Page 176 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

River holds me against him, his breathing increasing. My anxiety matches his.

Are they looking for the necklace I have? That has to be it. But what secret do they know my mother is hiding? The possible truth tauntingly whispers in my ear. I may be an Everford. I’m unsure how, but it’s seeming more plausible with each clue we find.

River and I remain frozen where we are as the guy begins sifting through stuff—the boxes, I’m assuming. Worry begins to stir inside me that he might try to look in the closet since the necklace isn’t out there. My heart is like thunder in my chest, a warning before a lightning strikes.

And about a handful of seconds later, it does as the door swings open. The guy standing on the other side isn’t what I expected. He’s dressed in a suit, a button-down shirt, and a gold chain dangles around his neck. His shoes look expensive, and so does the odd ring on his finger. It’s bulky and old with a ruby encrusted into the center. It’s what I note before I do what I do next—shove the guy before he can even process what’s happening, slamming my palms against his chest pretty hard. He grunts as he stumbles, staggers back, and ends up tripping over the boxes.

“Run!” I shout at River while snatching a hold of his hand.

We take off in a sprint, barreling out the door and into the parking lot. I hear someone shouting from behind us, but I don’t slow down until we reach the patch of trees that enclose the path behind the apartment complex.

Once we’re there and I’m sure no one is following us, I come to a halt. The branches offer us shelter from the surroundings of the city, but I still endeavor deeper into the trees and off the path.

“Holy crap, Mads,” River says as twigs and leaves snap under our shoes. “You just shoved that guy so damn hard.”

“It was instinctive,” I tell him as I tug him farther into the trees and shrubbery. Only when I feel satisfied that we’re hidden do I stop. Then I turn to face him. ”I don’t know what he would’ve done if I hadn’t, but it probably would’ve sucked.”

He grazes the back of his hand across my cheek. “You’re kind of a badass.”

His comment is unexpected, and I end up staring at him stupidly. But then I hastily recover.

“I thought that was already established a while ago.” I smile, but it promptly fades. “What the heck is going on? Why is that necklace becoming such a pain in the ass when I’ve owned it for years?”

“I’m not sure.” He shifts his weight as he dazes off with a frown. Then he looks at me. “Do you know that guy?”

“No.” I drag my fingers through my hair. “And I don’t think he was from northside either—his clothes and jewelry were too nice.”

“He didn’t look royal either.”

“He was wearing a very distinctive ring. I wonder if he’s like the mafia or something.”

“Didn’t most of those organizations get broken up during that raid of the city like a decade ago?”

I give him a tolerant pat on the arm. “Oh, sweet, naïve River, just because the police tell you something doesn’t mean it’s true.”

He gives me a hardy har har look, to which I respond with a cheeky grin. But that promptly deflates.

“What am I going to do?” I sink down onto a log. “I need to get the rest of my stuff out of the apartment before the landlord tosses it. And I want to get those boxes my mom left. I don’t know if they mean anything, but I have this feeling I should take them.” I lower my head into my hands. “Sometimes I really miss the days when my biggest concern was getting jumped on the way home from work.”

River crouches down in front of me, fixes his finger under my chin, and angles my head back up so I’m looking at him. “I know you said you don’t want me to drive a car over here, but I have a big SUV that we can use to load your stuff up. And then there’s this storage space at the condo that we can put everything in. It’s in the basement, and the door has a lock. It comes with our place, but my parents don’t use it. And before you give me this big speech on not wanting my help with this, it doesn’t cost anything extra. It’s just there, being wasted.”

He’s catching on to how I work, and I’m unsure how I feel about that.

“I’m not sure how I feel about your SUV being parked in front of the apartment. It’ll draw attention.”

“So? It’ll only be for a bit. We can bring Finn with us, too.”

I arch a brow. “What is Finn? Like your muscle?” I tease.

He narrows his eyes at me, but the corners of his pretty lips tug upward. “I have muscle.”

I grin. “I know, but you’re leaner, and Finn is bulkier. Not huge, but he’s a football player, so he kind of has to be bigger.” I’m rambling and totally putting my foot in my mouth. I can tell he’s kind of upset with the way he gets all twitchy. “I like your type of muscle,” I add. Then, without thinking too much about it, I drag my hand down the front of his shirt. “It’s nice.”

He visibly shudders then captures my hand as it reaches the bottom of his shirt. “Nice, as in good?”

I nod, feeling a bit shivery myself. “Very nice and good.” Then I slip my fingers underneath the hem of his shirt. And he lets me, his breathing quickening as I trace the lines of his lean muscles, which go taut under my touch. But I’m careful of his bandage, a reminder of everything he’s done for me.

“Maddy,” he breathes out as he lowers his forehead to mine. His breath feathers across my face as he closes his eyes, places a hand on my side, and skims his finger along the sliver of flesh peeking out between the hem of my shirt. “If you keep touching me like this, I’ll have a harder time remembering the fake dating part of our situation.”

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