All First Chapter Samples

“I’m sure we can find someone who owns a flamethrower. Hell, Amazon delivers just about anything.”

God, one day the thin walls in these apartments were going to be the death of me. Looking up at the ceiling, I tried not to imagine what the idiots upstairs would do with a flamethrower.

They couldn’t even run a toaster without setting off the fire alarm in the building.

What the fuck were they doing?

“What about moving? That’s an option. You said you wanted more closet space.” The earnest panic in the slightly deeper voice had me realizing I could hear them entirely too well.

Fuck. I’d left the window open. It was stupid considering how badly the sound carried, but it wasn’t my fault. It was not supposed to be this warm in December.

“Where’s a Daddy when you need one?”

The funeral seemed to be his breaking point. Gage had walked and paced and stalked every inch of the house in the days since the accident, but he’d seemed to be holding it together. Something about seeing them both laid to rest broke him…or maybe broke the stranglehold he had on his emotions.

Gage liked control.

Control over his emotions.

Control over his future.

Control over me.

What nineteen-year-old thought they had to worry about their parents getting killed in a car accident? I wondered if knowing there was nothing he could have done broke something inside him. Hell, maybe the last piece of sanity, and I just hadn’t noticed how little the thread had gotten.

But how could I?

“Do you remember his name?” One of the wonderfully fascinating locals was right outside my office window, but I wasn’t sure who it was just yet. There were a few of them that seemed to be related and all sounded a lot alike, but if I peeked, they’d realize I could hear them.

Being curious and doing my best to be subtle about it was the classic rock and hard place in this area.

“I just call him Mr. Librarian. It’s polite.”

I knew that one.

It was the deputy’s Kenzie.

He was funny and actually telling the truth…he always called me Mr. Librarian.

“You can’t say no. You don’t have a choice; I need you to do this.”

“Huh?” Shooting up in bed, Mason didn’t even realize he had his phone in his hand until Maddy screeched again.

“MASON!”

“Maddy?”

“Are you listening to me?” The volume of her screech told Mason she’d been trying to get his attention for a while. When had he answered the phone? Mason had been up all night finishing a coding project that had a tight deadline. Looking over at the clock on his nightstand, he stretched and noticed that it was almost five o’clock in the evening.

“No, sorry. I was asleep. What’s up?”

“I need you to come down to Midnight. We had a cancellation at the last minute and I need someone else so we have an even number.”

Midnight? He knew that should ring a bell but his brain was too fuzzy. “Midnight?”

“Lord, Mason. Are you paying attention?”

If he said no, she was going to totally lose her shit. It would almost be worth it, because when Maddy was losing her marbles it was fabulous to watch. Unfortunately, he wasn’t up for one of her DEFCON 5 explosions right now. “I was up all night working. Remind me.”

Everything was falling apart.

One stupid mistake and my entire world was collapsing around me. Dodging horrified stares and disgusted looks from kids hanging around their lockers, I wasn’t sure where to go. School was where I felt safe. The place where it was okay to be a little more me. Not like out and proud or anything stupid, but relaxed. Now it was like I was walking through a minefield.

It was only first period; I was supposed to be heading to math. But when Rebecca stopped me in the hall to ask if the rumors were true, I automatically walked in the other direction. I had pretty well-developed self-preservation instincts.

And my fight-or-flight response only went in one direction—flight.

“Eric!”

“Eric.”

Kids were calling my name from all sides, but I knew better than to stop. Just looking at their faces let me know I’d be beaten up or at the very least taunted. How could Jack have done this? How could they all be doing this to me? One fuck-up and you were done. When did that become the rule?

How could he? He’d said he loved me.

“Eric!”

“I think Gordon is trying to hint that he wants kids.” I was serious, but Dean laughed so hard he nearly fell off his couch. “I’m not kidding.”

He kept shaking his head as he tried to catch his breath. “Then you must be drunk.”

I held up the single beer I’d been playing with for the last hour. “Nope.”

We’d been binge-watching the old Star Wars movies all afternoon and I might have had a buzz at one point, but it hadn’t lasted.

“Don’t get me wrong. He seems to be a great boyfriend, but you’ve both always been adamant about not wanting kids.” Dean cocked his head. “You guys didn’t even want a dog when Kathy’s beagle had puppies.”

I wanted to be the attention-whore in the relationship, and Gordon seemed to agree with our respective roles. “I know. That’s one of the things I loved about him from day one.”