Prisoned: A Dark Twisted Erotic Standalone Read Free

both brothers were gone.
    The thought made my chest ache more and more as each second passed.
    Heroin had the power to freeze pain, and Billy had lots that needed to stay iced. We’d all hurt back then—Billy, Garin, and me. But I had kept my pain frozen by burying myself in homework, and Garin had kept his in check by sinking himself into women.
    A part of me had always expected Billy to get sober. To be saved somehow.
    Why didn’t Garin save him? I wondered.
    “The funeral is in three days,” Anthony said. “It’s been a while since you’ve been home. Maybe you should plan on coming.”
    Home .
    There was that word again. But Atlantic City hadn’t been my home since the day I left for college. I hadn’t returned.
    Not even once.
    Could I return for Billy? It had been years since we’d spoken, the last time when I was a senior in college. It was the anniversary of Paulie’s death, and I wanted to let Billy know I was graduating soon, something he’d never thought I would do. He let me go a few minutes into our call. There was a cop driving behind him, and he said he was in a stolen car.
    After Paulie’s death, things changed between the guys and me. I had backed away from our relationship, and they had fought me on it for a long time. They hadn’t won. But that didn’t mean I stopped caring—then or now. I cared more than I would ever admit. And had I run into Billy in the years following, I would have embraced him, and I would have told him I wanted more for him. I would have offered to help even if it would have gotten me in trouble. It was the least I could do.
    Now, it was too late.
    “I’ll be there,” I said.
    “You can stay at my place.”
    Anthony may not have lived in The Heart, but he didn’t live too far from it and was still deeply involved in every illegal activity that went on there. I didn’t want to see it, I certainly didn’t want to be around it, and I didn’t want to spend that much time with my brother.
    “I’m going to stay in a hotel and fly out the next morning. One night there is plenty. I’ll—”
    “You’ll talk to me later.”
    “Right.”
    I ended the call and immediately pulled up a travel website, knowing that if I didn’t book it now, I’d miss the chance and end up not going. It showed a nonstop from Tampa that got me into Atlantic City before ten in the morning and departed the next morning at eight. I added on a hotel room at what had been my favorite casino on the boardwalk. I’d never actually been inside. I’d only admired the facade and the flashing lights and the ornate glass door when I panhandled out front. I wouldn’t be panhandling this time. I wouldn’t be selling stolen bottles of water on the beach either. I would be staying in one of the rooms I had dreamed about as a kid, eating a huge meal in one of their restaurants, and having an expensive drink at one of their bars. And then, less than twenty-four hours later, I’d be back in Florida.
    Far away from the memories…far away from The Heart.
    Far away from everything I’d been forced to give up.

Two
    Kyle
    W hen I finally reached the front of the line, I walked up to the counter and rested my arms over it. “Kyle Lang,” I said, “checking in for one night.” I handed her my credit card.
    “Thank you, Ms. Lang. I see you’ve booked a king-size bed. Will you need one key or two?”
    “Just one. Thanks.”
    I looked around the lobby, at the faces of all the employees, but I didn’t recognize anyone. I wondered if any of the kids from my school worked here. The only person in this town I kept in touch with was my brother. I did know that no one from The Heart was employed at any of the casinos. Their records were too long to work in a place that dealt with so much cash.
    “Your room was prepaid, so I’m scanning your card to keep it on file for minibar purchases, room service, or incidentals.” She handed the card back to me along with a room key. “You’ll be on the