Page 3 of Royal
“Legacy. Interesting.” I have no idea why my sorority status is intriguing to Emory, but after a brief few seconds, he nods and gestures in the direction of the makeshift lot. “TZE it is. We’ll have you home in two minutes.”
I chew my lip as we get to his truck, hoping this isn’t the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. If it goes to shit, I’ll blame Royal. He’s been the source of my heartache and turmoil for years. This is simply one more thing to add to his mountain of misdeeds.
The short journey back to TZE is filled with awkward silence, and I’m thankful when Emory stops his truck outside my sorority house. I throw the heavy door open, then scurry out of the back seat. “Thank you,” I say with a small smile.
Benneti waves from the passenger side with a quick wink. “Anytime, Calamity Jane.”
My brow furrows at the awkward nickname as I back up onto the curb. The rumble of Emory’s badass truck pulling away practically shakes the ground. Casting one last furtive glance over my shoulder at the two guys who brought me home, I will them away, my body vibrating with the need to be alone. As soon as they take off down the road, I bolt inside TZE and slam the door shut behind me. Leaning against it, I work hard to calm my breathing while my heart jumps around inside my chest.
What would I have done if they hadn’t brought me back to the sorority house? Scream?
But theydiddeliver me directly home. I’m fine. No cause for alarm.You’re letting Royal’s threatening, devious behavior infect your thoughts about everything else, including the actions of those two perfectly helpful frat boys.
Royal. One singular thought of him, and I fall deep inside the memory of racing through the dark woods—only this time I know who is chasing me. I blink hard to bring myself out of it, but I can’t force my limbs to move from where the door is holding me up.
I hadn’t even gotten to look him in the face, but in my head, his pale-green eyes had been cold and harsh. Hateful. Still so unbelievably angry with me, even though we both know the events that took place on the night in question are all on him. He made a choice, and I did what I had to do to survive the aftermath while my life turned to shit around me.
My stomach lurches violently, giving me incentive to push away from the door and run toward the hallway on the left. My bedroom is the second to last one, and the dirt-covered sandals on my feet slap against the hardwood floor with every step. I come to a skidding halt in front of the door, fumbling for the key in my pocket. The reality of everything that’s transpired tonight slams into me like a ton of bricks, making it harder and harder to breathe.
Finally, my shaking hand fits the key into the lock, and I’m able to gain entry. Gasping for breath, I secure the door behind me, then rush into the bathroom and lock that door, too. My hands are shaking so badly, I clasp them together as I cross to the sink. Standing in front of the mirror, my eyes widen. My face is pale as fuck, with the exception of two distinct marks—one scratch on the side of my forehead near my hairline and another on my cheek. Both slashes of red are very obvious, a result of the tree branches that’d slapped me in the face during my mad scramble through the woods.
Once upon a time, I thought if I ever saw Royal again maybe we’d be able to speak to each other. Or that we could at least be civil. Tonight’s catastrophic reunion showed me just how wrong I’d been. Why is he even here? Had he been released from prison only to fucking follow me straight here to mess with me?
His words come rushing back.You never should have fucking come here.I swallow hard as my hands grip the counter tightly.You should be terrified of the things I’m capable of.A tremor runs through me, and my throat goes dry at the reminder of the threats. He’d told me torun.
In the mirror’s reflection, there’s movement… that isn’t me. I go perfectly still, eyes trained on the window over my shoulder. The bushes outside rustle. The wind maybe? But it hadn’t been windy earlier this evening… in fact, it’s hot and muggy, making my clothes stick to me. There hasn’t been a breeze of any kind at all tonight.
My attention darts down to the bottom right, where eyes pinned on me blink. Pure terror pumps undiluted through my veins. I spin to face the window, my heart rate ramping up again. Shaking, I stare through the glass panes, hoping my mind isn’t playing tricks on me.What the actual fuck.I left Connecticut for a lot of reasons, but the big one had been that I no longer felt safe in my own home.
But there’s nothing outside except the black, black night and what I think is a hydrangea bush. Drawing in a breath, I remain still. I haven’t gone completely crazy. I didn’t conjure eyes watching me out of fucking nowhere. Rubbing my hands over my face, I whisper, “No.” The word comes out pathetic and unsure, and, hearing that vulnerability in my voice, frustration, anger, and panic flash through me. It all collides, sending my head into utter chaos.
With a soul-ripping sob, I lash out, knocking makeup and other assorted products from where they’d been carefully laid out on the counter. My hands find my head like I’m physically attempting to keep myself from shattering, and unbidden tears splash down my cheeks as I lose that fight. Shaking violently, I drop to the ground and curl into a ball of despair.Why is this happening to me? Was that him out there? Had he somehow followed me after I’d stumbled onto Benneti and Emory?
I have no idea how long I allow myself the meltdown that ensues, but my heart tightens in my chest as I relive over and over the unsettled feeling that sent me dashing into the woods in the first place. A scene from the past tumbles disjointedly through my head, making me sick and dizzy. He’s here somewhere. I know it. But it feels different than the first time. This isn’t some high school game. The hunter is hungry, and I’m the prey.
THREE
ROYAL
What the fuckis the holdup? Exasperated, I glance at my phone again, wondering for the tenth time how it’s taking this long for Beckham and Wilder to return from their mission.
At the bonfire earlier, it’d taken me a hot fucking minute after I’d spotted Echo to throw together a rudimentary plan, something meant to scare her. Make her go the fuck away… yet also draw her in and confuse the shit out of her. I’ve had a long time for all my anger to seep into the marrow of my bones and turn my feelings toward her into twisted knots of hate.
I tuck the phone in my pocket before lacing my hands over my head.Fuckin’ breathe.Back and forth, I stride across the spacious kitchen. I make a ridiculous attempt at distracting myself by studying the current state of the most-used room in the house. Its dark granite counters are immaculate at the moment, but they won’t be for long. Soon, this entire place will be a fucking mess, littered with beer bottles, cans, and red Solo cups until the housekeeping staff that comes in once a week gets a chance to clean it up again.
A low rumble creeps up from inside my chest as my mind curls in on itself and points me right back in the direction of everything Echo. I thought she was in goddamn Connecticut. How the hell did she end up at Kingston University? Blowing out a hard breath, I shake my head, aware that I probably look like I’m having some sort of mental crisis with the way I’m pacing the floor. And maybe I fucking am. Wouldn’t be the first time I flipped out and went completely off the deep end. It just takes the wrong person saying the right thing and it’s all over. In prison, crazed behavior like that results in a one-way ticket to solitary.
The kitchen I’m pacing is situated at the very back of our house, and I find my eyes traveling out the floor-to-ceiling windows, across the grassy back lawn, and to the trees beyond. That’s where I had her in my clutches. That’s where I spoke directly to her for the first time since the night everything went to shit. I sigh.Don’t torture yourself like this.She’s not even out there anymore. At least, I assume Wilder and Beckham took care of that detail for me. Took her back to the bonfire or something.
Thank fuck most of the other SIN brothers are still out of the house and will be for a good long while. It’s one of those nights when it’s expected that we party until dawn, but my night of fun had blown up in my fucking face the second she showed herself at the joint fraternity and sorority event.
My boysgetmy aggravation and upset, though. Enough of it, anyway. I’ve shared limited information about why I was in prison. They knowshe’sresponsible for putting me there. Honestly, that’s more than they fuckin’ need to know.
I never figured I’d be part of a fraternity, but SIN is a good fit for me. I met Wilder and Beckham when I first arrived, and we just… clicked. Against all odds, I’ve found myself capable of trusting them—as much as I trust anyone these days, that is. I hope Echo’s appearance doesn’t fuck all that up.
With an irritated growl born ofyearsof waiting for this chance at her, I reach back and grab the collar of my T-shirt with one hand and pull it over my head. Like a sledgehammer, the scent of whatever fragrance she was wearing this evening slams into me. It’s sweet and practically edible, and nearly knocks me for a goddamn loop as it reminds me of the chase—every time she let me catch her andespeciallythe times she put up a fight. I clutch the garment in my hands and exhale harshly, expelling her from my system before swiping it over my sweat-coated chest. I stuff a handful of it into my back pocket, leaving the rest to dangle. I’ll deal with it later. Might have to burn it now that it smells like her.
Talk about a shock, seeing Echo at the bonfire like that. It’d been like a lightning strike, a bolt of electricity slamming violently through my system. My lungs had seized up, or maybe I’d been holding my goddamn breath, I don’t know. I’d fuckin’ blinked a ton, because I thought the smoke was messing with my eyes, but soon it became apparent they weren’t playing tricks on me. It was definitelyherstanding on the other side of the fucking flames.
