Page 36 of Royally Tempted

Malcolm

None of usheard it at first. The three of us were too lost in thought, camped out on the bumper of our dad’s old 1955 Chevy pickup. We’d spent two long summers rehabbing this thing with him until it was purring like a kitten. Now, we drove it when we wanted to think of him, or when we just needed to get away from the helicopters and limos and palaces.

We drove it out here, to the cliffs overlooking the water, when we needed to get out of our own fucking heads. Usually, it helped, but not that day. That day, I was pretty sure nothing was going to help. Nothing was going to fix this, or put the pieces back together. Not after we thought we’d found the girl of our dreams only to have her step on our hearts.

The three of us were so lost in thoughts, and in our own pissed-off fury, that we didn’t hear our helicopter until it was practically on top of us. We glanced up, frowning in confusion as to why Ryker would just drop in like this. That is, until we saw who waswithhim.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” Joaquin growled, standing and curling his hand into a fist.

The chopper set down about a hundred feet away from us, the engine winding down as the blades slowed. The side door popped open, and then there she was, bolting right for us.

Anddamnif my heart didn’t just jump up in my chest. I wassofucking mad at her, and I wanted to hate her so damn much for what she’d done to us and what she wasgoingto do to us with whatever she wrote. But the heart knows what it wants, and I could be mad all I want, but something inside me still fuckingsoaredwhen I saw her.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Landon muttered, jangling the truck keys, grabbing Joaquin and my shoulders, and nodding to the truck.

“Please!” she was screaming, tears running down her face as she ran to us. “Please just listen.”

“To what!” I growled. I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut so hard it hurt. “Fuck, Emma, I want to listen to you but how thehellcan we trust you? About fuckinganything?”

“Because I’m going to tell you the truth. All of it.”

“I think we know the truth now,” Joaquin said bitterly, looking away.

“Not the real one,” she whispered. “Look, you’re right. I came to the club that night looking for a story, orsomething. But you knew that the minute you met me. You knew I didn’t belong, and that I’d snuck my way in. And you could’ve kicked me out yourselves, but you’d didn’t.” She swallowed thickly. “Why?”

“Why?” I hissed, shaking my head. “The ‘why’ is because wefellfor you, Emma! You hooked us in and—”

“I neverhookedyou,” she spat back. “Yes, I went there for a story, but Ineverexpected you three. There was no ‘angle’ in us meeting, and I sure ashellwasn’t using you for anything!”

“Oh, except to secretly record us so you could write a fucking newspaper story about us?” Landon spat back, venom in his voice.

“That wasn’t me.”

My eyes narrowed at her. “What?”

“It wasn’t me, and that’s the truth. A co-worker—” She swallowed. “This backstabbing bitch I work with hijacked my story and gave me a secret microphone I didn’t know about.”

I laughed bitterly, turning away.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said quietly to my brothers.

“Hold the fuck up.”

We whirled quickly at the sound of Ryker’s voice, glancing past a crying, shaking Emma to see him striding from the helicopter.

“You,” I glared at him, jabbing a finger at him. “We gotta have a serious talk about loyalties, man.”

He rolled his eyes. “Calm down, hot-head. She’s not wrong.”

My eyes jerked up in surprise. “What?”

“She ain’t wrong. We ran a diagnostic of her necklace back at the security center at the palace. It’s all there, secret mic and transmitter and all.”

Landon laughed darkly. “Well great, we have proof that she recorded us, just like we knew already.”

“She’s not lying about not knowing about it though.” Ryker shrugged.

“And how exactly do you expect us to believe—”

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