Chapter 1
I stood there in the dark of my living room, my face pushed right up against the thin curtain, peering through the tiny gap in the blinds. The house next door, Watson’s place, had all the lights blazing, and every few minutes, loud bursts of laughter cut through the quiet night.
I knew I should have been asleep by now, curled up in bed with the fan blowing cool air over me, but something about the noise pulled me over here. My nightgown clung to my skin from the sticky humidity, and I could feel beads of sweat trickling down my back as I strained to see what was going on in there.
They had a poker table set up smack in the middle of his living room, with Watson and four other guys sitting around it, looking all casual with beers clutched in their hands and scattered chips on t
