Page 37 of Royal
My vision goes red, and I leap to my feet, but before I can take more than a step, Wilder’s thick arm clamps around my waist, and he jerks me against him. My breath heaves from my chest, and Wilder’s rough voice is immediately in my ear. “Uh-uh. No fucking way. Don’t let him provoke you like that.” Then without looking at Davis, he barks, “Thanks for the help, but get the fuck out of here.”
“What-the fuck-ever. Sounds like you don’t know who the fuck you’re dealing with.” He aims a hateful glare at me, which makes me want to break free of Wilder’s arms and tear my former best friend limb from limb. If he knew why we were fighting, he might have joined in.
Wilder seems to sense my agitation because he tightens his hold on me, giving me a bodily shake. “Cool it, Kaplan.”
“I’m fine. I’m fucking fine. You can let me go,” I growl.
“And after that display, you can let me be the fucking judge of that.” With a rough sigh, he releases me, then gives me a not-so-gentle nudge away from him. He stares stonily at me, waiting for whatever is next. Because I guess this next bit is up to me how it goes. I can be a fucking asshole and walk away. Or I can put my jealous ass on display and see if Beckham will tell me what the hell he was doing in her room.
Beckham makes a frustrated sound deep in his chest and wipes blood from the corner of his mouth as he eyes me from where he’s still sprawled on the grass.
I exhale hard, my eyes crashing shut, then walk over and extend a hand to him. Accepting it, he lets me help him to his feet. Backing away from him, I thread my fingers through my hair, tugging on it. My eyes flick to the side in the direction of Echo’s window before I peer back at him. “What were you doing in her goddamn room?”
Beckham stares at me, a perplexed look slipping over his features. “Are you being serious right now?”
I stare right back at him, cocking my head to the side. “Yes, I fucking am.”
A muscle at the back of his jaw twitches as his blue eyes wander my face. Finally, he throws his hands out from his sides. Frustration bleeds from him. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
Wilder groans, then hooks his arm around my neck, then Beckham’s, half dragging us across the back lawn to the stone half wall that runs the entire length of Greek Row. On weekend nights, there would be idiots partying all along here. But not tonight. Tonight it’s quiet. Probably for the best not to go back inside just yet. We know we’re being watched. Listened to.
Glancing back toward the house, I take a couple of deep breaths. “Good call.”
Wilder eyes both of us before letting go of our necks, then points at the wall. “Sit. Both of you.” Too exhausted to argue, I do as he asks, and Beckham follows suit. He keeps throwing me furtive glances. He’s clearly still pissed off. The entire debacle runs on replay through my head.Fuck.
“Royal, can you start from the beginning?” Wilder clears his throat. “I don’t know what the fuck happened.”
My jaw sets as I point to where I saw Beckham exit Echo’s room. It’s barely visible from here in the dark. “I was upstairs in my room. I glanced out the fucking window, and what do I see?” I jerk my thumb in Beckham’s direction. “This joker as he climbed out through her window.”
“And that’s”—he glances from me to Beckham, one brow arched—“notwhat you wanted?”
The way Wilder is questioning what I’ve said gives me pause. “I—” I heave out a breath. I told them to watch her, play with her head, find out whatever they could. Because I couldn’t handle being near her. My teeth grind.Shit.
“I don’t think I did anything wrong. I was messing with her, like you fucking wanted.”
My head pounds. “I know I said that, but—” Frustrated, I bow my head, gripping my hair with my hands and pulling until the roots scream. “I know what I told you. I can’t explain what my fucking problem is. The complexities of everything in my head when it comes to this girl…” I stop, shaking my head. My eyes crash shut.I fucking can’t.
Wilder groans before shrugging. “Okay. Well, have you gotten enough aggression out? Because you’re welcome to come at me.” He pats his cheek. “But leave Beckham out of it this round, okay?”
Guilt flows through me, slick and ugly. Sliding my gaze to Beckham’s, I rasp out, “I’m all fucked in the head. I’m fuckin’ sorry, man.”
He draws in a deep breath, meeting my eyes. “I get it. You’re torn. She was yours once upon a time. It sounds like you never let go.” He blinks, tilting his head to the side, his eyes scanning my face. I wonder if he sees the question burning its way through my head. He exhales unsteadily through pursed lips. “Nah, man. Don’t you dare fucking ask me to tell you what I saw, because I have no desire to say a word that will make you haul off and punch me again. But let’s just say, she’ll absolutely know someone is watching her now.”
Wilder ducks his head, catching my gaze. “Tell us if you want us to stop. We started all this with her because you begged us to help you.”
I dampen my lips, thinking carefully. “You have to keep going. Because I don’t know what I’ll do if I get my hands on her again.”
EIGHTEEN
WILDER
Around midafternoon on Tuesday,I spot Echo as she walks past the outcropping of rocks I’ve perched myself on between classes. There are a bunch of places like this on campus that students use all the time as convenient locations to meet up or hang out. I’ve got an hour and a half before my next class, so I’d planned to read or listen to music to pass the time rather than go all the way back to the frat house, but now I have a better idea.
“Echo.”
She flinches when she hears her name but turns. Her green eyes shine in the sunlight, but her entire face lights up when she realizes it’s me. She waits until a crowd of students passes between us, then comes over to join me.
I tilt my head toward the campus coffee shop that’s across the way. “Wanna get coffee? Do you have time?”
