Page 6 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)

The laces on my wrists tighten, holding fast. My arms nearly get wrenched out of their sockets.

He releases my ankles and grabs my throat.

I go still and meet his eyes—what I can see of them, anyway.

I lived in Stone Ridge my whole life. The house was inherited from my dad’s family, and he hated the idea of selling it. So, even though I went to Emery-Rose Elite for school, we stayed on the outskirts of town.

Liam and his family moved in next door when I was in middle school. I won’t pretend I never had a crush on him—because I’m pretty sure every girl in the neighborhood did—but we had a weird relationship.

Not friends.

Barely friendly.

But he was there, whether I wanted him to be or not.

“Careful, angel,” he murmurs. “Where’s your phone?”

I narrow my eyes, and his thumb moves a fraction on my throat. Chills skitter down my spine, but I will myself not to shiver. Or worse, tremble.

“How was Howl?” he asks. He finally spots my phone and leans to the side, snatching it from my nightstand. “RJ was pretty clear about the rules, was he not?”

I swallow.

Shit. What rule did I break?

“I—”

“Shut up.” His hand tightens.

I suddenly can’t breathe.

I writhe, bringing my knee up. I catch him in the side—the same side his opponent hit a few times, I think.

He grunts and releases me, briefly touching his side.

I pull myself up again, glaring at him.

What I don’t expect is his chuckle.

Where is my fucking roommate? Whitney’s probably with her boyfriend in another building. It doesn’t mean no one will hear us, because the dorm is filled with people, but it does mean they might write off what they hear.

This all started as a regular Thursday night. I was trying to be sociable, to make friends. We’re still in that stage of college where everything is blindingly new. And Natalie’s boyfriend got an invite to Howl…

Liam laughs.

It’s mean, aimed like a weapon. He’s still got my phone in his hand, and he unlocks it easily.

“How do you know my password?”

“If you don’t want people breaking in, don’t make it your birthday.” He shows me a screen. “This is what you did.”

I stare down at the post that came from my account.

My name.

Didn’t think I’d learn this at college, I wrote almost two hours ago.

And a video.

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