Page 92 of Breaking You Open

Epilogue

Louis

One month later

“No weapons, no knives,nothing that can hurt, okay?”

I stand by the entrance to Joshua’s house as I glare down at Lilith and her boyfriend, Asher. Despite his alleged cheating, they’ve apparently reunited.

Asher grins at me, cherubic appearance belying his roguish insides. “How about these?” He holds up a packet of fireworks. “These can hurt. If you’re creative.”

“Leave them outside; the countdown is far away yet.”

The few hours until midnight are enough for these two troublemakers to get drunk or high out of their minds. As usual, I’m tasked with making sure this New Year’s Eve doesn’t devolve into the chaos of a few years ago, when someone famously shot a rocket into Joshua’s garage and splintered the roof. There won’t be any overdoses either—not on my watch.

Asher sets his box of fireworks next to the others on the porch, and I step aside to let him enter.

When Lilith passes my side, I grab onto her arm and lean down to hiss into her ear. “Be careful with that guy.”

“Let me go,” she hisses back. “You’re not my keeper.”

“Maybe not, but I’m Sam’s keeper, and he won’t be happy about this.”

“Whatever.” She slips from my grasp and enters the house.

“Don’t worry,” Ravi says beside me. “Fentanyl’s been hard to get lately.”

“Yeah, but that’s bound to change,” I mutter. “Where is he?”

“He?” Ravi asks. “Oh, Sparr—I mean, Sam.”

It’s been a bit of an adjustment period to think of my boy as Sam instead of Sparrow, and some people have a harder time than others—like Maurice, who stubbornly calls him by the name we all got to know him by, which annoys me to no end.

“How should I know where Sam is?” Ravi asks. “I’ve been here with you all night, freezing my ass off, haven’t I? He’s probably inside. Didn’t he volunteer to be a helper?”

Unfortunately, he did, and I couldn’t very well stop him.

“I have your back,” Ravi says, lighting a cigarette. “You go find your boy.”

I nod gratefully. As I zigzag through the crowd, I spot Maurice and Joshua in a heated discussion. I ignore them and make a beeline for the kitchen, and that’s where I find him. My boy.

He’s got a bottle of unopened champagne in his hand, and he’s dressed in an outfit I should have forbidden him from wearing: skintight pants, a revealing top that shows off his shoulders, and blue glitter under his eyes. He’s got company in the form of Asher and Lilith, who are fawning all over each other while he smiles politely.

A growl starts deep in my chest, and I shove away the people standing in my way until I’m right up in the trio’s personal space.

Asher stops talking to look up at me. “Uh…” He eyes my crossed arms and grim expression. “We were just…” He takes Lilith’s hand and points toward the living room, and Lilith sticks her tongue out at me when they pass.

“Why did you have to do that?” Sam asks, hands on his hips.

“Do what?”

“Scare them off like that.”

“I just stood here.”

“Yeah, but you’re …”

“Scary?” I ask, a smirk tugging at my lips.

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