My feet hit a particularly slippery patch. Without warning they rocketed out from under me. Mr. Break and Enter came with me, courtesy of me re-establishing my grip in his shirt in a failed attempt at anchoring myself. Pain started in my backside and travelled up my spine, but I was paying it minimal attention. I was too busy being consumed by the heavy weight on top of me and marvelling over the deep smooth voice muttering in my ear. “- never doing the old man another favour, so long as I live.” Before I could collect my scattered thoughts the person on top of me reared back to rest his weight on his elbows, an action that caused his hips to press down into mine. My breath caught in my throat as my startled gaze met his. A pair of vibrant green eyes stared back with more than a hint of annoyance bleeding out of them. Full lips were pressed together like he was biting back an insult directed at me, and locks of black hair framed a near symmetrical face, one with high cheekbones and a strong jaw line. “If you’re going to kill me, I’d prefer it if you didn’t do it with an axe,” I blurted. I immediately cursed my runaway mouth. Come on, brain, where are you? Time to join the conversation. Dark brows drew together and he leaned even closer, almost like he was trying to assess my sanity levels. “What?” Embarrassment was pushed back in favour of deep suspicion. “Well, if you’re not here to kill us then I guess you want to rob us. Go ahead. Annabel has some expensive luggage that will sell for a nice buck. And take her Hello Kitty collection while you’re at it. None of us will be sorry to see those creepy cats go.” The boy on top of me shifted his weight and used one of his hands to brush the curls back from my face. With a gentleness that surprised me, he cupped one of my cheeks. “Are you okay?” he asked, clearly concerned. “Did you hit your head when you fell?”

While in the E.R. at Mercy Hospital, Noah meets a strange boy by the name of Tyson, who seems to be a walking contradiction. On the outside he seems cold and distant, yet when he sees Noah in the waiting room with her hand bleeding, he comes over to help her and stays by her side the whole time. When they part that night, both think they'll never see each other again. But, when Noah goes back to school after summer break she finds out that Tyson is the new student. And more surprising still, he acts like he's never seen her before and treats her coldy. Confused, Noah tries to figure out what his deal is, and it does't help that they've been paired together for a class assignment that will take the whole year to complete. ((INITIAL DRAFT))

Everything happens for a reason. It’s what Ioney Mercer tells herself whenever she pauses to think about the circumstances of her life. Why did her older brother die? Why did her mother leave her with five brothers and sisters to raise? Why did the only person she’d ever fallen in love with have to go? Because everything happens for a reason. Saying it was one thing. Believing it was another. And recently, the mantra had started sounding more like an annoying show tune that could easily be tuned out rather than the unfailing piece of truth she needed it to be. But then, one silly little saying could only get you so far when your life was on the line yet again. More importantly, it meant absolutely nothing when your family was being targeted as well. Things are starting to shake up in Chicago. Callahan Cordero has been released from prison. His first order of business: Revenge on the person responsible for putting him there. With nowhere to run or hide, Ioney has no choice but to engage the enemy head on. The only question left to ask is whether she will stand alone, or if help will come from the most unlikely of places.

Kalen Mercer's Rules of Survival Rule #1: Don't get caught. Rule #2: Always get even. Rule #3: Trust Nobody. Survival isn't just a word to Ioney Mercer; it's a way of life. Having grown up in poverty in Chicago where some of the most ruthless gangs in the country preside, Ioney knows better than anyone what it takes to stay in the game. Or so she thought. When her older brother Kalen is brutally murdered and Ioney is left to take care of her younger siblings, she doesn't think things can get any worse. That is until in a cataclysmic turn of events, Ioney is thrown into a pit of danger her brother has left behind. Sinister people have suddenly developed an interest in her, she unwittingly falls into the middle of growing gang rivalries, and unfortunately manages to land herself under the scrutiny of Chicago Blood Kings Enforcer Justice Montoya. As things escalate rapidly, Ioney finds herself at a crossroads. Can she trust notoriously ruthless gangster Justice Montoya, or is he just another enemy she has to conquer in order to survive.