A WHOLE NEW CROWD

PROLOGUE   Sitting on the patio steps, I heard the door open behind me, pulling me from my thoughts. I felt Carla’s hot breath on my neck before my foster mother even said a word. She smelled of cigarettes and alcohol, but that was her perfume. She wore it daily. A fresh wave of her odor came down over me before she said, “You got everything?” “Yeah.” I wanted her gone. I didn’t want to deal with whatever she would say when Jace pulled up in his truck. Her dislike for the Panthers, a gang that controlled Pedlam and another town, was well-known. I heard the growling sound from his engine, and it was too late. It wasn’t loud, but it announced his impending arrival. There was no way she would go back inside and let me leave in peace. She grunted. “Well damn. You got the leader himself giving you a ride over there. That’s one good thing about this miracle adoption. It gets you away from the likes of him and his brother.” Her toe pushed into my back, nudging me. “Since the brother is here, I’m assuming it didn’t go over well with your boyfriend? That drug addict probably had a hissy fit; his girlfriend taking off, leaving him behind.” The truck slid to a stop, parked next to the curb, and Jace leaned forward so he could see me. He saw right away that she was bothering me, and his eyes narrowed. His door opened and he got out, rounding the truck to head up the sidewalk. I stood at the same time. I could’ve fought back, said some hurtful words to Carla, but she no longer mattered. I was gone. She was the last foster family I’d be forced to live with. There’d been so many. I was moved around, from town to town, but for some reason, I kept being sent back to Pedlam. As Jace neared us, a wave of relief and bitterness crashed through me at the same time. He and Brian were the only ones I considered family. He stood there and slid his hands into his pockets; his eyes were trained on Carla. I knew what he was doing; he was trying to intimidate her, and hearing her quiet gasp, I knew it was working. Either that or she wanted to f**k him. With Jace, it was probably both. He was the leader of the Panthers, but he was more than that. He owned different businesses in the community, and his nightclub, the Seven8, was the most exclusive one in town. Carla had asked me to get her in last weekend, and now the owner was right in front of her. I had no doubt she was considering the possibilities of getting something from him. He had money and power. She loved both. I glanced over my shoulder. She wet her lips, and her eyes darkened with hunger. She was checking him out. This was normal for Jace. He was gorgeous with broad shoulders, a trim waist, chiseled cheekbones, grey eyes, and dark blonde hair cut short in a crew-cut. His body was lean, but it was defined and sculpted into a lethal machine. A faint grin hovered over his face. “You ready?” I jerked my head in a nod. I couldn’t get away fast enough. He came up a step and grabbed the bags. Sliding his arm through the straps, he tossed my bags over his shoulder to land on his back. I only had one other bag. He eyed it, but I shook my head. I would carry it myself. He nodded and turned back to his truck. I started after him, but a hand came down on my shoulder, stopping me. I held back. Carla said, “Not so fast. You’re not going to give me a hug goodbye?” Jace had already made it to the truck. After the bags were inside, he paused, glancing back at us again. I rolled my shoulder to get her hand off me. When it didn’t budge, I'd had enough. Gritting my teeth, I jerked my arm up and knocked her hand away. Her eyes widened, and a second later, anger flooded her features. I moved down the steps, watching her warily as I made my way to the truck. I never knew what she would do when she was angry. “You don’t have to be such a bitch.” She glared at me. I nodded. I’d been quiet, putting up with her loathing long enough. I hadn’t wanted to move again, which would happen if I would do things like talk back. The foster parents never wanted to deal with me, but this was the last one. I was going to a real home, with a real family, and I wouldn’t have to worry about being kicked out or being taken away again. I smirked at her. “You should repeat that to yourself when you look in a mirror every morning.” Her cheeks got red, and I knew she had an angry retort ready for me. “Taryn,” Jace murmured from inside the truck. I was at the truck now. The door opened behind me, and he added, stretched over the seat, “Come on. Get in.” “Gladly.” She was still on the patio, her hand clenched around the post. As I climbed inside and shut the door, I frowned. “Why isn’t she doing anything? She usually yells by now or threatens to lock me in my room.” Jace leaned over to peer at her. “Because she can’t.” He shifted the truck into drive and pulled away from the curb. “She has no say over you anymore. Forget about her. You won’t have to deal with her any longer, and you’ll probably never see her again.” He glanced sideways at me. “You nervous?” He was right. She couldn’t hurt me. None of them could. I really was done with getting new foster parents. Then his question registered, and my stomach clenched. “Yes.” “This is a good thing, Taryn.” Yeah. It was. “Then why are you driving me and not Brian?” “Because my brother’s an idiot.” Brian was my ex-boyfriend. Jace was not. Even though Jace was like a brother to me, it should’ve been Brian driving me. Starting a new future was a big deal. It was a once in a lifetime kind of thing, and he refused to be a part of it with me. “He broke up with me last night.” Jace grimaced. “You and Brian break up every other week.” “I know, but...” This felt different. This felt final. Maybe it should be, said a voice inside my head, and I frowned. There was nothing more to be said. Jace had his own problems with Brian. Since their dad passed away, the two had a hate/strong-dislike type of relationship and couldn’t stand to be in the same room as the other. The animosity was more on Brian’s side. He had worshiped his brother, but then loathed him in high school. I never knew the real reason for the change and Jace wasn’t one to communicate his feelings. I never knew how he really felt about Brian, but there were moments when I saw the wariness in him. If Brian came home, slamming the door behind him, Jace would sigh and leave. A fight was avoided. “Taryn.” There was a dead serious tone in his voice. My stomach took a dive at the sound of it. I was going to hear something I didn’t want to. “You should leave us both behind.” I shook my head. “No.” “Yes.” He kept driving, but his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. “I mean it. Brian’s my brother, but he’s an addict. He’s probably always going to be an addict. He’s violent, Taryn.” “Never with me.” “That doesn’t matter. He gets into fights. At school. At home. With me. With guys who look at you too long. I love my brother, but I care about you too. It’s better for you if you leave us behind. Don’t visit.” “Stop.” I wasn’t perfect either. “Don’t come back. I mean it. When I leave you with them, I don’t want to see you again.” His voice gentled. “You know what I do. I’m not a good guy.” “You own businesses. You’re in the Panthers.” “I sell drugs.” His tone turned harsh. “I’m aware that it’s f****d up, but that’s what we are. We’re f****d up. Me, Brian. Both of us. You can get away from us. You have to. This is the break that you need. You can have a better life. You know I’m right.” “Shut up! Brian’s trying to get better, and I’m a thief. Are you forgetting that? I’m not perfect either.” The tension inside me snapped. It imploded inside me, drenching my insides with shame, guilt, anger, pain, longing, and so many other emotions I couldn't name. They were becoming too much. I choked out, “You and Brian are the only people I have left.” A tear slid down my cheek, and I grimaced. I hated crying. It was a waste. I never felt better afterwards. “You can stop. You don’t have to steal anymore. This family is a good family. Kevin’s a doctor. Shelly’s a stay-at-home mom, and you’ll have a brother and sister. From what I’ve heard, they’re both popular. The girl’s in your grade. This is a new future for you—” “f**k you.” I was seething. My hands curled in on themselves, my nails cutting through my own skin. “Shut up. Just...shut up.” “Brian’s going to come crawling back to you. Don’t take him back. Find a new guy at your school, someone who’s not violent, someone who will go to college, someone whose future is not prison. We both know that’s where Brian is going to end up.” “Stop it.” He did. The drive to Rawley continued in silence, and I couldn’t stop the tears. They kept rolling down my face, falling onto the backpack I was hugging to my chest. I hated this. I did. A new future. A new family. Everything he said was true. I knew it was the right thing to do, keep going and never look back, but my god, it was killing me. They had been family when I had no one. I never knew who my parents were. I had no intention of looking for them. They never mattered to me. Brian and Jace had been the ones that mattered. After getting off the Rawley exit, it wasn’t long until he turned into a ritzy neighborhood. The houses were massive. The front lawns were perfectly groomed. White picket fences. All the s**t that I used to make fun of. He turned down the last street, the truck slowed, and he pulled over. I had never been to their house before, and I drank in the sight of it. It was huge with two large pillars in the front and a gated driveway. The gate was open and lights lit up the sides of the driveway, all the way to the house and attached three-car garage. I rolled down my window. Nothing. There was no yelling. No one was slamming doors. No music with heavy bass was booming from the neighbors. It was too quiet. I glanced at Jace. “I’m going to die of boredom.” He didn’t reply. I didn't think he would. The front door opened and the Parsons came out: the dad, the mom, a younger boy and a girl my age. They all filtered out to the patio, paused a moment, and then they slowly made their way towards us. My nerves were stretched thin. My stomach was doing somersaults. “Do I have to take their name? Parson? I already hate that name.” “No, the social worker said you could keep yours. You’re Taryn Matthews.” Damn straight. A flare of defiance shot through me, but I shook my head. I couldn’t lie to myself. I was scared. Taryn Matthews was never scared, but my ass cheeks were quaking in my seat right now. “I can’t do this.” “You can.” Jace leaned over and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I closed my eyes, absorbing the touch. He whispered, “I love you, Taryn, but I hope that I never see you again.”