Erased (20 page)

SAM TUGGED ME CLOSER, HIS ARM TUCKED
beneath my head. I snuggled into the crook of his neck, breathing in deeply. He still smelled like autumn, even though it was mid-May and everything was drenched in fresh air and new life.

I ran my hand up his bare stomach, tracing the lines between his abs with my index finger. He shuddered, which only fueled my need to keep going. I crawled on top of him, pinning him down.

A lazy smile crept on his face.

“I fully plan on taking advantage of you, and you don’t get any say in the matter.”

“Oh, no?” In one quick movement, he wrapped his arms around me and rolled me over, pinning me on my back.

I laughed. He kissed me. Once. Twice.

I reached down for the tie on his board shorts and tugged on one of the laces. This was how we spent most afternoons now, and it was absolutely, positively, the best way to waste a day.

The Branch was gone. With one little app, one little red button, we’d detonated the bombs Trev had planted, and the Branch headquarters had gone up in smoke. So had the warehouse in Port Cadia and the lab in Indiana. The media had covered the explosions for weeks afterward as they theorized how the locations were connected. It became even more of a lucrative story when any and all officials involved in the case refused to talk.

Although we were almost certain the Branch was completely wiped out, we had yet to confirm what had happened to Riley. Who knew where that weasel was hiding. Hopefully in some hole far, far away, never to bother us again.

Sam’s fingers edged beneath the hem of my tank top. My stomach filled with butterflies as his fingertips glided across my skin. He kissed me once and pulled back. “I have something for you.”

I frowned. “What?”

He rolled away from me and reached beneath the bed. He came back a second later with a book. Black hardcover. No writing on the front. I sucked in a breath.

“Is it—”

“It’s not the same one,” he said quickly. “But I got one as close to it as I could.”

I took the journal from him and opened it. The pages were thick
hand-pressed paper, just like the one he had gotten me for my seventeenth birthday. And as before, he’d written something on the first page.

To Anna and a new beginning.

—Sam

Tears burned in the depths of my eyes. I lunged at him, wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back.

“Thank you,” I said. “It’s perfect.”

“You’re welcome.” He moved as if to kiss me but was cut off by Nick’s shouting from downstairs.

“Sam! Get your ass down here! Cas seems to think he can fly.”

Sam sank next to me and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.

“Don’t be.”

He kissed my forehead, traced a thumb across my lips. “I’ll be back.”

I smiled. “I’ll be here.”

He left the room, thudded down the stairs. I could hear him and Nick trying to convince Cas to get off the roof of the porch.

I lay on my back, closed my eyes. A warm summer breeze blew in through the open window. I arched my bare feet, the sun warming my legs.

“Cas!” Sam yelled.

There was a
thud
a second later, then an
umph
. “Ohhh crap,” Cas groaned.

“You’re such a goddamn idiot,” Nick said.

“At least I’m good-looking,” Cas countered.

Nick tsked. “Except no one likes a dumbass.”

Cas laughed. “That would explain why you get zero action.”

A scuffling noise followed. Cas laughed again, the sound fading into the background.

I hadn’t shot a gun in weeks. I hadn’t needed to run from agents. I hadn’t had to steal a car or fight anyone with my bare hands. This break was the best thing for all of us, and I didn’t ever want it to end.

Nothing was permanent. I knew that. The boys still had a lot of things they wanted to find out about their old lives. Cas had remembered a few details about his grandma—that she’d raised him—and we’d been taking the steps to find her. Nick wanted revenge on his father, though whether or not he was serious was unknown to all of us. I hoped he wasn’t.

Whatever our futures held, I was sure of one thing: We were family. The boys and me. And nothing we found out about our pasts would change that.

I clutched the new journal to my chest and looked up at the ceiling, as the paper cranes danced in the breeze.

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It takes an army to create a book, and my list of people to thank reflects that.

First and foremost, my editor, Julie Scheina, who I am convinced would win the Editor Olympics if there were such a thing. She is clever and wise and kind and all the other adjectives that would be listed under
awesome
in a thesaurus. My books are a million times better because of her savvy ability to ask all the right questions.

To my agent, Joanna Volpe, who is a badass businesswoman, but also a kind and caring advocate. Without her, I fear I would be a colossal mess most days. I can’t imagine building a career in this industry without her at my side. I thank my lucky stars for her every day.

Special thanks must go out to Pam Garfinkel and Danielle Barthel, for answering my eighty billion questions/e-mails, for keeping everything running smoothly, and for being all-around awesome.

To Pouya and Kathleen, for their love and support of
Altered
and
Erased
!

To everyone else at Little, Brown and New Leaf Lit, some whom I have yet to meet, but who are no less important!

To Patricia Riley and Danielle Ellison, for all the Skype chats, and tweets and texts and e-mails, that helped me through the rough patches. You guys know how and when to cheer me up and I am forever indebted to you for it.

To Adam Silvera, for all the love. Although we met only last year, it seems like we’ve been friends forever. I’m so glad I ended up sitting across from you at that restaurant in NYC. If I hadn’t, I would not have you in my life, and I can’t picture it without you.

To all the readers and bloggers, for their support of
Altered
and
Erased
, and Anna and the boys! I write for the readers, and I love hearing from you all, because it makes working in the editing trenches so much easier.

To my family and friends, for their endless encouragement! You guys are amazing. To the grandparents, especially, for the hours and hours of babysitting!

To my husband, JV, my bestest friend in the whole entire world, I could not have written these books without you. You know how to cheer me up, you know how to make me laugh, and you know exactly how to make me feel special when I’m feeling anything but.

And last, and no less important, my chair, for being one comfy son of a bitch. My butt thanks you.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Jennifer Rush

Cover image © 2014 by Howard Huang

Cover © 2014 Hachette Book Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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First ebook edition: January 2014

ISBN 978-0-316-25189-1

E3