Hardcore: Volume 1 by Staci Hart

Author:Staci Hart [Hart, Staci]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, serial, suspense
Publisher: Promise Socks Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

IT HAD TAKEN ME almost twenty-four hours to get up the nerve to face Van. I found myself walking the blocks to his gallery the next afternoon¸ not sure if he’d even be there, still not sure what I’d say. I tucked my emotions away, from my anger at him for crossing the line to the guilt over what I was about to do to him.

Not that it mattered. I reminded myself that I could use him. He certainly wouldn’t be the first. It’s just that something told me it wasn’t going to be easy.

It wasn’t just that it was such a huge job. It wasn’t even the money involved. Jade had crossed the line by threatening me with Jill. Being manipulated, being coerced was enough to push me off balance.

On top of that, I’d been trying to dissect Van. I couldn’t tell if he was crazy or just determined, and the most upsetting thing about the whole ordeal was that I was most definitely attracted to him. This presented a host of issues, though a few opportunities. That attraction would have to be the angle I played, because I had to play him or risk Jill learning the truth. That trumped everything else.

The gallery was on a corner, all windows with Van’s name above the door. I pulled it open and stepped inside, not seeing a soul. Ambient indie rock played softly, and I stood alone in the entry for a moment, not sure what I should do.

I scanned the huge photographs that hung on the walls, and they pulled me closer until I found myself wandering around the room. He had captured the soul of the city from heights only we could reach. The artwork was grouped, from the series Erin had mentioned of shots of Van’s legs as he jumped between buildings to a collection of silhouettes, but the one that held me longest was a series of free runners as they tricked and jumped, hanging off buildings hundreds of feet over the city like it was nothing. Each piece was a manifestation of the freedom I found in running, climbing, making the impossible possible, the forbidden found, embraced. It was breathtaking.

My feet carried me to an installment, and when I stopped inside of it, I was surrounded by hanging photographs, even hanging from the ceiling in tiles. I looked around and found myself standing on top of a building with the city stretched out all around me.

“You came.”

I jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to find him looking down at me. There was no pressure in his words, no expectation, just his gravity.

I looked away, not wanting him to fully see me, worried that if he looked long enough into my eyes that I wouldn’t be able to keep him out of my head. “I opened your envelope. Thank you … I …” My mouth was dry, and I wet my lips. “I owe you an apology for yesterday.”

“No, you don’t. You were right.

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