Page 11 of The Royal Flame
“I’ve been dealing with this type of shit all of my life, Finn,” Maddy protests, refusing to budge, her legs locked, her expression firm.
He grows frustrated, huffing out an exhale. “Again, that doesn’t mean you should have to. River and I are going with you. That way we know you’re safe too.”
Maddy glares at him, then directs her focus to me. “River, you know I’m perfectly capable of doing this.” She inches toward me. “And besides, the last time you went to North Side, you got shot.”
I absentmindedly touch my side and then wince. “I remember. But as Alpha as Finn is being right now,” I glance at him and lift my brow. “Which I don’t know the hell that’s about, but whatever,” As he simply stares at me, his jaw tense, I direct my attention back to Maddy, “He’s right. You shouldn’t have to deal with this on your own.” She opens her mouth to protest, but I place a finger against her lips. “You were already taken once tonight. We don’t want to risk that again. All of us we’ll go, and Finn and I will hurry and try to look unpolished, so we don’t stand out.”
“Whatever that means,” Finn grumbles with his arms folded.
Maddy slides him an annoyed glance then reaches out and ruffles his blonde hair with her fingers.
He cocks his head to the side. “Um… As much as I love getting a head massage, don’t you think it’s kind of a bad time to be doing this?”
“I’m messing up your perfect hair,” she informs him then lowers her hand. “Hoodies, T-shirts, sneakers.” She counts out on her fingers. “Put those on, and we can go.” She points at me. “Same goes for you.” Then, she reduces the space between us and drags her fingers through my hair.
It’s like a massage, and my eyelids lower…
“You keep doing that, and my brother’s going to come in his paints,” Finn remarks, causing Maddy to smack his arm. “Oh, shit, that hurt,” he whines.
My cheeks are warm, so I hastily clear my throat and mutter, “I’ll go change.” Then, I spin on my heels and hurry toward my room.
It’s only then when I’m alone that the reality of everything crashes over me.
My mom is missing.
Lily is in danger.
And my father is a dangerous man who can ruin anything he wants.
3
MADDISON
Ahandful of minutes later, River, Finn, Noah, and I are piled into the car.
I’m unsure how River convinced Noah to go, but I’m glad he did. We’re better in numbers and are less likely to get jumped. But I am nervous we’ll be attacked, that perhaps Will set this up for whatever reason. That’s why I have my Taser, knife, and pepper spray. When I told the guys this, they were shocked. They may be fit guys, but their naiveness about what we could be walking into has me nervous.
Finn drives like a lunatic, speeding too fast and flying through red lights that he insists are still yellow. And I get why he’s doing it, but the fact that he doesn’t even get pulled over is crazy. It’s probably the car. It radiates royalty, which makes parking it in a north side parking garage problematic.
But we don’t have time to figure out another solution.
Lily is starting to panic, something she relays to me via texts. Someone has been knocking on the door for the last few minutes, and it’s freaking her out. It could be some drunk rando needing to take a piss, but I’m worried it could be Will. Not that I tell her that. I’m trying to keep her calm, and I offer tocall her, but she’s worried whoever’s knocking will overhear the conversation.
So, I sit in the backseat with River, and he plays with my hair for most of the drive. Noah, Finn, and him are talking about Finn and River’s mother, but I barely hear the conversation because I’m too fixed on messaging Lily.
I feel awful for them, though. Even if their mother took off on her own, the feeling of abandonment is a crushing sort of pain that makes it hard to breathe. And if their father did something to their mother, well, that I understand too. I’ve seen the man I believed to be my father do awful things to my mother and vice versa. And all the abuse, all the scams, the anger—all of the crap I had to endure was all for nothing.
How could Ellie let me go through that? Did she not care? Or was the alternative worse than me suffering through shitting parenting? That thought leaves my stomach churning.
“Are you doing okay?” River whispers in my ear after I let out a sigh.
I nod, glancing up at him. The glow of the lampposts lighting up the streets reflects in his eyes. “I’m fine. Areyouokay?”
He brushes strands of his dark hair out of his eyes. “I think I’ll feel a little bit better when we get Lily.”
“Agreed.” This from Finn. He changes gears, the engine grumbling.
“I still don’t get how she ended up in north side,” Noah says quietly. He’s sitting in the passenger seat with the hood of his jacket drawn up over his head. He rotates to look at me from over his shoulder. “You said she met this Will guy, and he brought her to this club? But how did she even meet Will if he’s from north side?”
