YOUTH GONE WILD ↝ Chloe Decker

↳ PROLOGUE

KAI NOLAN WAS a name that, for the past decade, had been frequently on the tip of everyone's tongue around the NYPD. Sometimes, it was spoken with a hint of admiration, maybe even jealousy — it was no lie that he was a talented cop, especially when paired up with his trusted partner. Other times, the name was huffed out with exhaustion, or as a threat to the perp in custody who just refused to start talking. As of late, Kai had heard his name in a string of goodbyes, as one Lieutenant Marcus Pierce had requested his transfer to the LAPD in the firm belief that he could be a valuable asset to the precinct.

         And right now, that was where he sat — in Los Angeles, in a promiscuous club with the woman in his company pronouncing his name with a tone that he hadn't heard in a long, long time.

         "Kai Nolan?" the tall redhead standing opposite his dwindling seat repeated his introduction back to him, tasting the strange words with her eyebrows knitted together. Somehow, at that second, the fresh start really sank in and Kai couldn't stop himself from bitterly chuckling as he raised his glass in the air and cheered at himself.

         "That's me, baby!" he announced with the dramatic flair that tended to follow him wherever he went, and with that, he downed the whiskey he had been avoiding, only for a ridiculous grimace to wash away all his confidence.

         The sight earned a chuckle from the lady by his side, and in return, Kai forced a weak smile. "You don't sound too happy about moving here", she noted, and for a second, Kai wondered how she knew that about him already — only to immediately remember that he had shared plenty, by now. He wasn't even that drunk, but he supposed that there was enough liquid courage in him to open up about his dogs, the struggles he had faced since being diagnosed with dyslexia as a kid and his former partner that had moved to L.A the previous year.

         "Oh, for my career, it's great. Too good to pass, you know? But man, you should've seen my babies when I left them with my dad", he sighed with a heavy heart, still haunted by the whining of his two German Shepherds, yet capable of flashing a renewed smile seconds later. "But back in New York, everyone was already so... bedazzled. Now, I get to bedazzle all these new people", Kai continued with a haphazard wave at the masses flowing to the beat of the music all over the club. The bartender, however, seemed to think he was really bringing down the vibe of the club — fair enough, the place did look like L.A's hottest hotspot.

         "You remind me of my best friend", the redhead blurted out all of a sudden, earning Kai's attention as a smile stretched her carefully painted lips. Behind the amusement, though, was something longing, suggesting that the woman hadn't seen her friend in a while. And maybe, if Kai hadn't already been on his second drink, he would have taken a more sympathetic route.

         "Dead?"

         Much to his relief, the woman snorted and shook her head. "Traveling", she corrected before drawing a sip of her own drink, allowing Kai to fall deep into thought about his own best friend. Mariah Rose, while in many ways the complete opposite of Kai, had been his partner for nearly a decade, and over that time, they had become each other's family. There hadn't been a day without seeing one another until Mariah had been pulled deep undercover and wound up in Los Angeles, of all places — despite the great career opportunities for himself, that was the part that had Kai the most excited: hopefully reuniting with the woman he considered a sister by now.