Deliverance (The Maverick Defense #1) by L.A. Cotton, Jenny Siegel Page A

nineteen.”
    “Yeah. Okay, but no drinks. I’m staying at Mikey’s tonight.”
    Something flashed in Donnie’s eyes, but he shot me another smile and laughed. “Always so cautious. It’s just some of the guys getting high and letting loose.”
    I wanted to ask since when getting high was Donnie’s scene. He’d always hated drugs. Avoided anything to do with them. But I didn’t. Instead, I followed him inside ducking my head.
    “Yo, DeLuca.” A dark-haired guy came up to us. He flicked his head at me. “Who’s your friend?”
    “This is Joy. She’s cool.”
    Something passed between them. Something I didn’t understand. The guy gave me the once-over and my skin crawled. Inside, I was freaking out, so much so that I almost missed Donnie moving closer to me and wrapping an arm around my waist.
    His touch felt unfamiliar. Strange. But it was better than the look his friend was giving me so I remained still.
    “Come on, let’s get a drink. Catch you later, Jerome.”
    Donnie led us into a small kitchen, crowded with bodies. Beer, smoke, and sweat filled my lungs causing my nose to scrunch.
    “Soda? Beer?”
    “No alcohol, Don,” I reminded him.
    “One beer won’t do any harm.”
    “I said no.”
    “Okay, okay.” He held his hands up and grinned. “I’ll drink yours.”
    Some of the tension that had wrapped around me when I first arrived at the party melted away. Donnie might have been changing, but at times like this, when he was goofing around, he reminded me of the old Donnie. The guy who never failed to make me smile. There’d been a time when he was my best friend. But since Dawson, things were different.
    Everything was different.

    An hour later, I still felt out of place, but watching Donnie work the room—talking and laughing with his friends—warmed my heart. He’d struggled in high school; he wasn’t the outgoing, confident guy in front of me now. How had he done it? How had he found himself?
    Dawson didn’t just leave me; he left Donnie too. But whereas I’d fallen apart in Dawson’s absence, Donnie had somehow thrived. Part of me envied him. As we moved from room to room, one thing was apparent: People all wanted a piece of Donnie DeLuca. But I couldn’t put my finger on what had changed.
    “You look bored as fuck, Joy.” Donnie approached me a huge grin still plastered on his face.
    “I’m okay.”
    “No, you’re not. Don’t think I can’t see behind your lies.” He held out his hand and I took it, letting him pull me up. “Come on.”
    Donnie led me out a door and into the backyard. There was a patio with some worn garden chairs and a lawn that needed mowing.
    “I miss him too, you know.”
    “I know you do,” I said staring out into the darkness trying to swallow back the tears building. “I just want to forget. Just for a little while.”
    A warm hand covered my own, and Donnie pressed something into my hand.
    “Wha- what is this?” I asked eyeing the clear baggie of pills.
    “Something to help you forget.”
    “You’re offering me pills? After everything, after they ruined everything?” My voice came out shrill.
    “Joy, it helps take away the pain. Makes you feel alive. Don’t you want to feel alive? Just for a little while?”
    I stared at my friend with wide eyes. Donnie hated drugs, hated them, but it shouldn’t really come as a shock considering his new friends and the rumors around town that he was finally stepping up and taking his place in the family business.
    “Shit, sorry, this was a bad idea.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “I just thought, thought you might want to get high and forget for a while.” Donnie started to tug the bag out of my hand, but I clamped my fist tight.
    “Wait …”
    “Yeah?”
    “What will it feel like?” I whispered, hardly believing I was actually asking.
    Donnie smirked, and suddenly, I regretted my words, but I couldn’t deny a part of me was curious. I’d hurt for so long I wanted to feel.