Prologue
20 Years ago …
It was the best day of his life. He’d waited for this day for years and finally, it had arrived.
“Eighteen! I’m fucking eighteen today and now big brother Shane can’t control me anymore.”
Zeke Sinclair loved his half-brother, who he’d come to worship over time. If not for him, he’d probably have ended up in juvie after their mother and his father had died in a car accident when he was the young age of ten. It had been devastating to him as a young boy to lose both parents at once. Shane, twenty-four at the time, and recently qualified as a psychologist hadn’t thought twice about stepping in and taking care of him. When Zeke had turned sixteen, he’d demanded that Shane change his surname from Clinton to Sinclair, as proof that to him, Shane was now his only family.
Because of Shane, he’d become a famous child movie star, along with all his cousins in an instant blockbuster Marvel movie series, Space Riders. It also changed the freedom Zeke had. At times it felt like Shane had him on a leash, reining him in when it looked like he might be in danger of succumbing to the lure of alcohol and drugs that were so easy to find in the movie industry.
“Well, no more. From today, I’m legit.” He chuckled. “Well, the fake IDs we managed to get are saying so at least! It sucks that drinking age is twenty-one. Lucky for me I’m a big motherfucker and no one questions my age.” He chuckled. “It also helps that I’m a celeb who people want to please. Now, no one's gonna stop me from going to clubs and getting drunk as a skunk!”
He hummed a tune as he used the cordless phone in his room to dial the number of his best friend, Roy Hughes.
“Hey, birthday boy!’
“Yep, the day has arrived! Are you ready for some fun tonight?”
Roy laughed. “Did Shane finally agree that you can have your own private party?”
“I’m eighteen, my friend. I don’t need his permission to do shit anymore. We’re going out on the town tonight! You, me and the guys.”
“You’re a shitload braver than I would be with a big ass brother like yours, but I’m game. Where are we going?”
“We’re going clubbing. To that new club on Miami Beach. It’s time to put our fake ids to use! Tell the guys to meet us there at eight. I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty.” Zeke started at a loud rap on the door. “I gotta go. See you later.”
“Are you up, Zeke? Get your ass in gear. We’re going jogging.”
Zeke glowered at the door. “Jogging? How about wishing me happy birthday, big brother?” he growled under his breath but stomped his feet into his favorite running shoes. It was the one time of day he enjoyed spending with Shane. They ran for five miles and on the way back, spent an hour at the gym. He was fit and extremely well-built for a boy of his age. Muscled and strong, just like his brother.
“I guess I should thank him for that.” He chuckled as he flexed his biceps. “It’s because of these babies that the chicks are crazy about me.” His grin widened as he recalled all the sexual bliss he’d experienced at the hands of much older women since the age of fifteen. Not that he complained, at least they taught him the skills to be a sought-after lover.
“Zeke! Get your butt down here!”
“Keep your pants on, old timer! I’m coming,” he shouted as he opened the door and ran down the stairs. He stopped in his tracks in the kitchen to find Shane dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, having coffee with their cousin, Kane, and best friend, Danton Hill, who they’d known from when they were young boys.
“Can’t say that he looks any different,” Danton graveled in his deep voice. He chuckled as Zeke cast an annoyed look at him. “Still as nippy as a Jack Russell pup, I see.” He reached out and yanked him closer with a large hand around the neck and hugged him under his big ass arm. Zeke was tall and big for his age but next to this mammoth man, he always felt like a midget. “Happy birthday, little Sinclair.”
For once, Zeke didn’t complain as he ruffled his hair, which was his pride and joy that no one was allowed to touch.
“Can’t believe you’re eighteen, little cousin.” Kane dragged him in for a man hug as well.
Zeke loved being part of such a close-knit family, which in his mind, included Danton.
“Happy birthday, sport,” Shane said as he placed his arm around his shoulder. “Hopefully now you’ll start making your bed in the morning.”
“For what? I’ll only mess it up when I go to sleep again.”
Everyone laughed at the expression on Zeke’s face. It was a regular topic of discussion.
Shane shook his head. He gestured toward the interleading door to the garage. “I got us some chocolate croissants. They’re in my car. Go get them for us, please.”
“Geez, I’m the birthday boy and still I’m being ordered around,” he grumbled as he stomped toward the door. He looked over his shoulder as he pushed it open. “I can’t wait for the day I turn twenty-one, so I can tell you to sod off,” he said as he disappeared into the garage.
For a moment there was no sound and then an earth-shattering shout echoed from inside.
“Holy shit! Shane! Is it mine?” Zeke appeared in the doorway, literally jumping up and down with excitement as he pointed to the sleek black sports car sporting a large red ribbon. “You’re shitting me, aren’t you?”
Shane smiled as the three men followed him back into the garage.
“Happy birthday, little brother, and yes, it’s yours. You have proven to me you’re a responsible young man, so therefore, I trust you will take good care of it.”
“Fucking mistake if you ask me,” Danton rumbled as he watched the excited young man circle the car. “Heed my warning, young pup. If I ever find out you’re speeding, I’ll personally whip your ass.”
“You’ll have to catch me first.” Zeke ripped off the bow and got in behind the wheel. His excitement was contagious. “Come on, big brother. I’m taking you for a spin.”
“You’ll need these,” Shane said as he tossed the keys at him, which he caught deftly in the air and cranked the engine seconds later.
Danton and Kane watched as he carefully reversed out of the garage and once in the street, sped off with an exaggerated wave.
“Mark my words, Kane. That little pup has a glint in his eyes that I remember too well from my youth.”
“Meaning?”
“He’s gonna get into deep shit.”
“Yo, Zeke! How about a Tequila Slammer?” Roy shouted to be heard over the loud music and the buzz of voices that gave the club an energetic vibe.
Zeke glanced at the petite blonde girl by his side—woman, not girl. Like wherever he went, he had immediately been recognized the moment they’d entered the club, and women of all ages had been flocking around him all night. He’d lost count of the number of salacious kisses he’d received once the news it was his birthday had leaked out.
“How about it, babe? Wanna have a drink with me?” Zeke frowned as he listened to his own voice. It sounded like his words slurred but his inebriated mind couldn’t count the number of cocktails and shots he’d had.