Page 1 of Royally Twisted

Prologue

Ivy’s heart hammeredagainst her chest. Her blood ran cold through her veins at the desperation in Luke’s tone as she beat against the bathroom door, praying he’d open up. “Dammit, let me in. Let’s talk about this,” she begged. Over her shoulder, she glared at the blond man who ruined their carefully constructed world. He shrugged one broad shoulder, seemingly unaffected by what was happening.

A whimper came through, giving her a renewed sense of purpose, giving her hope. How the fuck had things gone from perfectly fine when she’d left home that morning to this...a complete shitshow, she wasn’t sure.

“Everything’s fucked. I can’t face them, Ivy.” Luke’s voice sounded desperate.

She pressed her palm to the door, leaning her forehead against the hard wood. “Luke, baby, we’ve gotten through tougher shit, we can get through this.”

The man behind her growled, but she waved her free hand frantically, needing him to shut the hell up. Luke tended to be a drama king, only something told her this was different.

“Not this time, love. Not this time. King knows. He knows something. I love you, Ivy. Remember I’ve always loved you.”

She jerked backward at his words, her palms sweating. “Luke, open this fucking door. Stop talking like an idiot, and let’s sit down and figure this out.”

Time seemed to suspend at the sound she’d heard many times when she’d been at the rifle range, the sound of a shell being inserted and then the barrel being locked in place. Panic had her reaching above her head for the key kept over the frame to unlock the door, fearing she’d be too late, worried she’d piss Luke off. Fear won out as she pushed the key in.

Ivy burst through the door at the same time as the shotgun boomed through the small space. Most people would’ve been screaming, and maybe she did. Her body jerked as if it too felt the impact of the bullet, her hand going over her mouth. In slow motion, her feet took her the short distance where Luke lay, his eyes staring up at the ceiling, his body in a pool of blood. “Oh god, Luke, what did you do?” she sobbed, shaking, slipping on Luke’s blood.

“Holy shit. I’m calling 911.”

She heard someone say as if from far away, but she just wanted another moment with Luke before he was gone, but he was already gone, his eyes, those beautiful chocolate eyes, were vacant. “You promised you’d never leave me alone. You lied, damn you.” How many times she’d laid on his chest and cried her eyes out, she couldn’t remember, but none of them had ever been filled with only her heart beating. “We were going to raise our kids together one day, remember?” Another sob escaped followed by another. Her body felt heavy, the blood was cooling. Shouldn’t it stay warm longer? He was her best friend. They’d met in grade school when he’d punched a boy for pulling her pigtails. They’d become best friends when she’d punched a girl for breaking up with him in junior high. They became theit couplein high school when he became her...everything. Now, he was lying in a pool of thick, cooling blood.

Ivy stayed there on the bathroom floor with the tangy scent of copper filling every fiber of her being, covering every inch of her body. She was sure she’d never be clean again, but not wanting to leave Luke alone, needing to make sure he had someone with him. Fuck, his brothers were going to kill her was her last thought before she shut down and just floated.

Chapter One

Tymber shook Alan’shand at the end of the meeting. “Thanks for coming and talking tonight,” Alan said.

“No thanks needed, man. You and I both know I owe you and this place my sanity. If I can give even a small amount back, I’ll do it.” He grinned at the raised brow his friend gave him. Sure, back when he’d first began coming to the meetings, he’d only done it to make his sisters happy. Of course, he’d found it an easy way to pick up women, then he’d actually found a little peace in the place. A win win for a man who hadn’t had much to look forward to back then. Coming up on his five year cancer free date, he felt a little bit of everything. One of them being the need to celebrate.

He saw a slim form pass by the open door, her dark hair shone in the hallway catching his attention. He was sure he’d seen her walk past a couple times before. He made his excuses and went to see if he could find the beauty, coming to a hard stop outside the door. His brows pulled down into a frown as he watched her stand on her tip toes outside one of the meeting rooms. Although he’d used the meetings in the beginning as his personal pickup place, ‘cause seriously, he was a guy who had issues five years ago. Cancer being the biggest one, losing his hair not really much of an issue, but undergoing a mastectomy seriously fucked with his head. He kinda became a dick and used the meetings as his personal playground. Hell, women there had been easy pickings, and he’d been just the dickhead to take advantage. Now though, he didn’t like the idea of anyone coming around to spy.

“Think she’s lost?” Alan murmured.

“No clue but I’m about to find out.” The woman in question had on black combat boots, giving her a couple inches in height, but he could see she was a petite little thing. However, the window was still too high for her to see through without jumping. Tymber didn’t think she’d be the type of woman to do such a thing, but he’d been surprised before.

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