Page 1 of Savage Wilder (Sinners and Saints 4)

Prologue

MAISY

10 Years Ago

“That’s not fair!” I cry, chasing after my brother and our best friend. “You can’t win just because you’re nine, you jerk heads!”

Their laughter echoes as the three of us run down the quiet street where we all live. They’re both a year older and bigger than me, meaning the boys can outrun me easily. It makes me so mad! Girls can be just as awesome at things as boys. I’ll show them.

“Holden!” I yell at my brother’s back as frustration bubbles up in my chest.

“Suck it up, Maisy. You lost!” Holden shoots a mean grin over his shoulder. “Maisy Daisy is a crybaby loser!”

“I am not!” I shout loud enough that a few birds startle and fly away from the towering pine trees behind the houses on the block.

Fox slows down, trailing Holden far enough that I can catch up. Once I’m beside him, he bumps his shoulder into mine and shoots me a secretive smirk. Some of the frustration leaves me.

“I’m not a crybaby,” I mumble sourly.

A huff of laughter escapes him and he gives me a sly look from the corner of his eyes. They’re like the ocean, dark blue and mysterious. I really want to see the ocean again someday. Both our families went last summer and it was my favorite trip, hunting for seashells and cool rocks with Fox and Holden as the waves crashed against the beach in California. I loved it so much, I made a bracelet of the s

tones Fox gave me. I never take it off.

“You’re not,” Fox agrees. After a pause, his mouth curves into the trickster smile he gets when he wants to make trouble. It’s a smile that always draws me in for his sneaky plans. “Let’s get him back.”

I grin. “Deal.”

After high-fiving, he wraps an arm around my shoulder to tug me closer, whispering in my ear. He’s warm and smells like the sweet summer grass and a little like the motor oil from his dad’s garage. They must have been working on his dad’s motorcycle before he came out to play. My nose scrunches at the mix, but I don’t pull away.

“You distract him, and I’ll find a beetle,” he instructs.

I have to cover my mouth to keep my excitement from sneaking out and giving us away. It’s a perfect plan. Holden stayed up late one time and saw a scary movie about an army of mutant insects that freaked him out forever. Now he’s terrified of beetles because of one of the scenes.

Nodding, I try to wink at Fox, but I end up blinking twice. Lame. He grins, shaking his head and messing with his dark brown hair as he slips away to hunt through the neighbor’s bushes.

My brother has stopped running, waiting for Fox and I near the end of the street.

“Holden,” I sing-song, skipping to quickly close the distance between us. “If you don’t stop being so mean to me, Fox says he won’t trade the Flareon he caught in Pokémon last week with you.” I stick my tongue out to sell my taunting distraction. “And I won’t show you how to build a cool treehouse on Animal Crossing.”

“What?” Holden hisses. He brushes the long ends of his floppy light brown hair from his forehead agitatedly. It’s the same shade as mine. People used to think we were twins even though he’s older. “You both promised. I need those for my challenges!”

Fox walks up, not giving anything away except for his hands tucked behind him. “What are we playing next? You beat us both to the finish line, so you pick.”

Holden shakes his head. “Not yet.” He whirls on Fox. “You swear you’re going to trade your Flareon with me?”

Fox tilts his head. “Yeah, dude.”

Holden relaxes and mulls over what he wants to play next.

“Hide and seek?” I suggest, unable to hold back a tiny smirk as I practically squirm with anticipation of what’s to come.

“No, you lost. You don’t get to pick.” Holden sighs. “But hide and seek does sound good.”

“Yeah?” Fox grins. “I was thinking the same thing. Can you hold this for me while we hide from your sister?”

Before Holden can finish nodding, Fox grabs his hand and shakes out a round striped beetle into Holden’s palm. It’s a harmless potato bug, I think. My brother looks down and his brown eyes go wide. A scream tears from his throat as he flails his hand around to get the bug off. The tiny little thing drops to the ground, wriggling in confusion for a moment before scurrying away while Holden freaks out, waving his hand around like it was poisoned.

“Got you!” I cheer, giving Fox a triumphant high five. “That’s what you get for cheating.”

Holden’s face twists in embarrassed irritation. He swipes his hand on his jeans, over his freak out now that the bug is gone. “You guys suck!”

My delighted laughter breaks free, making me double over and hug my belly when a cramp twinges. Fox leans against me for support as we fall into hysterics at our revenge prank.

“Whatever,” Holden grumbles, waving a hand to act like he’s all cool. We totally got him. “I’m going home to play Xbox. This is boring.”

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