Page 126 of Vicious Desire (Fallen Royals 4)

God, how I hate him.

And I need to keep hating him. If I don’t, he’ll worm his way back inside my heart—especially when I’m vulnerable. Eli can’t do that. I know he’s going to try, and I… I know myself. I’d forgive him. This is my way of cutting the strings that tie us together.

I shudder.

I’ll give his stuff back, then give the notebook to my dad. He’s a prosecutor—surely he can make sense of the defense notes Eli and his dad worked on.

It’s not just what I’ll do—it’s what I have to do to survive.

32

Eli

“My dad defended James Courier,” I say.

Lawrence West hasn’t gone for his gun, but I don’t trust it. He’s staring at Riley like she’s the one who landed his brother-in-law in prison.

His gaze snaps to mine. “I’m well aware.”

“Then you’re aware that the whole case was a clusterfuck from the beginning.” I studied my ass off for this. I still know it like the back of my hand.

It was the last big case of my dad’s that would go to trial before I left for school. We had been prepping for it all year, compiling little bits of evidence to sway a jury into believing Courier’s innocence.

“The burden of proof lies with the prosecution,” Dad often repeated.

But it didn’t mean that we could sit idly by. Each testimony, each twisted word and piece of DNA, told its own part of the story.

Shuffle the board, hide some of the pieces, and we could create our own narrative.

That’s what our goal was, anyway.

It was a case I’d just started working on with him at the start of senior year.

I made the mistake of leaving my notebook at Riley’s house. I hated the stupid thing and what it stood for—one step closer to leaving her, one step closer to a future I didn’t want. So I left it there regularly.

And I didn’t miss it when it was gone.

I just missed her.

Lawrence frowns. “I’m aware. But you had a plan.”

There’s a sense of disconnect floating through me right now.

I’m here, but I’m not.

I’m here, but I’m stepping into new shoes.

Suddenly, it becomes crystal clear that only the successful defense of Riley’s case will end with both of us walking out of here in one piece.

I keep her behind me and clear my throat.

Dad and I had logged my hours. We even put it down as an unpaid internship on my college applications.

“Your brother-in-law committed a murder and left evidence behind,” I say. “DNA. The weapon. We didn’t have a plan so much as a strategy—and even that went to shit because Courier was an idiot.”

Lawrence’s brows lower.

Note to self: don’t piss off the judge and jury.

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