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PROLOGUE
TAVISH “TAV” GREER
Twenty Years Ago
They say money is the root of all evil.
They’re wrong, whoever they are. Money isn’t evil. No, it’s the people who control it.
I glared down at the piece of paper in my hand, the amount of Mum’s latest hospital bill staring back at me. She didn’t know I had it because she’d never given it to me in the first place. She’d tucked it away in a drawer, and I’d unearthed it while I was searching for paper to do my homework. The more I looked at it, though, the more my stomach churned. I was eighteen and finishing my senior year of high school, and I didn’t have a job. How could I help her?
“Mm. Whatcha doin’?”
I smiled down at my boyfriend as he buried his face deeper against my neck. It was late afternoon, nearing six at night, and we’d decided to take a nap after doing homework. Judah had slept longer than I did, and I’d woken to agonize over the bill and once again wonder how I was going to help Mum fix this.
Ideas had been thin on the ground so far.
Mum was currently downstairs, working like she usually did. She was the maid here in the Dailey residence, and she stayed from nine to six every day but Sunday. Mum worked hard, but no one except the rich could pay this bill. Getting up at the crack of dawn every day wasn’t going to fix this.
I shoved the invoice into my pants pocket and wrapped my arms around Judah, smiling as he tightened his hold on my middle. “I was lookin’ at an essay so I wouldn’t get distracted by my hot boyfriend. Don’t tell him, though. He can’t know about us.”
Judah laughed softly against my neck, plopping a wet kiss there. He rubbed his eyes, the sleepiness in his brown gaze slowly fading as he yawned again. His brown hair was longer than usual, but he could style it any way and it would suit him. His thick eyebrows hiked high on his forehead. “I bet I’m hotter than he is.”
“Och, I don’t think so. My wee bonnie lad is quite the catch.” I purposely laid on my Scottish accent the way I usually talked around my mum. We’d moved here when I was thirteen, and over the years of living in the States, my brogue had dwindled—except when I talked to other Scottish people.
Judah groaned and rocked his hips forward, and an enticing hardness pressed against my thigh. “Fuck, you know I love it when you talk that way. We don’t have time to mess around. Mom’ll be home soon.”
Not to mention we’d already had sex this afternoon straight after we’d finished our homework. Keeping quiet hadn’t been easy, but with Mum downstairs it had been a necessity. Luckily, it’d sounded like she’d had the vacuum running when Judah and I had come, sweaty and bucking together.
Judah had dumped his used condom in the rubbish bin beside the bed, which wouldn’t do much to hide the fact that we were having sex. Mum was all right with the idea of me and Judah in general, since we were legally adults, but she’d been raised Catholic. I wasn’t ready to have that conversation with her. No thanks. Not today. Not ever.
I glanced at the full rubber in the bin with a frown. We’d have to get rid of the evidence of what we’d done. Mum cleaned in Judah’s room tomorrow, which was a Saturday, while he was at football practice—or soccer, as Judah would say.
“Which reminds me, you need to go for a shower.” I gave him a pointed look and patted his shoulder. “Your parents are takin’ you out tonight for dinner with your grandparents, remember?”
“Ugh, no.” He nipped my neck, and I shivered. “I don’t wanna fucking go. I hate when they do that shit.”
“Jude.” I kissed his forehead a few times. “You’re lucky you get to see your granny and grandpa. I’ve never met either of mine. And they give you tons of free stuff.”
Judah received a lot of gifts from his grandparents and from his parents, too. His family was loaded and had one of those surnames that held power in New Gothenburg. The Dailey name was huge in the business world, and they were respected. Living in this beautiful home was one of the many perks Judah had been born with.
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t want the stuff they buy me. I want to hang out with you.” He grinned up at me and waggled his eyebrows. “And a blowjob.”
I shoved his shoulder, causing him to laugh. “You’re always horny.”
“Can you blame me? Look at you.” He stuffed his face against my neck again and began to nibble. Ticklish sensations had me squirming, and I poked him in the ribs. He laughed as he twisted to avoid the attack of my finger. “What was that for?”
“Go for a shower. Now.” I pointed at the bathroom attached to his bedroom. He had all the perks, but then again, he lived in a mansion. According to Judah, it was only a house, though. He never saw things the way I did.
He groaned and fell back onto the bed with a thump. “You’re so mean. Wait until I tell your mom. She loves me. She’ll take my side.”
I shoved him, and he went flailing off the mattress. Laughing when he shouted out in protest, I leaned over to stare down at where he lay on the wooden floor. “Shower. Now. And Mum wouldn’t believe you. I’m a good boy.”
His eyes twinkled. “We both know you’re anything but that.”
He didn’t argue any further and instead blew me a kiss before he made his way to the attached bathroom. I watched him go, then rolled off the bed onto my feet. I made my way out of his room and downstairs to the kitchen, expecting to find Mum, but by the sounds of the vacuum, she was still cleaning somewhere deep in the large house.
I leaned against the kitchen island and slid my arse onto one of the tall chairs beside it. I yanked out the invoice and stared at it again. After Dad died, I’d made it my mission to take care of her, but I wasn’t sure how to help with this.
