Page 1 of Their Wicked Ways

1

JETT

Pulling in a deep breath,I did one last fit check in my mirror.

“Jett?” my aunt Marilyn called from downstairs.

“Yes?” I hollered back distractedly.

Should I put on a different shirt? A plain white tee was kind of boring, even if it did cling to me in all the right places.

“Do you have a minute?”

“Yeah. Be right there.” I quickly finger-combed my hair so it fell into a messy bedhead style. When it was perfect, I abandoned my reflection and hurried for the stairs.

“Is everything okay?” I asked my aunt.

She was standing at the bottom of the stairs, an envelope in her hands. “Oh, are you on your way out? I thought tonight was your night off?”

“It is.” I looked between her and the envelope. “I’m meeting up with Chanel and Becca in a bit.”

She smiled, some of her worry fading. “That sounds like fun. Are you coming home tonight?”

I didn’t think I’d ever get used to how much freedom my aunts gave me. I lived with them, but they didn’t try to control my every move. They didn’t care if I stayed out all night or if Iwent somewhere as long as I kept them informed and let them know my comings and goings so they didn’t worry about me.

“Yeah. In a little bit.” I glanced at the letter she was still clutching. “Is everything okay?”

She smiled, but it was the fake one she used with annoying customers and not her genuine smile. “It’s fine.”

“What’s that?” I nodded to the envelope.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said in a breezy tone, but her guilty expression told me everything I needed to know.

“Is it from them?” I asked, all emotion leaving my voice.

“You don’t need to open this now.” She gave me another fake smile. “Enjoy your night. You can worry about this tomorrow.”

I held out my hand. “We both know that’s not gonna happen.”

Sighing, she pressed the envelope into my palm. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have said anything if I knew you were on your way out.”

“It was kind of a last-minute thing,” I half lied, my gut twisting with guilt. I’d made plans to go clubbing a few days ago, but I hadn’t told them because I was still conditioned to lie about anything that could be seen as inappropriate, like drinking and dancing.

Which was stupid because they knew I worked as a bartender at a strip club and encouraged me to go out and have fun with my friends.

“Did you give it to—” Aunt Tabby asked, coming into the hallway. “Oh, are you on your way out?”

“In a bit.” I squeezed the envelope, testing the thickness. Something stiff bent under my fingers. A photo?

The handwriting on the envelope was my mother’s. I’d recognize it anywhere.

In the year since I moved out of state and in with my aunts, my family had completely ignored me. No letters, calls, or texts. Not even an email. It was as though they’d forgotten I existed.

Why was she sending me a letter now? And why couldn’t she pick up the phone and call me if she needed to tell me something?

“Do you want to open it with us here?” Aunt Tabby asked. “Or do you want to do it alone?”

“With you here.” Shaking off the intense feeling of dread that had settled over me, I tore it open and pulled out a letter, and the photograph I’d correctly guessed was in there.

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