Defied by Maria Luis

Author:Maria Luis [Luis, Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Alkmini Books, LLC
Published: 2018-05-30T16:00:00+00:00

18

Avery

“You need a date, and I don’t care what Captain America says, I was your one and only first,” Katie hollered from the doorway. “Which means that I deserve the chance to sweep you off your feet.”

The eggs on the stove sizzled and popped as I flipped them over in the pan. “By that sort of logic,” I repeated to Katie as she entered the kitchen, still in her work uniform of a skimpy tank top and even skimpier short-shorts, “you should be cooking us lunch today instead of the other way around.”

Grabbing two plates from the cupboard next to the fridge, I tacked on, “And what are you going on about, anyway?”

“A fancy party, that’s what I’m talking about.”

Out of my periphery, I watched her toss an unsealed envelope on the counter. It slid to a slow stop inches from the pan. Curiosity weighing heavy, I moved the skillet off the hot burner to the back of the stove and then picked up the envelope.

“Party’s set for tomorrow evening.”

I lifted my gaze to my roommate’s face. “Since you already opened it, why not just tell me what it is?”

“I’d hate to take away the fun from you.”

I bit back a laugh. “You’ve already opened the damn thing up. I mean, the party bus has already left the scene.”

“Good point.” Tugging the envelope from my grasp, Katie promptly pulled a cream-colored card from it, and then cleared her throat. “Tomorrow evening at seven on the dot”—she wiggled her brows playfully—“you’ve been invited to a party being held in support of the announcing of a new mayoral candidate for the upcoming election.” Pausing, Katie sucked in her bottom lip. Then, “Not going to lie, it’s a little weird that they’d send you an invitation like this on such short notice. Who do they think you are? And what the hell sort of clients have you been seeing in the square that you nabbed an invitation like this in the first place?”

The kind who wanted me to play puppet to their puppeteer.

Stomach dropping, I gripped the edge of the kitchen counter for stability’s sake. There was only one reason I’d be sent an invitation like that—and there was no doubt in my mind who’d sent it.

“Give me the card,” I muttered, extending one arm.

“You look like you just bit into a lemon.” The card was slapped into my waiting palm. “Newsflash, Ave, people die to get invited to stuff like this.”

Yeah, that was my fear.

That, and the fact that the event was less than twenty-four hours away.

Twenty-four hours until I came face-to-face with Jay, my stepfather.

Twenty-four hours until I finally laid to rest the retribution I’d been determined to dole out for years now.

Forcing my gaze to the card, I skimmed the flowery prose of “winning back New Orleans” and the mention of “representing the people for the greater good.”

Bullshit, bullshit, and more words.

Politicians in the city were all one and the same in this city—dirty and corrupt to their core.

Only, the name at the bottom of the card wasn’t Natalie Lauren, as expected.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.