Dynasty (Boys of Winter 1)

I can’t believe it’s already been three days living with them. It’s going to be hard, but I’ve been through worse.

The Ducati finally takes me out of the city and deeper into Ravenwood Heights. I ease up on the throttle and bring the roaring engine to a soft hum. There are homes all around, and I don’t exactly want to spend my night behind bars because of a noise complaint. These rich people can be assholes, and they won’t hesitate to try and teach me a lesson about disturbing their peace. Kids like me who can’t afford to fight the legal system make perfect targets, and those rich assholes get off on it.

I take a look around, trying to get used to my new surroundings when a black SUV creeps up behind me. I glance in my mirrors before discreetly looking back over my shoulder, realizing it’s an Escalade—and a fucking sexy one at that. I’m a car girl. Not many chicks are, but when cars, bikes, boats, and anything with a motor is a form of escape that could take me away from all the bullshit, I tend to fall hard and fast. Hence why I love my bike like it was my firstborn child.

Not wanting to become roadkill, I move over to the side to let the Escalade pass, and as it does, I can’t help but roam my eyes over it. The windows are darkly tinted, so dark that I’m positive it’s not legal, but there’s something about this SUV that makes it impossible to look away. A shiver passes over my skin, and something screams at me that the people inside this car are watching me closely. I can’t see shit, but I feel their heavy stares piercing into me like the sharpest knives right through my soul.

The Escalade passes in front of me, and I keep up with it, sitting on its tail and following it through the streets. I know I shouldn’t. The crawling feeling over my skin is a big sign telling me to fuck right off and get my ass home. But I can’t.

I ride along with it, taking every corner, every straight. We pull up at a set of lights, and just like when it passed me, I feel their stares again.

The light turns green and I follow the Escalade around one more corner until it’s pulling into a cemetery. My brows furrow. Who the fuck pulls into a cemetery at this time of night? I creep behind it slowly while putting some distance between us. I watch as it drives through the cemetery, and as I creep forward around the corner, I finally see it.

It’s a fucking party.

Cars are lining the streets, people hovering, laughter, squeals, drinks as the rich kids of Ravenwood Heights waste their night away.

A grin stretches across my face. This is the most morbid kind of party I’ve ever seen. Hanging out in a cemetery and getting wicked wasted is morbid as fuck, but it's totally my kind of scene. I creep forward just a bit more but play it smart. I don’t know these people, and after the feeling I got from the people in that car, maybe this isn’t the place I should be hanging out tonight.

I bring my Ducati to a stop, easing into the shadow cast by a massive stone angel on top of a tomb. I cut my light and sit back to watch, knowing that I can’t be seen.

The Escalade drives over the curb and forces its way through the partiers, and I can’t help but wonder who the hell it is. I watch a second later as the car comes to a stop, and the crowd is instantly drawn closer, as though the people inside are celebrities.

All four doors open, and as four guys step out of the car, my heart races faster than it had while facing down those five guys in the alley. With the darkness of night covering the cemetery, it’s almost impossible to make out any of their features, but it’s clear as day that these guys mean something around here.

The driver closes his door behind him, and as girls flock to him, he looks my way, his stare piercing into mine, but that’s not possible. There’s no way he’d be able to see me in the shadows, yet somehow, he does, and for some reason, I’m drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

I suck in a sharp breath as one by one, the other three guys join him and all look my way, their stares making it impossible to breathe.

Who the hell are these guys?

Trouble. That’s who they are.

Not wanting to get myself caught up in this bullshit before I’ve even started school, I turn my bike around. It's not until I’m halfway down the street that I turn my lights back on, and I can finally breathe again.