Page 48 of Girl Violence

Lewis grins widely as he gets off the floor. “Ah, hell yeah. Let’s play.”

Josette glances at Vince, seeing him sitting on top of the piano. Her heart leaps to her throat when she sees his eyes are on her. How long has he been watching her?

“Let’s make it interesting,” Carson continues with a grin. “Boys against girls. You hide, and we’ll look.But,whoever we catch, we get to kiss.”

Sophie and Rosie giggle, the vodka they’ve both been knocking back taking effect. Josette rolls her eyes, feeling like she’s in primary school, though judging by Lewis and Carson’s faces, they’re being serious about playing it this way.

“How about it, Vince?” Vince just shrugs, taking another drink of beer. They turn to her. “You in, Jo?”

“What do we get out of that exactly?” she asks, folding her arms.

Lewis chuckles. “Are youwantingsomething out of it? Because that can happen.”

“You couldn’t give me that something no matter how hard you tried.”

Sophie snorts behind her hand. “Now I know why people think she’s a bitch.”

Clenching her teeth, Josette looks away.

“Are we going to play or what?” Vince says, getting off the piano and tossing his empty can of beer across the room. “I’m getting bored.”

“Fine. Get running, girls. We will give you two minutes before we start looking.” Rosie and Sophie stand, their giggles starting to irritate Josette. Especially when Rosie looks at Vince with a flirtatious smile that’s simply begging him to catch her.

“Five...six...” Carson is already counting. Rosie and Sophie take off running, squealing as they disappear from the lounge. All of them turn to look at Josette. “Seven...Eight...” She starts backing away, seeing Lewis’ eyes giving her a once-over.

Hell, no.

“Nine…”

Josette takes off, running back down the dark hallway, stopping when she comes to a staircase. She knows that’s the first place Lewis would think she would run to. To hide in a bedroom where there might potentially be a bed. No chance. She stays downstairs, running in the opposite direction, not having a clue where she’s going but hearing the distant giggle of Sophie or Rosie upstairs as they run around.

Fear swirls around the adrenaline pumping through Josette’s body. She doesn’t want to kiss Lewis, and she doesn’t want Vince to kiss Rosie. If he finds her,willhe kiss her? What if it leads to more?

“Ready or not, here we come!” she hears Carson yell. Josette’s insides rattle. Two minutes already?

She spots a door and charges toward it, opening it and going inside. Her heart thumps hard as she closes it as quietly as possible, hoping not to give her away.

Then, she turns and goes still.

The room is full of baby cribs. At least five of them are lined up inside a bare room. The cots are like those old-fashioned ones you see in a hospital. The metal is rusting, and they still have bed sheets inside of them.

Josette swallows hard, her throat bone dry. She ambles toward the cots, seeing another door on the opposite side of the room that could give her a better hiding place. As she edges nearer, she can’t help but have visions of there being babies in there like some messed-up horror movie. She glances into one, relieved when she doesn’t see anything. Until one of the blankets moves, and her heart fails.

With a gasp, she jerks back, slamming into something. No—someone.

She goes still, her body going rigid. Because she’s been found, which means it’s game over.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

“Whoever we catch, we kiss.”

Josette flinches when hands touch her waist. She hears a breath. Feels it on the back of her neck. Spearmint. Smoke. Beer. It’s Vince—it has to be. She doesn’t relax. How can she when he’s here? That he came looking for her and found her.

Finally turning to him, she looks up into his eyes. Those blue eyes she’s always so drawn to. They’re dark blue again, meaning he’s angry. Josette wants to ask why, but she can’t speak. There’s a scream in the distance, coming from above. A few thumps and then laughter.

Turning her, Vince starts pushing Josette backwards, past the creepy baby cribs, and deeper into the room. She swallows hard as he opens the other door and tugs her inside, forcing her into a smaller, darker room. Closing the door behind him, the expression on his face makes Josette’s insides flutter as he backs her up.

She barely has time to register the broken washing machines and dryers before he bends over, grabs the backs of her legs, and lifts her on top of a table. Josette’s breathing hitches when he spreads her knees, moving to stand between her thighs until he’s close.Really fucking close.

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