I remain silent as West carries me down the hallway and into the living room. He stays silent too, but I can tell he’s nervous by his erratic breathing. I want to know why he’s nervous, if he heard anything that guy said to me. Or maybe he’s freaked out because I tried to choke the guy.

Oh my god, I tried to kill someone!

I want to make excuses for myself, but the truth is, ever since my parents died, a bit of a violent streak surfaced inside me. Sure, I’ve never tried to kill anyone before, but I’ve definitely done my fair share of punching. Was that all a build up to an explosion? Am I some sort of monster?

A faint memory tickles the back of my mind, one I didn’t even know existed.

“Alexis, I need to tell you something,” my mom whispers into my ear.

I can’t see her, only hear her, as I lie in my bed with my eyes shut. I’m angry at her because she got upset with me for yelling at my brother. He had stolen my toy and I got so mad at him I yelled, which was strange. I rarely yell. I’m actually a pretty quiet girl except for on a few occasions where I lose control. I don’t know why I feel this way sometimes—possessed by anger. Sometimes I worry I’m broken. And it doesn’t help that sometimes my mom looks at me like I am a monster, like she did today.

“What?” I mumble, refusing to open my eyes. Even though I don’t want to admit it, her looking at me like I was a monster made me worry that my fears are actually truths. And it hurt me deeply.

Her hand touches my back, but I refuse to open my eyes. “I know you’re mad at me, but I need you to understand that I’m just worried.”

“Yeah, I know,” I mutter. “You’re worried I’m a monster.”

“No, that’s not it at all.” Honesty rings in her tone. “I’m worried one day the monsters will come after you if they ever find you.”

My eyelids open, but I don’t roll over to look at her. “What do you mean?”

She sighs heavily. “I just want you to be careful. No matter what happens, be careful. And stay away from any monsters. They could easily taint you with their poison.” Her hand left my back.

A moment later I roll over, only to find her gone. And I’m left wondering if I’d dreamt the entire thing. After all, why would my mom warn me of monsters when monsters didn’t exist?

I blink back to reality as West gently sets me down onto the sofa.

But what if my mom wasn’t talking about actual monsters? What if she meant it metaphorically? And that talk about poison…

“West, did you hear anything that guy said to me?” I ask as he tucks a pillow underneath my head.

He swallows hard and then nods. “I heard the end of it as I was waking up.”

“Did he… Am I…” I can’t even get the words out so I focus on another question. “How was that guy so strong?”

West stares down at me, letting his fingertips trace along my hairline. “He was probably drugged up.”

My hands burn from holding onto the chain so tightly and I curl my fingers inward. “By what?”

He sinks down onto the edge of the sofa with a wary look on his face. “This world that me, Steel, and Ellis live in is tainted by drugs. And not just your average street drugs. Powerful, deadly drugs that most people haven’t heard of.”

“And that guy was on one of those drugs?”

He nods, resting a hand beside my head. “He must have somehow taken them without us knowing, because he wasn’t even close to being that strong when I brought him here.”

“I can’t believe there’s a drug that can make someone that strong.” And that I managed to take that guy on. I shiver, unsure if I’m more scared of the drug or myself.

“There’s worse out there.” He rests his other hand next to the side of my head and leans over me. “We’ve done a lot of jobs where we tried to shut down the facilities that create these drugs, but as quickly as we get them shut down, three more are already created. It’s a vicious cycle that sadly we have no control over.”

“Why would anyone want to take those drugs, though, unless they were like fighting professionally or something.”

“There’s a lot more reasons than just that.” He pauses, seeming undecided about something. “One being to carry through with assassinations.”

My eyes widen. “You think that guy’s an assassin. But who would he be assassinating…” I suddenly remember how the guy screamed, must destroy, as he ran at me. “Was he trying to kill me?”

Worry flashes across his expression. “I don’t know yet.”

“Why would he want to kill me?” I whisper, feeling as though the life I once knew is crumbling apart. Maybe it didn’t even exist in the first place.”

“I don’t know,” he says. “But I promise you we’ll figure it out.”

I press my lips together, fighting back the tears that want to spill out of my eyes. I’ve never been a crier and I’m not about to start now. “He said the drugs he put inside me are going to eventually kill me. He called it the kiss of evil or something like that.”

“I know. I heard.” West smooths my hair out of my eyes, a crease forming between his brows.

I fight back the urge to let my eyelashes flutter. “Did you already know that?”

“No. When Ellis ran the blood work, your system showed devil’s poison in you, which is a strong tranquilizer. So strong in fact that sometimes it can stop other drugs from showing up in a person’s system until it’s too late.”

“So he put devil’s poison in me to hide this kiss of evil stuff.” Maybe that’s why I’ve been overheating so much.

He wavers. “Possibly.”

My lungs begin to constrict but I still refuse to cry. “Am I going to die? Because I’ve felt strange since the moment I woke up.”

West hastily shakes his head. “No, you’re going to be fine. And it’s normal to feel strange after being tranquilized.”

“But the guy said that drug would kill me.”

“But there’s an antidote for it.”

I perk up slightly. “You have it?”

His gaze burns fiercely. “No, but I’m going to get it.”

I nod, but worry stirs inside me. “Do you think… Do you think that’s why I was able to take that guy down… Because I have these drugs in my system?”

“It could be.” But he seems doubtful, as if he’s hiding something from me.

“You’re lying to me about something,” I say, searching his eyes for the truth.

“I’m not lying about anything,” he tells me. “But I’m not telling you everything either.”

Anger flickers inside my chest. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to worry you unless I have to.”

“I’m already worried.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be.” He cups my cheek and carries my gaze firmly. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

I want to ask him if he’s doing this because of his job or if he really does care about me. I think back to those moments in the car where he touched me.

As if sensing my thoughts, he leans in, as if to kiss me. But at the very last second, he moves to the side and presses his lips against the side of my neck. Then he begins sucking while gently grazing his teeth along my skin.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he whispers and then bites at my skin again. “No matter what happens. I swear to God, I’ll let myself die first.”

Another bite against my neck sends my back bowing upward and a whimper falters from my lips. West groans, slipping his hand behind my back. Then he presses me closer while making a path of kisses up my neck to my jawline, pausing only when he nears my lips. He slants back slightly to meet my gaze, a heated look blazing in his eyes.

Confusion swarms my mind as I stare up at him. This is West, my frenemy, the guy who I’ve spent hours bickering with. He’s friends with the guy I thought I was in love with. Yet I want to kiss him. Badly. Perhaps the need is stemming from shock. Perhaps I’ve lost my damn mind. Whatever the reason, I remain still, waiting.

His tongue slips out of his mouth, wetting his lips, then he leans in. Closer, closer, closer. When our lips brush, my body trembles. I’d be embarrassed but West seems a bit shaky himself.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he whispers against my mouth. “Fuck, I’ve wanted this.”

What?

Before I can even process what he said, a throat clears, ruining the moment.

West lets out a frustrated grunt that seriously is sexy as hell. Then he moves back and glares at Ellis, who’s standing at the end of the hallway, seeming uneasy.

“We have a problem,” he tells West.

“Tell me something I don’t already know.” West’s jaw is set tight as he shakes his head. “What is it this time?”

Ellis’s gaze wanders toward me and then he gulps. “Maybe we should talk in private.”

“I thought we already discussed this.” I push West back so I can sit up. Then I cross my arms and stare him down. “If you’re talking about me, I want to hear.”

Ellis looks at West and West sighs.

“Just say it, man,” he tells Ellis.

Ellis releases a deafening breath. “We got the guy to talk some more and he told us that a hits been put out on Alexis. That Hacker Hearts Anonymous put one out on her. That’s why he’s here.” He points up the hallway. “That’s why he tried to kill her.”

If I thought my heart was pounding before, I was wrong. Now it’s pounding a million miles a minute, as if it’s trying to escape my chest. I don’t blame the damn thing. I’ve got deadly drugs in my system and some hacker group trying to kill me.”

West doesn’t seem as shocked as I thought he would be. “So that means even after we get the antidote, they’re still going to come after her.” He lets out a string of curses while getting to his feet and raking his fingers through his hair. “Fuck, this is bad.”

“I think that might be an understatement,” Ellis says, pressing his fingertips to the brim of his nose.

“Did he say why they put a hit on her?” West asks. “And is her sister safe?”

I straighten, my gaze snapping to West. “My sister… You mean Zhara?” I shake my head. “No, there’s no way anyone would go after her. That girl’s a fucking saint.”

Worry and a drop of guilt fill West’s eyes. “Being a saint has nothing to do with this.”

“What’re you not telling me?” I stand up and face him. “Is something going on with Zhara?”

He gives an uneven nod. “She kind of has a thing going with another group in the organization.”

I’m taken aback. No, more than that. I feel like I just stepped into the Twilight Zone. “What do you mean a thing? Wait, how long have you been keeping this from me?”

“I just found out earlier today.” West reaches out to take my hand, but I step out of his reach.

I don’t even know why. It’s not like I’m afraid of him or anything. I’m just freaking out and need some breathing space. Unfortunately, Ellis has moved up behind me so I only end up bumping into him.

“Relax.” Ellis begins massaging my shoulders. “No one’s going to hurt you. Zhara is okay. We’re going to get the antidote. And then we’re going to figure out why a hit has been put on you.”

I glance over my shoulder at him. “That seems like a lot of work to do for a girl you barely know.”

He shrugs, a soft smile gracing his lips. “What can I say. I have a soft spot for feisty girls.”

“I’m not feisty,” I protest. “I’m a strong, confident woman.”

West snorts a laugh. “A strong, confident, feisty woman perhaps.”

I glower at him, but I’m veering toward smiling. “Whatever, weird, alpha male, control freak.”

He presses his hand to his heart, feigning being hurt. “Hey, I’m not controlling.”

Ellis chokes on a laugh, causing a smile to break across my face.

“No, the old West wasn’t controlling,” I quip. “This new West definitely seems like a bit of a control freak.”

His expression softens as he takes my hand. “Alexis, I’m still the same guy as I always was. The only difference is now you know about my job.”

I shake my head. “You’re not the same. You’re bossy and you keep…” Kissing me. I clear my throat. “And you called me baby! What the hell was that about?”

He watches me intently. “Yeah, that sort of accidentally slipped out.”

“Well, don’t do it again,” I say. “It’s weird.”

“Are you sure?” he questions, seeming a bit nervous.

I open my mouth to say…. Well, I’m not really sure, but then Steel strolls into the room. He takes one look at Ellis massaging my shoulders and West holding my hand and then he cocks a brow.

“Why do you guys look like you’re preparing to have a threesome?” he asks. “I mean, I’m cool with it and everything, but Ellis and West have never really been threesome sort of guys.” He grins. “Me on the other hand…”

West heaves a tired sigh. “So, is he out?”

Steel nods once. “For now.”

I glance back and forth between the two of them. “What does that mean?”

“It’s better if you don’t know, sweetheart,” Steel says with a dark look in his eyes.

I don’t know why, but I swear he’s said this to me before.

I want to demand that he not call me sweetheart, but the challenging way he’s staring at me, as if daring me to utter those exact words, has me feeling all squirrely.

West clears his throat, clearing the tension building between Steel and I. “We need to get the antidote and then start digging into Hacker Hearts Anonymous and see if we can figure out why they put out a hit on Alexis.”

Steel stares at me. “Maybe we should ask her first? Maybe she knows why they’re after her.”

I remember…

I remember…

I remember…

Remember what?

Don’t. Utter. A word.

The voice inside my head is getting annoying and is making absolutely no sense. Chocking it up to a side effect of the drugs, I do my best to ignore it.

“I have no idea.” I shrug. “I didn’t even know any of this stuff existed until just barely.”

Steel appears unconvinced, but lets the subject drop. “Where’s the best place to get the antidote?”

West shifts his weight uncomfortably. “I actually know another team who has some on hand.”

“Really?” Ellis asks, his hands still resting on my shoulders. “Which one?”

For some reason, West glances at me. “That friend of mine I grew up with.”

“Wait…” Realization quickly clicks. “Please tell me it’s not Blaine.”

West gives me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry.”

I press my hand to my forehead as shock whips through me. “So, not only are you in this weird organization, but my twin sister is involved with it too? And so is my best friend… My ex-best friend?”

West nods. “I’m sorry, Alexis. I don’t know what else to say.”

“It’s okay.” I lower my hand from my head, too in shock to fully process everything. “It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but I’m still sorry.” He places a hand on my cheek. “Is there anything I can do to make this easier on you.”

“I don’t know… Just get the antidote, I guess.” I pause, chewing on my bottom lip. “Is there any way I can see my sister?”

He nods. “Of course. She’s actually been asking to see you.”

“So she knows what happened?” I ask, even more shocked.

He nods. “Benton—the guy in charge of the group she’s working with—got a warning about Hacker Hearts Anonymous coming after you. He tried to warn you and me before it happened, but didn’t get a hold of us in time.”

I remember how Zhara was texting me a few minutes before I was tranquilized. She said she needed to talk ASAP, but I ignored her, like I always do.

Maybe I deserve what’s happening to me.

A slow breath eases from my lips. “So, I can go see her?”

West shakes his head. “Until we know more about what’s going on, you can’t leave this place, baby.” His lips quirk as I narrow my eyes at him. “But I can have Benton bring her over here.”

“Okay, thanks.” I want to hug him. I want to cry. I want to scream.

But instead I just stand there in shock, noting the unnatural warmth in my body, and wondering how much longer I have until the drugs kill me.

But most of all I wonder why I have a feeling that I’ve been in this position before.