Page 2 of Hate Me

My hand trembles as I slowly reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She bites her lip when my fingers graze the shell of her ear. Without thinking, I take my thumb and pull her lip out from under her teeth. The air is thick and heavy. Our breaths are weighty as we stay locked in deep eye contact.

I swallow hard as my thumb slides down to her chin and I tilt her head up. My other hand cups her cheek, and she lightly places her hands on my waist.

I’ve never been so nervous in my life.

She rises on her tiptoes and our lips almost—

A sharp ring pierces the air. My pocket buzzes with my vibrating phone and the hypnotic moment shatters. She steps back at the same time I pull away and dig into my jeans. I realize it isn’t a phone call, but a slew of text messages coming in one after the other making the text alert tone continue pinging like a call. Missed call notifications also come in.

They keep popping up again and again and I realize the time stamps go back an hour. I usually don’t get service out here. My brother’s caller ID pops up on the screen, and I answer.

“Where the fuck are you, Finneas?” Cash growls as soon as I answer. “I’ve been trying to reach you for a fucking hour!” I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something off about his tone. He’s an angry person, yelling is his default, but there’s something anguished about the way he snarls.

“I just got service. What’s going on?” I ask and Effie looks up at me with worried brows. She knows that an urgent call like this from family isn’t likely a request to buy milk on my way home.

“Dad’s been arrested—”

“What for?” I holler back.

“They’re saying he shot Governor Albright.”

“What?”My blood chills. Albright has been a longtime ally.

“Get your ass home. Now.” My bruised hand aches with how tightly I’m gripping my phone. “And Finn?”

“Yeah?”

“Get home safe. There’s a war coming.”

1.Speakers – Acoustic Mixtape—Sam Hunt | SummerOtoole.com/playlists

Chapter 1

Arrivals

Effie

Present

I didn’t think my father would say yes to theLes Arnaqueusessolely because they’re an all-women crew. Even if they’ve pulled off some of the biggest heists in modern history—a Monet from the Louvre, a collection of Faberge eggs from a Russian oligarch, an entirewallfrom a building in Bristol with a Banksy original—I could go on.

But then again, he loves any reason to fuck with the Foxes. So when the infamous crew reached out to him about the Fox cache and wanting a local backer, he didn’t hesitate. And if the rumors of the worth of the Fox cache are true…well, I suppose he figured the potential payout was worth the risk.

What did surprise me, however, was the fact he wantedmeto be the liaison. My brothers were deep in dealings with the New York families, so I expected him to have Bruno, his bruiser of a Capo, take lead. But of course his misogynistic ass didn’t think a man could work with women without fucking them, so that left me.

“This job is too important to risk because a whore can’t keep her legs closed.”

I’m sure he is just as unhappy about it as I am.

I understand I have a role to fill, a duty to family, but I always figured that would be marrying whoever my father decided was most beneficial for the family. He’s kept me out of almost all operation details, and I’m fine with that. Not that I am fine with him pawning me off like a dowry of cows, but I’m resigned to know my place, my worth.

I hear the jet before I see it. Jonathon hands me a pair of neon orange earmuffs. He almost comically fulfills his role as my security by dressing identically to the Secret Service. Black suit and tie, starch white shirt, night-black sunglasses and an earpiece. The jet breaks through the clouds and its nose lines up with the runway’s yellow lines. I slide on the earmuffs and laugh to myself when Jonathon just clenches his jaw and makes his back rigid instead of putting on a pair himself.Men.

The small jet is the only plane in sight in the whole private airport. My father no doubt used his considerable resources to make sure no one would be here when the crew arrived. I wonder what would happen if the Foxes knewLes Arnaqueuseswere in town. Would they know they were coming after them? My mind involuntarily recalls a warm summer night and the glowing petals of water lilies under the moonlight.

I swallow the knot in my throat and remind myself that was a long time ago. As the plane rolls to a stop and lowers the steps, I try to replace the memories from when my heart sang, with memories from when my heart screamed. My favorite cousin unrecognizable from the beating he took. Watching from a window as another soldier was curb stomped, hearing the horrible crushing sound three stories up.

Thatis who the Foxes are. Brutal. Ruthless. Heartless.

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