“Crazy bitch,” Leather Jacket Boy muttered. He grabbed his friend’s arm and pulled him away from the bench. “C’mon, Todd.”

Moth watched them through narrowed eyes, clamping down hard on her hunger and keeping the desire to teach these punks a real lesson in check.

“Todd” turned back and gave her the finger.

Ah, what the hell. “Hey,” she called.

She sauntered over to them, swinging her hips and twirling her hair between her fingers. She stood up close to Leather Jacket Boy and ruffled his blond hair. “Nice jacket you got there. Your boyfriend buy it for you?”

“Shut up!” This was from Todd.

Moth ignored him. “Or maybe it was a gift from Mom and Dad. Do your folks know you’re out here, smoking and causing trouble for vulnerable girls like me?”

She grabbed the jacket with ease and made a big show of admiring it. “Lovely piece of work. I bet it was a Christmas gift. Am I right?” She looked at the blond kid and smiled.

“Give it back, or you’ll be sorry.”

“Yeah. Like I was sorry about sitting on your stupid bench,” she replied. “I think I’ll take this with me. Maybe it’ll teach you boys some manners.”

Todd took a step forward. “Give it back, freak.” He lit another cigarette and watched her through those cunning eyes. Moth couldn’t help admiring his bravado—his hands didn’t shake at all. “Maybe we’ll find out how you did that little trick before, see if it works when someone else tries it.” He brandished the freshly glowing cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke at her.

Moth acted without thinking—something she did way too much, according to Theo. Okay, and according to her father and her “loving” older sister. She closed her mind to dark thoughts of Sinéad and her dad, determined not to see their disappointed faces.

Instead, she grabbed Todd by the throat and pulled him toward her so fast he lost his footing. She was so much shorter than him, it must’ve looked comical. At the same time, she wrestled the cigarette from his fingers and held the glowing tip close to his sweating face.