The Arrangement Anthology 2(148)

As he reaches up to move the tile, I slip. I try to hold on, but the wire slices through my hands, and I can’t. My hands just won’t grip. I scream as I hit the drop ceiling and take it down with me. It falls on Marty a second before I do. I hear him hit the tub with a sound like a punch, right before I land on top of him, too.

Frantic, I push my hair out of my face, smearing blood everywhere. My body is screaming at me to run as the sirens get louder.

I take off and don’t look back.

I manage to cut through lawns and side streets. The only people outside at this time of day are kids. Their parents are watching their cell phones, not them, so when they tug on their Mama and say a lady covered in blood ran by, no one believes them. Nice.

It’s all adrenaline now. I don’t consciously choose where I’m going, I just go.

The Ferro mansion isn’t far from here.

I have to get to Constance before they find me.





Chapter 16

I can barely breathe when I press the bell. My body is screaming at me, begging for a moment’s rest. I made it here on foot. I’ve spent the past few hours jumping fences and avoiding major roads. Leaves and dirt are stuck to my clothes, and there’s dried blood on my face. My hands are still screaming with weeping wounds as I fall against the door. I can’t stand anymore.

I expect the housekeeper will answer, as she has so many times before. I’ll ask for Constance and tell her everything. This is the best way. I keep telling myself that as I try to keep my eyelids open. The burning on my palms forces tears in my eyes. I slide down the front door until I’m nearly on the ground.

That’s when it opens. I fall inside and slam my head on the marble foyer floor. My vision goes fuzzy and I blink, trying to focus on the male face. Dark hair, blue eyes. “Peter?”

He laughs. “Nope. Wrong brother, Miss Smith.”

“Sean? What are you doing here?”

“I live here.” He leaves me on the floor at his feet. “The question is, what are you doing here?” His voice is cold, like he couldn’t care less that I’m bleeding all over his mother’s perfect marble.

“I need to talk to your mom.” The words come out in a hushed whisper. The world goes blurry and I blink again. The lack of sleep and the fierce fear are catching up to me. My stomach knots and I dry heave twice before curling into a ball. A tear tries to escape from my eye, but I don’t want him to see so I wipe it away, smearing warm sticky blood all over my cheek.

His stance shifts from heartless to hurt. “Shit, Avery. I wish things didn’t have to be this way.”

I cough as a shiver rakes through me. “You get to choose the way things are.”

“If only things were so simple.” He kneels down and scoops me up. “Lean into me.” Sean barks out an order for someone to clean up the mess I just made. He carries me away, cradling me in his arms like a child. Effortlessly, he walks up the grand staircase and navigates the winding halls of the mansion until he opens a door. We slip inside and he drops me on a bed, then turns and locks the door. My body tenses as I see the look in his eyes.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”





COMING SOON:





THE ARRANGEMENT 18

THE FERRO FAMILY





*****





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COVER REVEAL





Turn the page for a free excerpt from

Secrets & Lies

A Ferro Family Serial, by H.M. Ward





Secrets & Lies, Chapter 1





Is he serious? What an assface! I stumble through the quad, accidentally bumping shoulders with someone.

“Watch it, bitch.” I look up to see a pointy-nosed girl surrounded by a pack of nasty friends, all sneering at me. I have no friends here, not yet.

The truth is, my life sucks. It’s sucktacularly fucked up and I refuse to cry on the first day of college, but I’m having trouble swallowing the plate of shit my wonderful boyfriend just force-fed me. Excuse me, force-texted me. The asswipe texted me. He didn’t even call. The more I think about it, the more my throat tightens. Breathing is overrated.

I mumble, “Sorry,” and get the hell out of there, before they hogtie my ass and toss me down a flight of stairs. Not that I’ve ever seen anyone hogtied, but this is Texas, right? I’m out of my element, by far.

As I hurry away, I hear my roommate’s voice ring out, “That’s right, Bacon! You better run!” The girls all giggle like Chelsey just said the funniest thing they’ve ever heard. Great. She’s leader of the bitch pack. Why can’t I ever attract a psycho sans backup? My luck sucks. Have I said that? Well, bad luck is my key feature and the bane of my existence.