Chapter One
LOLA
I was such a fool.
Such a naive fool.
Tears streamed down my cheeks like an unstoppable waterfall. They burned, stinging as they dripped from my chin and landed on my chest. I silently begged them to stop, prayed for them to dry so I could face what was happening, but nothing was working.
I dry heaved; at this point, there was nothing left to throw up. I’d emptied all the contents of my stomach an hour ago, but my body didn’t seem to be aware of that.
Lola.
I could hear his voice as clear as the sky on a sunny day. It haunted me, taunting everything I’d done since I first laid eyes on him. I wanted to wish that we’d never met, but my heart didn’t get the memo.
Married.
With a kid—a teenager to boot.
Undercover.
How had I not seen it? How had I missed the signs?
I shouldn’t be touching you.
Those five words held more meaning than I ever thought possible.
It wasn’t because of the age difference.
It wasn’t because of Hut.
It was because he had a wife at home, waiting for him to go back to her.
“Lola-Girl?”
I couldn’t lift my head. I couldn’t move a muscle.
“I’m coming in.” Sal’s deep timbre rolled throughout the room, and a second later, the door to the bathroom squeaked open. His heavy footsteps pounded through the room like a battle drum, but I still didn’t move.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but you can talk to me.”
“I can’t,” I croaked. He knew Brody. He knew him.