Page 121 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

I don’t need it. I have my camera and I can get started in private investigation…

“They’re coming up,” Theo says through the door. “You good?”

I inhale and exhale. “Yeah, all good.”

“You’re not nervous?”

I yank the door open and meet his teasing gaze. “Of course I’m nervous,” I inform him. “But someone very smart—”

“And sexy.”

“And sexy,” I allow, “told me that I don’t have a reason to be jealous. Or nervous.”

He lifts one shoulder. “Eh, I don’t remember telling you not to be nervous. All of them together can be intense.”

I narrow my eyes.

“Skylar straight up ran,” he offers. “So… you’ve just got to not run, and I think you’ll have her beat.”

I snort and start to close the door again.

He stops it with his foot and leans in, cupping the back of my neck. Tingles shoot down my spine, and I go with the pressure. He places a kiss on the corner of my lips, grinning when I frown.

“Later,” he says.

I turn around, and he swats my ass. I squeak in response, and his laugh answers. I knock the door closed with my foot and breathe.

It’s fine.

I can do this.

Meeting the friends…

I hurry to brush out my hair and twist it into a bun, then pull my clothes back on. Only a minute’s passed, and the apartment is still empty when I step back out.

Theo winks and opens the front door.

Caleb and Margo walk in first—of course. Even from a distance I know that those two are the king and queen of this circle of friends. It used to sit poorly with me, how Margo managed to slip into their ranks. The boys all liked her. She even got along with Theo, Mr. Grumpy.

Skylar and Liam follow, then Eli and Riley. I know those two girls better, having been around the Emery-Rose Elite cheerleading team when both of them were on it. They were both friends with my sister at one point, too.

“Lucy!” Skylar calls, striding toward me. “Welcome back.”

She wraps her arms around me. I tense, forgetting that this is normal. Normal people hug, Luce.

She’s got a bandage on her head, a black eye, and Liam won’t take his eyes off her. I look her over, wincing on her behalf when she releases me.

“Are you okay?” I ask. “I heard…”

She frowns. “Traumatic, yes. But we’re working on it.” Skylar glances back at Liam, and the two share a private expression.

The investigator in me wants to know what it means, but I don’t have time to ask, because Riley and Margo are upon me.

“Margo Asher.” The latter extends her hand. “I don’t think we officially met, although I saw you at a few football games in high school.”

I suck my lower lip between my teeth, then quickly release it. “Right. Probably wondered what I did to make Theo hate me, huh?”

She drops her hand. “Not at all.”

---