My lips part in shock. “What? Why?”
He stiffly shrugs while scuffing the tip of his boot against the cement. “It’s big news when the sons of one of the most wealthy and famous families in the city get arrested on northside.”
“Jesus,” I mumble. “So, your parents found out then?”
He nods, exhaling loudly. “Finn and I were in deep shit. Finn got his credit card taken away for a couple of weeks, though my father doesn’t realize he has cash stashed, so it didn’t amount to much. Plus, Finn doesn’t react to getting a lecture. He doesn’t give a shit about my father’s opinion.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets.
“What about you?”
“I wish I didn’t.”
“But you do.”
“Sometimes.” The muscle in his jaw ticks. “It’s been bred into me since I was born.”
I face him. “Well, always being poor and at the bottom has been bred into me since the day I was born, and look where I am now. At the Royal Academy, hanging out with a prince.”
His gaze skates to me, the corners of his lips quirking as he struggles not to smile. “You know I’m not really a prince, right?”
I tap my fingers against my lip while purposefully eyeing him over. “I don’t know. You sure look like one.”
He shakes his head, but his smile breaks through.
I playfully nudge his shoulder. “I made you smile. I win.”
His smile fades as his gaze locks on me. “You did.”
Silence grasps the air, and his gaze drops to my mouth. For a moment, I think he might kiss me again. For a moment, I contemplate kissing him. But then a massive SUV with tinted windows rolls up to the curb and shatters … Well, whatever the hell that was between us.
The window rolls down, and a thirty-something-year-old driver asks, “River Averson?”
Instead of answering, River takes out his phone and glances at the screen. On it is a photo of the driver, only now he has a beard. But his eyes look the same.
“Yeah,” River tells the guy as he pockets his phone. Then he steps forward and holds the back door open for me. When I questioningly look at him, he explains, “I have to be careful. I’ve had a couple of instances where someone pretended to be my driver, and then I almost got taken.”
All I can do is gape at him before hoisting myself into the back seat. I recall all the times I felt in danger and all the precautionary measures I’ve had to take. I guess danger lurks on both sides of the city; one just masks it better.
The driver gave River a funny look when he told him where to take us but still proceeded to head in that direction without protesting. If I were the guy, I’d consider backing out. He’s in a fancy enough vehicle that he might get carjacked, and River is making him wait for us while we sneak into my house. I’m worried that my mother will be home, and if I walk into the house with River, she’ll take one look at him and try to con him. I don’t believe River will fall for it, but I don’t want to deal with it.
So, as we near the house, I decide on something.
I rotate in the seat so my knees are angled toward him. “I think I should just go inside alone.”
He shakes his head. “No way. I should go in with you.”
“I appreciate everything you’re doing for me, but I’d rather you not go in there.” I tuck my hands underneath my legs. “I can handle this. I promise.”
He eyeballs the dirty streets, the worn-out, boarded-up buildings lining the roads, and the groups of people loitering the area. They all look rough; some are drinking, some are dealing drugs, and some are selling themselves. It’s a rough life out here, and a part of me gets it—you do what you have to to survive. It sucks, but trying to rise from the broken streets of poverty into a better world is hard and many fail.
I worry I will.
In fact, I know the odds are against me.
But I’m a fighter.
Always have been.
“I know you can handle it.” He returns his gaze to mine. “You’re one of the toughest people I’ve ever met. But that doesn’t mean you have to handle it alone.” He inhales then exhales before reaching over and taking a hold of my hand. This time, he does more than brush his fingers along my hand. He threads his fingers through and holds my hand.