Page 129 of Dark, Forbidden, & Taboo

“I did, Dottie. Each and every time, but you were gone by then so you never could see me looking for you in the crowd.”

She wrapped her trembling arms around my body and pulled me closer to her, “What do we do now Cedar?”

The desperation in her voice hurt me to my core. I knew that if I did nothing, they’d take her from me and maybe this time, it would be forever.

“We can only do what we know, Dottie,” I replied thoughtfully.

I rifled around in my pocket for a pack of matches and took her by the hand, leading her back toward the firetrucks.

“One question,” I said as I pulled the first match free from the book. Dottie looked up at me with her wide, innocent eyes and waited, “Why were you in the cellar?”

“Because that’s where I put her. I told her that you were waiting for her down there and she believed me, Cedar. She wasn’t good to you, and I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t realize it until I followed her today and I promised you once that I’d never let anyone hurt my best friend,” Dottie confessed, her face becoming reminiscent of the angry child I remembered so fondly.

“Then I guess we don’t have much of a choice, do we?” I pressed softly as I nodded at the gas cap on the firetruck I had ridden to Folsom Winery in.

Her eyes lit up, like the end of the match when flicked against the striker. She knew what I was saying without having to tell her the rest.

Dottie moved quickly and dug her nails into the cap to pull it free and I placed an arm around her waist. She rested her head against my shoulder and waited.

Dottie Winslow had always been so patient and brave with me and now it would be my turn to keep her safe.

We’ll be together again like we were when we were kids, only this time, we’ll be in a place that no one would ever be able to tear us apart, I thought as I tossed the match into the gas tank.

Reckless

BLURB

I thought my life started over when he went to jail.

It was a chance to be the good girl my parents always expected me to be.

I did my best to live the life that they wanted, and in a way, so did he.

But he never could get it right.

Honestly, neither could I.

They just didn’t know the secret we were keeping.

And now that he’s coming home, it won’t be as easy to hide anymore.

Chapter

One

Rogan Winstead has always been the bane of my existence.

Ever since we were kids, he made it a point to remind me that he was bigger, stronger, older, and smarter.

I hadn’t seen him in years, so when Dad told us that he was coming home for a visit, I didn’t exactly react the way I should have.

And when I was told that he’d be staying with me not to further besmirch the family name, I really flipped my shit.

He got arrested four years ago on a petty larceny charge and was held up until his twenty first birthday. That’s when he outgrew the kiddie prison and got dumped on his ass, back out into the world that he never did quite understand.

I moved out two years later.

My parents were pretty pissed off that the prestigious Winstead name got shit all over when he got arrested, but I’m not sure what else they were expecting out of him. He was bad at school, lacked the fundamental basics of common sense, and damn near hated every last human being he came across.

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