Page 17 of The Royal Flame
We keep hiking up the shoreline as he sends Finn a message, and I cross my fingers that we’re going the right way.
“He’s already sent me like ten messages,” River mumbles. “Wondering where the hell we are.”
Branches snap under my feet as I climb up a shallow incline. “Are they okay?”
“Yeah, they made it to the car. He says he’s parked in a grocery store parking lot.” The glow of his phone is making me nervous that if someone is close by, we’ll be seen.
Thankfully, he puts it away fairly quickly. “They’re just waiting for us to send them the exact location.”
“Okay, good.” My foot slips in the mud, but River steadies me by placing my hands on my hips.
Once I make it up the incline, the trees and bushes thing and the glimmer of the city lights are bright enough that I can spot the overpass in the distance.
River and I jog toward it. Once we arrive, my nerves skyrocket.
“There’s nowhere to hide,” River notes my worry aloud.
“Hurry and ping Finn our location,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself as I scan the sidewalk for shelter for us to duck behind.
A row of trashcans is across the street next to a dumpy motel. I take River’s hand and pull him with me as I cross the street, clumps of mud falling off my shoes. It’s like a trail right to where we’re hiding, but there’s nothing I can do except hope Finn gets here quickly.
River and I hunker down behind the garbage cans and wait.
“Did he say how far away he is?” I whisper as I peer around.
A dog barks from somewhere, and someone shouts at it.
“He’s only a few miles away,” River tells me as he gives an edgy glance at the motel behind us.
We’re crouched down low, facing each other, and the light of a lamppost is spotlighting down on us. It’s not the most ideal situation, but the only alternative is to walk somewhere else, and that’s too risky.
“Do you think Will and those guys are still looking for us?” He shifts and sits down.
I nod, sitting down on the gravel, too. “After what I told them, they definitely are.”
“Was that true?”
“Could be. But I don’t know for sure. I just knew if I said it, Will would go after me so he could get his street cred back. Speaking of which…” I lightly shove his shoulder. “Why did you come back for me? I could’ve handled it. And you’re not even supposed to be running. What if you popped a stitch.”
His gaze is more intense than the beam of light above us. “Like I’d just leave you. I care about you, Maddy. I’m not going to bail on you.”
His words make me squirm. He’s so nice, and I’m not used to it.
“And I didn’t pop a stitch.” He extends his hand toward me and brushes his thumb along my jawline. “How’s your head?”
“Fine,” I murmur as I struggle to process the emotions flooding me.
I’ve always been in this alone.
And now I’m not.
And it’s almost as frightening as being alone.
Because alone is familiar.
And familiar, even crappy familiarity is easier to process than the unknown.
“Are you sure?” His fingers continue to explore my face.
