Hour by Hour (Games & Diversions #2) Read Free Page B

Everything goes out of focus until I feel like I am floating through a vacuum.
    It’s my thoughts; they’re drifting away—isolating me in a world of my own making. It happens every time I drink—every time I drink to excess .
    The world slips out of my grasp, and all that’s left is me.
    This used to happen all the time when I was a teenager. I’d drink just to numb. I’d drink to forget .
    But now I’m damn near thirty, and this is the second time that it’s happened to me in recent weeks. That’s two times too many.
    The fucked up part is that one side of me sees what’s happening and wants to stop it, but feels powerless to do so. And the other side… just doesn’t give a fuck.
    The two usually fight it out inside my brain until one of them wins.
    I lean against the wall outside of an upstairs guest bedroom, fighting the urge to sit down. I wonder which one it will be tonight.
    I meander through Foxx’s hallways and bedrooms, knocking my hands against doors, tapping my feet against carpeted floors.
    Foxx built this fairly simple home for himself a few years back. His amenities are black, simple— clean , but not extravagant. I find hardwood where there should be marble —white fixtures where there should be silver .
    I’m half-shocked when I don’t find cracked ceramic in the showers.
    His home is so different from his childhood home, from his father’s house… from mine …
    Like the elder Foxx—the indomitable powerhouse magnate of Foxxhole Publishing—I’ve used my wealth to lavish my life with beautiful things wherever I could find them, to indulge in luxury whenever it presented itself.
    My extravagance is known for having no boundaries.
    The expensive shirt on my shoulders. The Beemer I parked outside. The plastic women who have floated in and out of my life.
    They’ve all played a part in who Lukas Griffin has become. And suddenly, after looking— really looking—at the modesty of Foxx’s home, everything I’ve acquired now seems so shallow.
    Or maybe I’m just drunk and talking crazy.
    Yup, that’s probably it…
    I start to raise my cup to my lips again when something inside of me snaps.
    I pour what’s left of my drink down a bathroom drain, trashing the Solo cup with a slam that tilts the waste bin.
    Suddenly, I feel fifteen again, and I’m slamming my last liquor bottle against the wall—the last time I vowed to ever pick up a bottle again.
    Old habits die hard … but I’ve been down this road before. I know how it ends. I know it’s not where I want to be…
    I close the door before the smell of the alcohol can hit my nostrils, before the pull of an old seduction makes me lose what little will I have left.
    Thirteen years.
    Thirteen long fucking years… and I’m still afraid. Still afraid that the demons of my past will resurface to haunt me—that the mistakes of the father will manifest within the son.
    They have before. I have to ensure they won’t again.
    But every day is a battle for control.
    I turn another corner in Foxx’s house wondering if another demon will meet me around the bend.
    And when I enter one of the empty bedrooms, I find one sitting in wait…
     

The House Always Wins

    Remember this: The house doesn't beat the player. It just gives him the opportunity to beat himself. – Nicholas Dandalos
     
     
    ELENA
     
    “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” I huff heavily, pulling the remainder of my shirt down over my head.
    “Why would I knock on what’s supposed to be an empty room?” Griff throws at me. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
    “This is my sister’s party. I brought her here. And as you just freaking saw, I’m getting changed.”
    I run my fingers through my hair, trying to regain my dignity.
    Lukas just caught me bare-breasted, switching clothes for the party, and even now … in the dark… I can tell he’s staring intently at me.
    “I can’t believe this,” I mutter softly, adjusting my sweater sleeves.
    His voice