GIRL VIOLENCE (Secret Kisses Series Book One)

Chapter 1

There's nothing better than the smell of an old book. The kind that lurks in dark, stuffy libraries, which is exactly why Josette has been smelling musty, yellowing books since she began working at the library. Maybe it's the dust, the boredom, or perhaps she knew this place would eventually drive her crazy.

"Have you finished—" The footsteps behind Josette stop. There's a gasp, followed by, "What the hell are you doing?"

Miss Finn, the librarian, glares at her from the aisle, horrified to find Josette with her nose stuck in the book's crease. "Smelling it?" she answers with a shrug.

"Smelling what exactly?"

Ohh—she gets it. This looks bad. Miss Finn probably thinks she's just caught Josette using the pages to snort drugs.

In response, the older woman snatches the book out of her hand and vigorously shakes it to see if any remnants of white powder float from the pages. Of course, nothing does, and her eyes narrow before she slams the book back onto the shelf. "People borrow these books, Josette. They don't want your germs on them."

"Well, I bet most of them have more than that on them, Miss Finn." She smiles innocently. "Like a few sticky pages?"

The expression on Miss Finn's face becomes even more disgusted. "Not in my library; they don't! Just get back to work. Don't make me regret giving you this job. I'm keeping you off those damn streets and from being a hooligan."

Hooligan. Josette really likes that word. It's odd.

She resists rolling her eyes. Miss Finn must be irritated that Josette's father convinced her to give Josette a job this summer. In Miss Finn's begrudging acceptance, she had pledged to do

her bit for society, but honestly, she just has the hots for her dad. Her handsome dad, with his sad, lonely vibes women seem to lust for. But since Miss Finn prides herself on being respectful and not thwarted by amorous travesties, she has decided to hate Josette instead. And make her life miserable.

Ignoring Miss Finn's cursing while walking away, Josette continues sorting through the box of books she needs to log and store. She doesn't care if she's doing it wrong. Her poor nose is blocked by the hot, ancient building, and she has a thumping headache. Not to mention the slave labour without pay. Now that's a travesty.

Her dad's punishment for what she did last summer—and controlling what happens in this one—was getting her a job at the library. Josette's best friend, Jenna Joy, is to blame for what happened, and if she weren't in Germany right now, Josette would probably strangle her to death. But Jenna is there, and Josette is stuck here without her, even though she was the one who came up with the bright ideas.

Just like today, it was hot, and they did something stupid, being dramatic and sad as they are. They stole something—a car. Specifically, a police car.

In hindsight, Josette should have told Jenna it was a terrible idea to even approach it. The car sat there with its doors wide open for a reason that wasn't their business. The look on Jenna's face made it impossible to turn her down since there had been a lot of crying and drinking happening over stupid boys.

"We're not going to steal it," she'd said. "Let's just play with the radio and the siren."

They did, which had been fun, except they both freaked when they couldn't turn off the siren, which wailed loudly and was starting to draw attention. After finally switching it off, Jenna turned on the engine. "Fasten your seatbelt, Jo."

"What—" Was all Josette could manage to say before her friend was backing up and accelerating through the streets.

Josette should have told her to slow down. Despite having hundreds of lessons, Jenna hadn't passed her driving test and was even drunker than she was. It wasn't surprising when she lost control of the car. At the time, it was terrifying, especially when they were propelled into a memorial bench after clipping a tree.