Page 43 of Royally Bad

I knew better now.

Francesca cut the silence in two. “You guys are such assholes. Explain it to her better than that.” Shaking her head, she came my way. “Sammy, look. There are people who hate this family—all of us. They’re jealous, or cruel, or whatever. Doesn’t matter.” She tried to grab my wrist; I let her. “You got pulled into this because of me, no one else. So trust me when I say ... let us protect you. We’re the only ones who can.”

Gently but firmly, I pulled my arm away. “You’re probably right,” I said slowly. Lifting my eyes, I watched her from under the loose pieces of my hair. “But since when is it okay to lock someone up just because you think you’re doing them a favor?”

She actually looked wounded, and I felt kind of bad, but I knew what they were doing was wrong. The path to hell is paved with good intentions, and all that.

Marching past her, I ignored all of them.

“Sammy!” Kain’s shout was a bullet that I sidestepped.

Let him call my name all he wants,I thought bitterly.

I may be on a leash.

But I’m not his damn dog.

- CHAPTER TWELVE -

KAIN

“Come on,” Thorne said, opening his car door. “Let’s go.”

I was in a shit mood—this morning hadnotgone the way I’d wanted. Stepping out, I slammed the door as hard as I could.

He winced. “Fuck, man. This baby is new. Be gentle.”

“Let’s just get this over with.”

“Fair enough.” Climbing the steps to the front door, Hawthorne gave it a nudge. Sammy hadn’t shut it when she’d burst out of her home last night. “Guess the guy who went after her didn’t lock this up when he left.”

“Ifhe left,” I mused. “There’s a chance he’s still in there. Be careful.”

“Careful of what, shadows?” Chuckling, my brother led the way inside. “There’s no way he stuck around.”

In spite of his confidence, I put my hand under my jacket. I didn’t usually carry a gun, but the warm handle felt comfortable in my grip. I wasn’t going to chance getting shot for my assumptions.

Stepping quietly through the house, I noticed how sparse it all seemed. There were some boxes in a corner by the stairwell, and as I entered the kitchen, some more were stacked by the far wall.

I saw the shards on the floor seconds before I might have stepped on them. Under the edge of the sink’s cupboards, there was half of a white coffee mug. Freezing, I glanced at my brother. “Guess this was where she fought him off.”

Crouching, he nudged some of the pieces. “She’s tough, I’ll give her that. Not many people could take down someone that caught them off guard.”

“Sammy’s pretty surprising.”

“Mm-hmm.” Lifting a big piece of the mug, he turned it to show it to me. It was obviously part of a horse’s face, the mane blowing in the breeze. “Surprising is a good word. Is this a fuckingpony?”

“Huh. Maybe she likes riding them.” She’d never mentioned anything about that.

Grinning, Hawthorne said, “I’ll bet she likes riding something.”

“If you’re trying to insult me by comparing my cock to a horse, it isn’t working.”

“Tch.” He stood smoothly, dusting off his jeans. “Let’s scope out upstairs quick.”

Together we ascended the stairs, the wood creaking as we went. “You come up with any reason this guy might be after her?” he asked me.

“Not a one.” Gently, I nudged her bedroom door open. “If there’s a connection between this guy, us, and her, I don’t know what it could be.” Bright light caught my attention. The window was flooding the room with sunbeams, they caused the bedspread to glow like a hellish white flare.

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