Find Me (WITSEC, #1)

by Ashley N. Rostek

He’d tucked a small pistol between a carton of eggs and the sidewall. I’d positioned a gallon of milk in front of it so I wouldn’t have to see it every time I opened the fridge. Those were just a few examples of where Logan had gotten creative.

Logan hadn’t left my side since I’d woken up in the hospital a little over a year ago. He’d helped me heal, stood with me through my pain, and held my hand after I’d had nightmares. He’d helped me become stronger, a fighter, a survivor.

Him and Colt were mirror images of each other apart from a few subtle differences. Creed’s pale blond hair was shorter than Colt’s and styled into a faux hawk. Creed’s demeanor was guarded, stone-like, where Colt seemed softer, friendly.

“The weight of their absence will get lighter over time,”

A slow, bright smile stretched across Keelan’s mouth. “I think I’ve met my soulmate.” He shifted under me and groaned. “Can I have my arm back now?”

Creed gestured to my face, laughing harder. “You’re like an innocent cherry tomato.”

Ethan is my friend. My obnoxious, doesn’t-know-when-to-shut-up, womanizing friend.”

“My uncle is a U.S. Marshal, and his current assignment requires him to travel a lot. He took something like a sabbatical last year to take care of me after my parents and sister died. Now that I’m eighteen, it was time for him to return to work. I didn’t want to travel with him. I wanted to finish my last year of high school without interruptions. I don’t live with another relative because I don’t have anyone else. I chose to move to Arizona by closing my eyes and putting my finger on a map of the U.S. I wanted to move somewhere new because I wanted to start over and find a way to move on. I bought the house next door with my family’s life insurance money. My birthday is July twenty-seventh. I’ve been a straight A student all my life. My favorite food is popcorn. I hate the color pink. I’m currently trying to quit smoking. I haven’t had a cigarette in over a week. Only reason I picked up the disgusting habit was because my family had just died and drowning myself in alcohol and smoking seemed like better vices than drugs. I dyed my hair this strange color because my sister used to dye her hair wild colors all the time and it’s my own way of honoring her. Plus, whenever I look in the mirror, for just a minute, I forget that it’s me standing there.” I looked to Colt, then Creed, who were wide-eyed. “I used to be a twin,” I said, my voice just shy of a whisper.

“You’re wearing another man’s jersey, looking hot as hell, and we don’t like it,” Creed said bluntly.

“I’m a fucking mess,” I forced out with a wobbly voice. “I’m waiting for you to realize it and walk away.”

Creed’s gaze met his brother’s over my head. He shrugged. “She was freaking out. I panicked.”

“You push people away, Knox. It’s what you do, and I understand why you do it, but what you did today…you knew how that would make me feel.”

“The four of you have an expiration date in my life,”

“You don’t know what it’s like to have a ticking clock in the back of your head, counting down

“You said I push people away? That’s because everyone is a threat to what we rebuilt. You’re a threat. You barreled your way into our lives and somehow made yourself important. I don’t want to care about you, but I do, and it pisses me off.”

“Alright, baby girl. I won't pull your hair…this time.”

None of them tried to stop me and that was enough to tell me that everything was ruined between us.

My tone was pleasant, yet I was hitting him repeatedly with a stick in my head. “Lock the door when you leave,”