Page 33 of The Royal Flame
“River, River, River,” he tsks me. “When will you learn that you can’t keep anything from me? Now, if you want to keep Maddy safe, you’ll end any sort of relationship with her. If you choose not to then you better make sure her bodyguard has eye on her twenty-four-seven, because right now, he’s merely monitoring the campus, which leaves Maddy all alone.”
“Screw you,” I growl out, rising to my feet. Panic is soaring through me as I snatch up a pair of pants from off my bed and tug them on. I put my phone on speaker phone then toss it onto the bed. “You better not do anything to her. I swear to god?—”
“You’ll what?” he cuts me off with a sneer. “You can’t do anything to me,. River. I’m a goddamn king in this city which makes me untouchable.”
“No one is untouchable,” I warn in a low tone. “Everyone has a weakness.”
“Is that a threat?” he questions, his voice chilling. “It sure as hell better not be.”
I hang up on him, partly because I’m tired of hearing his voice and partly because I can move faster without having to worry about keeping my phone pressed to my ear. I shove the phone in my pocket then run out of my dorm room. A few students are wandering around and they stare at me as I sprint down the corridor. I round the corner so fast that I almost slip, but I manage to keep my feet under me. When I arrive at Maddison’s dorm room door, I bang on it.
“Maddy,” I say loudly with fear in my voice. “Maddy, open up?—”
Lily yanks the door open. “Bro, what’re you doing?”
I push past her and stride toward Maddison’s bedroom. Her door is shut so I knock loudly. A few moments later, she opens the door, blinking confusedly. She’s wearing nothing but a towel and her hair is damp. She looks hot as hell, but I can barely fixate on that right now.
“Can you call you father and ask if can get into contact with your bodyguard?” I ask as I close the door so Lily won’t overhear the conversation.
She’s mid-question when I do and I can hear her cursing me out even when the door clicks shut.
“Why?” Maddy asks. “What’s going on? You look freaked out.”
I tug my fingers through my hair. “My father called and said something that implied he knowseverything.” I give her a pressing look. “He also acted like your bodyguard wasn’t keeping an eye on you and that because of that, my father was going to do something to do you. I don’t know if it’s just a threat, but I also don’t know how the hell he learned you have a bodyguard keeping an eye on you.”
“Shit, yeah, let me call Grey.” She holds the towel against her chest as she rushes over to the nightstand beside her bed andcollects her phone. She dials Grey’s number then chews on her bottom lip as she waits for him to answer.
While she’s making the call, I wander over to the window to peer outside at the campus yard. The football team is out on the field, practicing, and Finn is probably amongst them. A few runners on the track, and the parking lot is filling up. Everything appears to be normal, but the view gets blocked by the woods. And just through them are houses that belong to frats, sororities, and also the society.
“Everything’s okay,” Maddy says, interrupting my thoughts. “Grey checked and the bodyguard is still nearby.”
I twist to face her. “So my father was messing with me.”
She nods, stepping toward me. “Although, how did he find out I have a bodyguard. Grey’s worried about that, because that means your father might know who I am.”
I hesitate. “I’m pretty sure he does.”
The corners of her pouty lips tug downward. “Why do you think that?”
“Because he implied that he does. And that he can’t bull shit his way through.” My chest feels tight as I utter my next words, “I think we—you and I—I think we need to break up.”
Instead of responding verbally, she glares at me.
I swallow hard. “I know we weren’t like official, but I just think you’ll be safer if we’re not together.” God, my chest aches so badly that I’m struggling to get air into my lungs.
Please don’t have a panic attack right now.
“Not official,” she repeats in a low tone. Shaking her head, she steps aside. “Get out of my room now.”
“Maddy,” I start to say.
But she cuts me off. “No, I think we’re done here. I thought considering what we just did like an hour ago that you’d understand that we were official, but whatever.”
My chest constricts. “I just want you safe. That’s all. Maddy, I care about you. I really do.”
She lets out a dry laugh. “You have a strange way of showing that, River.” My lips part, but she shakes her head. “No, we’re done here. I need some space to think for a while.” She hugs her arms around herself and fixes her attention on the floor, waiting for me to leave.
Part of me doesn’t want to.
