CHAPTER ONE “You were never in the picture, Jensen. You were only a mistake I was waiting to fix.” Those words would ruin Jensen’s night in exactly 7 minutes. But he didn’t know that yet. Instead, he wove through the dancing crowd at Club Venox the way he’d learned after years of taking shifts: duck, pivot, and smile at whoever’s elbow catches his ribs. His phone read 11:53pm. Seven minutes to midnight. Seven minutes to twenty-two. To the only birthday that ever actually mattered. He had already decided how he’d spend the first ten minutes of being twenty-two: buying Rose, his girlfriend, those concert tickets before the presale closed. She’d been wanting them since spring. He could finally afford them tonight, and the thought had kept him smiling through six hours on his feet. And shit, his feet hurt like hell. “Hey, College-boy! Look alive. VIP room two needs another bottle!” The Club manager yelled at Jensen. But the music was so loud that Jensen didn’t cat

CHAPTER THREEHow could the poor waiter they had humiliated suddenly become someone who could command people like Geena and Seth?For the first time that night, real fear crawled into Benjamin’s eyes.“How dare you! Do you know who my father is? Do you know what my family can do?”Benjamin’s hands trembled while he unlocked his phone.“I’ll fucking bury you, Jensen. You’re done!”The screen lit up. His father’s contact photo.A stern looking, silver-haired man with a patch over his left eye.Benjamin hit the video call button with a shaking thumb, stepping over the screaming bodyguard without looking down.The call connected.Marcus Starr’s face filled the screen, irritation already spreading as he gazed at his son.“This had better be good, Benjamin. I’m in the middle of something-”“Daddy, there’s a problem.” Benjamin’s voice cracked.“Some lunatic attacked my men. I think he broke my guard’s arms. I need security here, now, before this gets out to the press—”“Slow the fuck down.”

CHAPTER FIVE Pendleton University hadn’t changed in four years. The gate looked the same. So did the fountain. Even the cracked tile outside the library hadn’t been fixed in years. Jensen walked through the main gate. He strolled past the fountain where freshmen always took their first-day photos. A huge statue of the founder stood erect at the courtyard. There were only three weeks left until graduation. Three weeks until the last excuse for him to play poor ran out. His dorm door was unlocked. Jensen gently pushed past it and stepped into his room. “You’re alive!” Coleman jumped off his bed. “I called you eleven times.” “I counted nine.” Jensen replied. “I rounded up for dramatic effect.” Coleman pulled him into a quick, hard hug. Noticing his wound, Coleman winced. “Yeah… You look like shit.” “Fair enough.” Jensen sighed and sat on his little bed. “Rose really did you dirty, man. Whole floor’s talking about it.” Coleman paused. “You good though?” He asked. “Bet

CHAPTER SEVEN Charlotte’s spine cracked against the wall. Jensen heard the impact before he heard her voice. “Ah!” She cried out. Worried about Charlotte, Jensen had followed her outside, claiming he was going for a bathroom break. But now, a thick-necked man with a gangster’s build was brooding over her, his massive hand pinning her shoulder to the concrete. “Stop fighting it!” the man growled, his breath rancid, and mouth just a few inches from her ear. “Everyone knows what you really are under that ice-queen act. Just fuck me, and I’ll make sure nobody ever lays a hand on you again.” Then he smirked. “Except me, whenever I want.” Charlotte pushed and fought, but the man was too strong. “Get off me!” Her voice cracked, fury and terror tangled together. The man grabbed her even tighter. She whimpers under his touch, adrenaline and fear surging through her body like a drug. “Scream all you want.” He laughed. “Nobody’s coming for a filthy girl like you.”

CHAPTER NINE [Payment Approved!] No hesitation. No second swipe. Just done. The table went dead silent. Matthew’s face cracked. How the hell did that happen? He’d spent the whole dinner waiting to watch Jensen choke on the price tag. Instead, Jensen had just dropped the equivalent of Matthew’s tuition on wine without blinking, and now every eye at the table had swung toward him, waiting for his turn. “Where the fuck did he get a black card!” Matthew thought to himself. Jensen simply collected his card. Even the waiter was in shock. “This means nothing. Show him who’s boss, Matthew.” “Yeah, Matthew. Put him in his place!” Matthew chuckled nervously. His classmates urged him on. He pulled out his first card, forcing a grin. [Declined!] The room stilled. All eyes fell on him. “Wrong one,” he muttered. Too loud, too fast. Second card inserted. [Declined!!] “Card reader’s probably faulty,” Matthew said, but his voice had lost its certainty, gone th