STORY 5 I'd pick your thunder, I'd pick your rain: over anyone's sunshine any day.

BOOK #1 in The Fire series TRIGGER WARNING IN SOME CHAPTERS He leans closer, keeping me pinned against the wall with his hands on either side of my head. I glanced at both of them before holding his glare with my own. He was giving me a cold stare, caging me in like an animal. I bit my lip, trying to hold it back. I was never good in situations like these. He stopped leaning forward when his face was just inches from mine. He was trying to make me uncomfortable. Trying to scare me, but he didn't. I wasn't scared of him. I didn't hide my face or get nervous... I just bit my lip harder, trying to hold it in. It would just make things worse for me, I bet. He kept his eyes on mine as I glanced at his friend behind him with his arms crossed and a bored expression on his face. I looked back at the man in front of me. "You shouldn't act that way around me." He says coldly. "I can have you dead right-" I couldn't hold it in. I started laughing. He leans back, shocked, but his face goes into a glare as soon as his friend behind him perks up, watching, interested now. I calm down a little. "I'm sorry." I say, catching my breath. "Continue, Continue." He watched me closely before leaning closer to me again. "I can have you killed-" Suddenly, I lost it again, laughing harder, bending a little to hold my stomach. He punched the wall in an effort to scare me but instead made me laugh even harder, falling to the ground and rolling on my side. Soon I had his friend laughing with me as the man in front of me glared at both of us. "Don't give me that look. She's the one who started laughing." His friend said, wheezing a little bit and trying to stop laughing. I calmed down a bit, standing up to face them, a smile on my face. "Now, if you're done threatening me," I raise an eyebrow. "Or at least trying to. I'll be on my way." With that, I grabbed my backpack, turned my back to them, and walked away.

❝I didn't want to die, I loved life. I just wanted the pain and numbness to go away. ❞ They say people meet by fate, and everyone you meet has a reason for why they're in your life, but what if you didn't have a choice? Disclaimer: This book is a roughly edited draft. Read at your own risk!!

As the only daughter to one of the most powerful Mafia families, Shay has sought to figure out her own path despite the overbearing pressures from her Family. After a family dispute leads to Shay and her mother to go into hiding, Shay attends Elite academy--her own perfect Hell. With an incredibly awful (or ingenious) disguise, Shay's new identity is going well until Jacob Smith shows out of nowhere. Not only does he seem to know every right button to push, but he also seems to know everything about her. Shay's seemingly normal school life explodes with a new set of problems. Old and new enemies are coming for her and she needs to choose whether she will carry the Ricca name. Goodbye Nerd Disguise, hello old identity, old life, old friends, and new enemies. It's the Family business, where plotting someone's assassination is just part of the daily duty. (Unedited first draft) FYI title may be misleading at first.