Page 48 of Royal
Royal eyes Wilder first, then shifts his gaze to me, resting his hands on his hips. “Sorry,” he rasps.
“You know I’m a lover not a fighter.” When he doesn’t respond, but his jaw twitches, I continue, rubbing a few fingers over my swollen lip, then along my cheek where I’m bruised. “You already messed up my face, so can we try talking instead? Because I don’t really like not knowing what’s going to set you off. I thought I knew you pretty well, but apparently, I don’t know what Royal’s brain looks like on Echo.” Wilder snorts, but I don’t see where the lie is. She’s like a goddamn drug to him. “And to be honest, it doesn’t look like your face could handle another round with me, anyway.” I give him a cheeky grin and wait.
It takes a good ten seconds, but a laugh erupts from his lips. At least, I think that’s what that awkward noise was. “Fucker.” He shakes his head, peering at me. “Tell me what you’ve been up to.”
Glancing over the back of the couch, Wilder bites out, “Would you all have this discussion over here so I can keep an eye on the situation? I really don’t wanna have to play referee again, but I’d prefer to be able to jump in quickly if it comes down to it.”
Royal rounds the end of the L-shaped couch and flops down, leaning against the arm. “From that puffy cheekbone you’ve got going on there, I’d say you did a fucking fantastic job last time.”
“Fuck off. It’s not my fault you were swinging like a fucking maniac. I was bound to catch an elbow.”
“Whoa there, you two.” I jump over the back of the couch, landing next to Wilder. “I don’t want to ref jack shit, so let’s not start another round, okay?”
“Fine, then. Let’s talk. What was up with your texts? Where were you?” Royal arches a brow, pinning his gaze on me.
I meet his bold stare, then turn my head to give Wilder ayikesface before facing Royal again. “I followed Echo from class tonight.”
Royal wets his lips. He appears cool, calm, and collected, but there’s a simmering fury in those pale-green eyes. I’m not fooled. This dude is ten kinds of dangerous when it comes to this woman.
I hold up a hand, hoping to keep him from going full crazy on me. “All I did was see where she went—which I thought was interesting, by the way. She walked all the way to one of the big homes on the north side of the university. Let herself right in like she belonged there. Had a key and everything.”
A low rumble of a groan passes between Wilder’s lips, and he looks decidedly uncomfortable. Clearing his throat, he runs a hand through his hair. “I can confirm all this. She went home for the night to see her sister.”
Royal’s head bobs, almost as if he was aware of that.
Fuck, I didn’t even know she had an actual sister outside of TZE. How the fuck am I the one in the dark here?
I give Wilder the side-eye because it’s one thing for her to maybe have mentioned to him that she has a sister. But how the fuck did he know where she was going tonight before I did?
Royal leans forward on the cushion, bracing his forearms on his leg. He gives me a perturbed look before settling on Wilder. “Mind telling me how you knew that?”
Beside me, Wilder gives a shrug, clearly trying to make whatever he’s about to say not a big deal. “She texted me.”
“Excuse me?” Royal bites out, cocking his head to the side as if he’s sure he couldn’t have heard what he just did.
“You fuckin’ heard me. I ran into her on campus earlier today. She told me how freaked out she was because she knew someone had been in her room.” His gaze slides to mine. “Great fuckin’ job, by the way. She thinks some lunatic has been watching her from inside her room.”
“If the shoe fuckin’ fits,” Royal grumbles, irritation sliding over his features at the reminder.
I exhale hard, working my jaw to the side. Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees. Fuck. I scared her bad. “You told us to mess with her. I did.” I look up to see Royal’s reaction, but he’s still focused on Wilder.
He juts his chin at our friend. “I want to know what was said. Between you. Show me the messages.”
Wilder’s brows dart together, and he scowls, reluctantly leaning over to pull his phone out of his pocket. He chucks it across the space between him and Royal. “I don’t have anything to hide. Beckham is messing with her in his way. I’m doing the same in mine—gaining her trust so when she realizes I’m not on her side, it’ll hurt.”
My brow raises. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“If it happens, you’ll know it.” He shrugs, giving Royal a sour look. “At the moment, I’m having trouble understanding why the hell I’m doing any of it.”
But Royal isn’t paying attention to either of us because he’s still scanning the text message thread between Echo and Emory. “Well, you have her believing you’re there for her, that’s for fucking sure.” His teeth grind. “Really fucking cute that you offered to come over for a motherfucking sleepover.”
My mouth drops open, and I swing my gaze back to Wilder. “The fuck?”
“What? You can go poke around in her room, but I can’t? If I’m there, at least it’s with her permission.”
I let out a sigh. “Whatever, Wilder.” He says that he’s trying to gain her trust so he can better fuck with her head. But somehow, I doubt he’d ever fucking hurt her on purpose. I see it in his eyes. He’s connecting with her.
It’s different than the way I feel. And definitely different from how Royal feels. But this guy doesn’t fool me either. Royal and Echo definitely have fucking issues, but I have a feeling it stems from a more complicated history than Wilder and I are aware of. And it might be more than we’re prepared to help him deal with. That remains to be seen.
