Page 48 of Twisted Collide

“Wow, you went there, Hellfire.”

I purse my lips and lift an eyebrow. “And you went there.”

He shrugs, looking not at all fazed by this interaction. “I did.”

“So . . . what’s the problem?” I ask, holding his stare.

“You.”

My mouth drops open, and I swear I look like a fish out of water struggling to breathe.

“Are you serious right now? Me?” My hand is wrapped tightly around the camera.

“I am,” he says so nonchalantly that slapping him seems like the best course of action.

But it’s not, and I can’t. Not if I want to keep this job.

“Okay, well, on that note.” I move to walk away, and a part of me thinks he will stop me, but he doesn’t.

Asshat.

I head in the direction of Hudson, hoping to rile up Dane in some capacity. Not because he cares about me but because he cares about his beloved coach’s warning to the team.

“Drinks tonight after practice?” I practically bat my eyelashes, laying on the flirtation a little more than I ought to.

He looks like the cat that ate the canary. “You got it.”

I offer my best smile, winking for good measure. “Great. See you later.”

I’m playing with fire, but it can’t be helped. The need to geta reaction from Dane, any reaction is so strong it’s damn near crippling.

If Dane can’t get his head out of his ass, it’s his problem. Not mine.

The days of locking myself in the guesthouse are over. If I’m going to make this situation work, I’m going to get a life.

Screw Dane and what he thinks.

I’m looking out for me from now on.

19

JOSIE

A hostof errands for the team has kept me busy the past few days. My tasks seemed more grueling today, so I’m happy work is over. I’m exhausted and ready to fall into bed.

It’s hard to concentrate as I drive back to my father and Sherry’s house. I keep having to shake my head to wake up.

Probably isn’t safe for me to drive, but I have no option as long as I live and work with the team.

You could always ride to work with your father.

The man has offered this to me every chance he’s gotten, which isn’t often since I’m basically avoiding him like the plague.

A huge part of me knows I’m being a baby over this whole thing. I should just sit down with him and ask him all the damn questions I have, but the small voice inside of me that says, “You won’t like his answer,” is too scared to broach the topic. My time here is too long to risk it. What will I do if he tells me that he knew about me and chose not to meet me until I was fully grown?

That’s the thing that terrifies me the most. It’s very easy toacknowledge a daughter once she’s no longer a child and thus not a burden.

I barely survived knowing I was a burden to my mom; how would I survive knowing he thought I would be a burden too?

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