Free It Takes Three to Fly by Mia Ashlinn Page A

Jaycee Elizabeth Blakemore.”
    “I dare—”
    The moment the word dare crossed her best friend’s lips, Katie-Anne knew what pure, unadulterated terror felt like. Ice settled into her veins, making breathing more like suffocating. Her muscles locked down as if preparing for her to run. But she didn’t. And it took everything in her to stay, to not hide.
    Katie-Anne knew that either scenario was taking the coward’s way out. Yet she couldn’t get her self-preservation instinct to dwindle as the last time she’d been dared to do something by her friends ran through her mind, every damned detail tormenting her until she thought she might go mad.

Chapter 7
     
    Ten years earlier…
     
    Katie-Anne carefully swung open the heavy metal door to Dewey Black’s Auto Shop where the two objects of her affection worked. At sixteen, Shane and Landon had no interest in her, but she hoped that today would be the day they saw her as a woman, as a person they respected and, eventually, would love. Not the teenage daughter of the late William and Isabella Blakemore. Not the baby sister of their friend, Gray. All she wanted was them to really look at her, to see who and what she was.
    The air conditioning whooshed out of the office as she stepped inside, stirring her hair up and sending it to hell and back. Although she didn’t mind since the cool breeze instantly blew across her overheated skin and caused a much-needed temperature drop.
    Wiping the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead, Katie-Anne attempted to brush her hair aside so she could see beyond the strands of her hair. She took a long, fortifying breath, whispering a silent prayer for her dare to not blow up in her face as it had with Jaycee and Shannon.
    So far, their fun-filled game of Truth or Dare had turned into a nightmare. Since it had been Katie-Anne’s idea, she felt duty-bound to follow through, despite her friends’ pleas to the contrary.
    Inhaling a second time, Katie-Anne appreciated the metallic scent hanging in the air around her. After living in a spic-and-span house filled with too much potpourri and expensive perfume, she found the simplest smells appealing. Besides, it reminded her of Shane and Landon.
    “Hey,” a deep male voice called out, startling her. With an eep , she whipped her head to the side and spotted Calhoun Parker, the office manager, standing only a foot away from her. Instantly, she felt uneasy, her stomach turning upside down.
    Calhoun terrified her. He always had, but not for the obvious reasons. He didn’t scare her in the traditional way because he was a good man, not a bad one. But he saw too much. It was as though he saw directly into her soul, like he knew all of her secrets, thoughts, and dreams. That, alone, scared the shit out of her.
    When she said nothing, the handsome twenty-eight-year-old touched her arm gently. “Can I help you with something, sweetheart?”
    “N–n–n–no,” she stuttered, jerking her arm away from him so suddenly that she fell sideways. Calhoun stepped forward and caught her before she hit the ground. Blood flooded her face, embarrassing her further because she knew how awful she looked when she blushed. “I–I–I’m fine. I j–just came by to see Shane and Landon about s–something.”
    Calhoun smiled at her with a genuine smile, blinding her with his pretty, white teeth. “I’m glad to hear that. They are out in the shop, working on Leila Schilling’s car.”
    Katie-Anne nodded gratefully. “Thank you,” she managed to choke out. “I appreciate it.”
    “No problem,” Calhoun responded as he brushed past her. “Just a word of warning, Leila is with them. You know how she can be.” He turned down the only hallway in the building, disappearing from sight.
    Shit. She did know about Leila and warning bells were going off in her head. Maybe she was in as deep as shit as her friends had been.
    Katie-Anne took an unsteady breath before flinging open the back door to the office