Blood Love

Then: Eight Years Ago

What he asked wasn't exactly problematic, and it was the least he could do considering the circumstances, yet it wasn't what Jason had in mind when Ricky called him asking for a favor.

            "Come on, man. You owe me this."

            Jason ran a hand through his hair, propping his shoulder against the moldy brick wall. Hell of a sixteenth birthday surprise. And his birthday was two months ago, anyway.

            "She's my sister," Ricky continued. "Our mom does shit and our dad isn't around. She's on her own. I won't be there to—" he paused, scratching his head. "I need you to protect her."

            He snorted. "Protect her? Protect her? What the hell do I look like, some kind of baby-sitter? I don't have time for this."

            "You owe me—"

            "Yeah, and anytime your back's against the wall in a fight, I got you. But this . . . no. No."

            Ricky stepped closer, green eyes narrowing. "A life for a life. That's how it works, remember. I saved yours and now you're saving my sister."

            "She doesn't appear to be in imminent danger."

            "By association she is. And you know that."

            Dammit. He did and he wished he didn't. "What do you want me to do?"

            "Just watch over her," Ricky said, clapping Jason's shoulder. "Keep her safe. Make sure she isn't killed."

            Of course he agreed. And agreeing to that one little thing he thought would be nothing set him on course for the rest of his life.

            Because she was nothing like anything he'd ever seen before, which was saying something.

            His first impression was a biting, sarcastic, fiery-haired spitball. Her home life really was shit—everything about her life, really, was a bit worse for wear—but she carried on like she had the ritziest get-up in town.

            Ricky remained aloof, unseen, and so Jason continued watching over her. Always remaining in the shadows, out of sight, taking care of any immediate or possible threats. She never found out. She never knew. He did this for exactly five years, until the whole bank robbery incident. But sometime in between all that, he screwed up. He wrote himself out a death wish.

            He was almost nineteen. Hayley was celebrating her sixteenth birthday alone, at the park, at night, with a pathetic little cupcake and a candle she had to lift form a convenience store because she spent all of her money on the cupcake. Ricky had never been the praying type, so Jason was surprised to see Hayley fold her hands. And she didn't pray for a better life. She didn't complain about her problems. She prayed for her brother's safety. She prayed for her mother's rehab. She prayed for the rest of the shit world that didn't give a fuck about her. And then she ate her cake.

            And even if he refused to admit it, Jason Lambargo had been in love with her ever since.