the same mahogany blonde as the silent man at my right. He seems just as tall as him too, and I’d bet they share the rich navy color eyes as well, not that I care to look into this man’s.
Not after what he did to Arsen and Arsen’s mother.
It’s clear the moment he recognizes his son as his face goes ghostly white, and the flames around him grow larger.
The coward before us turns to run.
We don’t know if the asshole ever made it out the back or not, but we know for certain he didn’t escape through the front.
With our heads held high, we slide into the black convertible that started it all.
Flames light up the sky behind us and Ransom slips his hand in mine, pulling it to his lips as I smile at the night around us.
This right here, this is the life I was meant for.
Cali and Jules were right all along, these three are a little crazy.
But they’re my kind of crazy, and I wouldn’t have them any other way.
I look to my husband who already stares down at me and I know what he’s thinking as he knows my thoughts mirror his own.
It’s Ransom and me forever.
It’s Arsen and Beretta always.
It’s us evermore.
No matter what.
I had it wrong before.
To hide the heart isn’t to salvage the soul, it’s to protect it until the person it belongs to comes to claim it as their own and claim it, he did.
Without permission.
Without pause.
And without mercy.
He took what he knew to be his, and I followed suit.
With a smile, I kiss the man I married, and he kisses me right back.
(Keep reading for a BONUS SCENE and free first chapter!)
Man, oh man!!
Let me get a little sappy, okay?!
I lived and breathed for this story for months. I never truly know what or why I am writing something until I get into it, and once I understood the voices in this particular novel, I knew it could only be done one way. No fear. No holding back.
This book is about a girl who dared to look left when the world told her to look right. It’s about courage and confidence and finding oneself however the hell one needs to do so. And I wrote this book for THAT reason, because we all deserve to find who we are.
To be who we wish.
Wo do whatever we want.
To live without shame or fear.
That’s what I wanted to give you.
That’s what I hope FOR you.
And I hope you loved Jameson and Ransom’s story as much as I enjoyed telling it.
READ A BONUS SCENE HERE
(or keep reading for a free first chapter!)
If you loved Badly Behaved, you will LOVE Boys of Brayshaw High!
Check it out:
Walk away.
Move your feet, exit this piece of shit cafeteria, and go get high. Chill out.
Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.
I keep walking, and I’m almost free and clear, almost through the door and away from the trouble I surely don’t need but can’t seem to escape.
But of course, nothing in my life is simple and just before my left foot joins my right, the final step through the open door, the bitch decides she’s not done and runs her mouth. Again.
“Maybe if she wasn’t such a slut her whore mom wouldn’t have kicked her out for sleeping with her new man.”
The laughter echoes, growing louder until it wraps around my throat like my mother’s hands when in a fit, choking me until I lose focus.
I stop where I stand.
My eyes haze, rage winning over the calm bravado I attempted to force myself into.
“Trailer trash, bitch.”
More laughs.
And there it is, the push.
Why do they always push?
Before anyone can stop me, not that there’s anyone who would give a shit, I snatch the closest tray off the nearest table and in one swift move, one hard, full swing, smash it across the side of her face.
The cheap red plastic breaks against her head and screams ring around me.
Blood pours from the big mouthed bitch’s forehead and she shrieks, her horrified gaze flying to mine. I wait until our stares connect, then quickly kick her chair sideways. Panic grows in her eyes as she crashes to the floor.
There’s no time to escape, not that I have anywhere to go.
People scream, but no one dares to step closer to me. The lunch lady calls for help and everyone rushes to the side of the asshole on the floor because she’s ‘the victim.’ Sure, I got physical first, but she started it. What did