

The words stole the breath from my lungs.

He wouldn't dream of it because why? Because of my age? Or because I was mute? Or was I really just being that oversensitive?

"I mean…" Lincoln crossed his ankles, uncrossed them, fidgeted in his seat then looked at his phone. "… it's illegal and… shit."

Dani: You're making me uncomfortable.

"Yeah, well that makes two of us," he said under his breath. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I think I'm going to lay down for a few, alright?"

I nodded.

And tried not to watch him as he slowly lay down and put his baseball cap over his face, covering up his sinful mouth.

Was he really going to sleep?

I was tired, but not so tired that I was able to sleep or be that comfortable in his presence. Instead, I was left feeling a bit sick to my stomach.

I always tried to put on a brave face. And I'd like to think I'd done a really good job with it. The car swerved a bit. I gripped the leather with both hands and tried to ignore the sting of tears.

He hadn't made me uncomfortable.

He'd hurt me, and he didn't even realize it. Every time he said seventeen, it was like he was throwing my age back into my face. Most people live their entire lives without going through what I'd gone through, not that I was feeling sorry for myself, but he treated me like a kid.

When really? Sometimes I felt like I was an eighty-year-old woman, hiding out in her house, waiting for the rest of the world to pass by.

Waiting to die.

My stomach sank even more. Because really, that was how I felt sometimes, and the guilt at feeling that was more than I could bear. I needed to be happy for Pris, for Jay, for the new little baby on the way.

My feelings felt selfish because they were.

And it was stupid of me to think I could suddenly just be okay, but sometimes I felt like I was only going through the motions. I brushed my teeth because I had to. I ate because I had to, which my therapist had said meant I actually wanted to live.