Cali

Some go through their entire lives without an arch-nemesis.

I had two.

The first one was my stepbrother, Manuel Ramirez. My own version of a real-life boogeyman. His goal was to beat me into submission, until I was nothing more than a cowering little wraith, for his own enjoyment.

Luckily, I had a guardian angel who saved me.

The second was none other than my angel's brother, Garret Hannigan. In my teens, I'd had a crush on him, and for all of about thirty seconds, I'd even fantasized about him saving me from Manuel.

Until I saw the disgusting and scary things he wrote, and that crush faded faster than I could turn off my phone.

Now, I have a new life-a new identity.

My goal had been to stay under the radar until I could carry out the revenge on Manuel I'd been dreaming of.

Then none other than Garret Hannigan sits down in front of me at work and orders a drink. Looking into those green eyes of his, face-to-face for the very first time, I realized the ghost of my crush still lingered.

I should have exorcised those feelings that first night. Instead, every time he walks into the club and sits in my section, not even bothering to look at the girls on the stage, those feelings only seem to grow.

But there's a huge problem.

Garret doesn't appear to know who I am. Not even a hint of recognition flickers in those eyes I've begun to drown in.

For the first time in my life, I'm happy...but what will happen when I tell him who I really am.