Page 51 of The Burnt Heart

Had I been making a nuisance of myself? You bet. But I wasn’t about to stop.

“Don’t do anything stupid and make me regret telling you.” Logan looked pointedly at my scabbing fists.

“Should we be concerned?” Briar added, and I waved them off. Anyone would want to let off steam if they had lost the love of their life. If I was letting my emotions out in unproductive ways,it was better than shutting down like the other two. I hefted up the bag containing the Orchard Hearth juice onto the desk. It was fresh from the markets this morning.

“Can you deliver this to Apartment 110?” I asked. The elevator pinged, and Jonah strolled out with a scowl. Unsurprised to see us.

“You can’t keep showing up here,” he grunted, looking at the juice and sighing.

“I’m helping you out.” I grinned, unperturbed. “You know what she’s like in the morning if she doesn’t get her fancy juice.”

Jonah snagged the bag in silent agreement.

“Thank you,” Briar said.

Jonah nodded and hesitated before saying, “She thinks Lara has been getting it for her.” He jerked his head to the juice. I shared an amused look with Logan and Briar before shrugging. It didn’t matter to me what Adelaide thought, as long as she had what she needed. Delivering the juice helped settle the part of me that wanted to care for her.

“We’ll see you later on.” Jonah jerked his chin up, taking the juice with him.

I didn’t know what he meant until later that afternoon when we were setting up the gym for Fostering Futures. Our old high school hadn’t changed since we slunk through their halls. Sagging gray paint and faded posters plastered on the wall. A relic from a time when hope reigned stronger than apathy. I flicked at the corner of one, boasting about an after-school study club. All I remembered from school was keeping my head down and running out the door at the end of the day.

“Didn’t you break Jason Frankim’s nose in here?” Logan snapped out a folded chair and added it to the row. A low chuckle escaped me. Good times.

“He deserved it for fucking with you.” Logan might have the bulk to protect himself, but with his touch aversion, itwas torture for him to fight. The sweaty, violent press of skin immobilized him. A group of guys at school discovered it and enjoyed toying with him. I'd defaulted to scuffling with the brutes at this school until they finally worked out not to mess with us. Briar wandered over, not looking up from his clipboard.

“How’s the numbers looking?” I peered over and saw a bunch of unfamiliar names. A glow filled my stomach. Fostering Futures had been Briar’s idea. He wanted to help kids like us who were stuck in foster homes that didn’t give a shit about them. Adelaide had been our soft place to land, but so many kids didn’t have a dark angel out there waiting to scoop them up. Fostering Futures ran every second month, and we ran different classes each time. Lessons that we had needed when we aged out. How to budget, how to open a bank account, how to cook basic meals, and how to write a resume. I saw so much of myself in these kids.

“About twenty here today. Five are new.” Briar blew out a proud breath. His permanently morose mask brightened just slightly before he caught sight of something at the door. The glimmer in his hazel eyes winked out, replaced with searing pain. His fingers tightened around the clipboard until it creaked under his unrelenting assault.

“What is he doing here?” Briar hissed. I whipped around to see Adelaide walking through the door. Heavy black combat boots echoed over the floor of the gym. The form fitting, black tights and sweater highlighted her sleek, blonde hair. My heart cracked, surprise and delight at seeing her shattered as I noticed who trailed in her wake.

Ray Donato.

He took in the gym with a wrinkled nose, shoving his hands in the pockets of his gray sweats. Even dressed in athletic wear, he looked out of place in this gym. Quaffed and shiny, too perfect for this sad space. I was moving before I realized it, my fistsitching. Damn, my knuckles were just healing. But I guess I was about to rip them open on Ray’s perfect face. When I was younger my anger always came from a place of helplessness. It was the only way I could wrench back some of the control in my life. Now I was struck with a similar feeling, a desperate sinking in my stomach. I had no right to the roiling, sharp jealousy underneath my skin. But it flooded me and my default reaction was to launch myself on Ray, take it out on him.

“She broughthim?” I clenched my jaw. Adelaide flicked a brief look at my tight face, cataloging the barely restrained rage. Ray snorted under his breath, only riling me further.

“Ray is going to take over my self-defense lessons today.” She rocked forward and lowered her voice. “There is press with me, so behave. Ray gets a plump to his reputation and Fostering Futures will get the attention it deserves. I think we can put aside our differences for the kids, don’t you?”

She swept past me, ignoring the shocked and broken expressions on Briar and Logan’s faces. Jonah and Ray took her instructions as she set them to work setting up exercise mats. I clapped a hand on Briar’s shoulder, offering wordless comfort. It was empty and ineffectual with Adelaide close, but untouchable. Logan balled his fists to his side, blowing out a frustrated breath.

“God, I hate his smug face.” He scowled. “Can you punch it for me, Jesse?”

I snorted, busying myself with setting up. My jaw was aching by the time our foster children came in. Teens ranging from thirteen to seventeen. We had a team of volunteers scattered around the room, passing out instructions.

“Oh, my god,” one girl squealed. “That’s Ray Donato. Wasn’t he featured onGBUrban Pulselast week?” My teeth cracked over the sound of their titters. Briar motioned everyone in, explaining the two options for classes today. Self-defense classes with Ray and budgeting with him. Briar maintained a blankface as everyone moved toward Ray. Adelaide worked with him, making Ray take on the role of an attacker. Ray reached out and twirled Adelaide’s hair, shooting us pompous grins. His arms were pressed around our girl, and I swallowed a growl.

“I heard you were offering a Ray shaped beating. Whenever you’re ready,” Briar muttered, glaring pained daggers at the entwined couple on the mats.

“I would love to, but that might ruin the photo op.” I jerked my head toward the photographer, who was eating up the display. “The only positive is the amount of exposure this should hopefully give us.”

“Positive.” Logan shook his head, cracking his head from side to side. Briar grimaced.

“I had to pick up more than one extra shift at the gym to afford to put on a class this month. Anything that will help us keep this program running will help. I just wish it didn’t come from—” He waved his hand, frustratedly toward Ray and Adelaide. Watching the suave man put his hands all over my girl was like a knife to my chest. I couldn’t watch it anymore, or I actually would put my fist through Ray’s face. Jonah was exiting the bathroom as I stormed down the corridor.

“What?” I was in the mood for a fight, and his slight smile tipped me over the edge.

“Nothing.” He tried to move past me, but I slid in front of him, offering a mocking smile.

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