Page 51 of The Royal Flame
River glances at me. He’s sitting on the sofa close enough to me that our knees touch.
“What’s wrong?” he inquires.
“My fake mother wants a hundred bucks or else she won’t meet us for dinner.” My lip curls in annoyance. “I hate this.”
He places a hand on mine, stopping. “Just tell her will bring the money. I already said I was okay bribing her.”
I shake my head. “I’m not letting you pay her a hundred dollars. That’s too much money.”
“We’ll pay her with my father’s money,” he explains. “The irony in the fact that we’re using his money to get information that’ll help get him out of our lives is sort of amusing.”
My lips part in a protest, but he places his finger to my lips, shushing me. “Just do it, okay? We need answers.” He lowers his finger from my lips.
“By the time this is over, I’m going to be like a thousand dollars in debt to you,” I say with a weighted sigh. “I don’t know how, but I’m paying you back.”
He simply lifts his brows like:yeah, I’m not letting you do that.
I narrow my eyes at him, but he ignores me, returning back to the book he’s reading. He has a pen tucked behind his ear, and his hair is a mess. He’s so freaking cute it’s ridiculous.
I return to the text thread, loathing that I have to give this woman anything.
Me: Fine. I’ll text you the address to the restaurant later. Don’t be late.
I’m not worried about her not showing up. When it comes to money, she’ll do just about anything. Even hand over my life. Real daughter or not, I’m still her blood relative so all the messed up she’s done to me still hurts.
But not as much as my real mother allowing this horrible woman to raise me.
16
CHAPTER
RIVER
Ihate leaving her, especially after she ran off. I’m pretty positive she won’t do that again. For now anyway. Maddy gets spooked easily, though, but it makes sense. She’s had a rough life full of distrust. My life may have sucked, but I thought my mother was marginally trustworthy, but I’m not so certain about that anymore.
Where the hell are you mom? Did you get on that yacht with Maddy’s real mother? Why?
My mind is thick with worry, so much so that I don’t register a figure looming in the shadows of an alcove until it’s too late. One second I’m walking down the hallway, the next I’m being jerked aside. I raise my fist to punch the person, but before I can, a needle enters my arm. Whatever they injected into me works quickly because one second, I’m throwing a punch at them and the next, my vision is tunneling and everything goes black.
“River, just close your eyes and this will all be over soon,” my mother’s soothing voice drifts through my thoughts. “They’re just going to take a tiny drop of your blood. That’s all.”
I blink up at her as I lay on the bed, the bright lights stinging against my eyes. “Why do they need my blood.”
“To make sure you’re pure.” She takes my hand. “We have to make sure you are, River. You have to pass, no matter what, or else he’ll kill you.” She leans closer to me. “Don’t worry, though, I’ll protect you. I’ll always protect you…”
“Is he awake yet?” someone asks as I start to wake up from that dream… memory… I’m not even sure what that was.
A hallucination?
“I don’t know. He looks like maybe he might be trying to,” someone else replies. “Is everyone here yet?”
“Finn isn’t.”
“That’s good. He’s gonna flip when he sees this.” Worry seeps from the guy’s voice. “Why did he have to choose River Averson to be the one for this. Anyone but him would’ve been better. He only did it because he’s pissed.”
“He’s an idiot. River could destory us in the blink of an eye. So could fin—ah, fuck, speaking of the devil.”
“Where the hell is my brother,” Finn’s angry voice clips through the haze.
