Page 105 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

A voice in the back of my mind whispers that I knew she’d already fled. That staying there would’ve been pointless.

I pick myself up and touch the portfolio. My finger leaves a streak in the dust. My body creaks with old football injuries. The concussion from the night I broke Sebastian’s knee was just the start of a whole slew of issues. My aggression was too much, and other teams were all too eager to return it. Broken ribs, old sprains.

Yeah, I hurt.

Fighting with Liam doesn’t help. Just the other week, we were at Howl. I considered jumping in the ring and getting out the crawling sensation. But I didn’t, and the feeling still lingers.

I drop my hand and return to the main room. Caleb is at the kitchen table waiting for me.

My best friend looks happy. In high school, he was angry. Like me, but different. He had an actual reason: shitty family and a girl who ruined it all. Or, he thought she did.

“Talk,” Caleb says. “Just get it off your chest. And if you want to punch something…” He shrugs.

Ugh.

“We both witnessed a car accident when we were younger. The guy died in front of us.” I wince and rub at a spot on the table. “I don’t know, it seemed a little fucked up, but Lux hung on to that connection between us. My home life…”

Not the best.

Not with my brother around, and my father being an arrogant asshole. He rubbed off on William, unfortunately.

“You know me.” I lean back in my chair. I can’t even look at him. “I hated everything.”

I almost killed myself.

These are things I should be saying to Lux, not Caleb. He’s already aware of my fucked-up mind. He already knows the stuff I’ve let out in bits and pieces. Not the whole story, but…

“I don’t know how to let go of this anger, because it’s directed at myself. At my own screwups, at my own family. At everything in my life that’s gone wrong.” I scowl. “Seeing someone die messed me up. It was all I could think about.”

“And now…?”

“Now Lux is all I can think about.”

He nods slowly, opening his mouth to say something. His phone’s shrill ring cuts him off, though. He shows me the screen. Eli calling…

“Hey,” he answers.

“We have a massive fucking problem,” Eli replies. “Liam’s flipping out. Sky’s missing—and the local detective they’ve been dealing with thinks it’s Masters.”

“Fuck,” Caleb says.

“All hands on deck,” Eli says grimly. “Can Theo hear me?”

“Yes,” I answer.

“Sorry, man. Can we put your emergency on the back burner—?”

“Done.” My stomach flips. “We’ll help search…”

Boston is a big city. It feels small sometimes, but today its size doubles in my mind.

“Meet us at Liam’s apartment,” Eli says.

And that’s it. This is what we do for our friends. Caleb gives me a doubtful glance, like he thinks I’m not up for putting Lux out of my mind. But this is Liam and his girl. It’s important, and I can… I can do that.

“You’re a good friend,” Caleb tells me.

I shake my head. I’m not, but there’s no use telling him that. Once Sky is located… then I can think about my girl.

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