Fatal Princess by Ella Miles

Ri

I trek through the tunnel for close to an hour before finally reaching the end, where a ladder leads upward. The tunnel has been completely empty except for me, so I’ve had plenty of time with my thoughts—not necessarily a good thing.

I’ve alternated between going back to find out what Beckett was going to say and going back to kill him.

Somehow, I manage to do neither of those things and keep walking. I climb up the ladder and press against the door above me. Carefully, I raise the wooden board and push the end of my gun out before popping my head out.

I scan the small bedroom surrounding me. I’ve come up just beside a bed, so I can’t see much. Slowly and silently, I hoist myself up and look around the edge of the bed. The room’s empty.

I stand and move to the door of the bedroom. I press my ear against it and listen once again.

Nothing.

I need to keep moving. I can’t stay in this house. Who knows how many of the Retribution Kings know about this escape hatch and will come looking for me here?

I move silently through the house, finding a set of keys hanging by the back door. I grab the keys and head into the garage, where I find an old car.

It will do.

I climb in and start driving, knowing exactly where I’m going. I’m not going to run, not really, but I need a break. I need one night to relax. Tomorrow, I go to war again.

I drive quickly, assuming the car is traceable, but it doesn’t matter. Soon everyone will know where I’ve gone. It will just be a matter of which of my enemies decides to come for me first.

When I arrive at my apartment, I’m exhausted. So much has happened since I was last here, but all I want is to see Lucy. I need to see my friend, the one little part of my life that’s normal. I need to warn her to get away. She’s not safe being my friend, not anymore.

I knock on the door, so I don’t scare Lucy by barging in. It takes her a minute to come to the door, but as soon as she sees that it’s me, I’m tackled inside the room by both her and Loki.

I laugh, knowing I made the right decision to come here. I’m sure Vincent, the Retribution Kings, and every other gang is monitoring my apartment, but I don’t care.

“What are you doing here? And you look—”

“Like a mess?”

She nods.

I sigh. “It’s a long story, but I thought I’d spend as much time as I have with you.” I don’t mention her leaving, not yet. Vincent has used her to control me my entire life. Every man in the competition could use her to control me.

I need her somewhere safe or at least safer. She’ll resist. She always does. But I’m hoping this time she might listen to me.

“Go shower, get cleaned up. I’ll get the ice cream ready, and then you can tell me all about it.”

I nod without smiling. “Don’t answer the door if anyone comes. Just come get me.”

“I won’t answer the door,” she says slowly, realizing I’m not out of danger.

When I’m satisfied she won’t open the door, and no one is coming in the next five minutes, I head to my bathroom to shower.

I take far too short of a shower, but I don’t want to leave Lucy alone and unprotected. And I want to maximize what little time I have left with her.

I throw on some comfy sweats and an oversized T-shirt before throwing my hair up in a messy bun. Then I head back to the living room, where I find Loki snuggled up next to Lucy on the couch. She holds up a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream to me.

I take the pint and spoon from her with a smile.

She takes a bite of her own Cherry Garcia ice cream. “So, want to tell me what happened?”

I shake my head. “The usual crap. But it’s different this time, Luce. I think you should consider leaving. Go to Australia, or Switzerland, or Thailand, anywhere you want. Just somewhere far away where it will be harder to get you.”

Lucy frowns. “I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.”

“Why not?”

She moves the ice cream around in her pint but doesn’t answer right away. “Because I’m not in danger.”

“You are.”

“I’m not. Trust me, Vincent won’t let anything happen to me.”

I frown. “He’s threatened you my entire life.”

She shakes her head. “There is so much you don’t know, Ri. So much.”

“What are you talking about? What aren’t you telling me?”

She bites her lip and tucks her long blonde hair behind her ear as she considers her next words. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you—my safety depends on it. But I’m not in danger. And you can’t run. You have to stay. You have to find the best guy to marry.”

“I’m not going to marry any of them. They all suck.”

Lucy’s quiet, too quiet.

“Luce, talk to me. You’re scaring me.”

She shakes her head and shoves more ice cream into her mouth, staring blankly at the wall across from us.

I set my own ice cream container down on the end table, and then I grab her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. “What do you know?”

She swallows hard, and her bottom lip trembles. I tuck her hair behind her ear, trying to comfort her.

“Who threatened you?”

“No one. I’m fine. Just listen to me—stay in the game, marry the best man, and after it’s all over, you can find a way to get out.”

My eyes cut back and forth over hers as I read between the lines of her words, searching for what she’s not telling me. The only way Lucy stays alive is if I finish the game. If I don’t, Vincent will kill her.

I pull her into a hug.

“I will. I’m not running.”

Lucy hugs me tighter. “I’m not running either.”

“Fine. Let’s eat our ice cream and watch an action movie to take our minds off things.”

Lucy scrunches her face in disgust.

I laugh, falling back onto the couch. “Horror movie?”

“No way.”

I frown. “Comedy?”

“Romantic comedy.”

I sigh. The last thing I want is any movie that reminds me of Beckett or love, but I settle into the couch as Lucy picks out a sappy movie.

I eat my ice cream slowly, savoring every bite and barely paying attention to the movie on the screen. Being back in this apartment reminds me of other things, of the last time I was here with Beckett, of fucking him for the first time.

I don’t regret it, I realize. I don’t regret any of it—any of the kisses, the touches, the fucking, none of it.

I should regret it—my heart now feels like it’s been stabbed by a million tiny little knives that will never heal—but I don’t. For a moment, he made me feel alive. He made me believe there were good men out there and that it was worth fighting to be the one to choose the man I spend the rest of my life with.

The sounds of footsteps in the hallway rush to my ears, despite the blare of the television. Someone’s here.

Beckett?

The other guys?

Vincent?

Someone else from the game?

Who?

The footsteps fade, though—someone who lives in the apartment building. No one is coming for me.

That’s a lie. Everyone is coming for me. It’s just a matter of who comes first and when.

Every footstep, every sound, every door slam from the hallway has me on edge. Lucy obliviously watches the movie, unaware of any of the danger.

Whoever comes, they won’t come for her. I’ll make sure of it. She’ll be safe. That’s the only thing I can get right, keeping her safe. She’s been my friend for so long that I’ll do anything for her.

There’s a knock on the door.

A knock.

“Lucy, take Loki and go to your bedroom.”

She doesn’t ask questions, calmly doing as I said.

I walk toward the door with my gun, ready to shoot whoever is behind the door. If it’s Beckett, I’ll shoot him in the groin, and then he can explain to me why he almost killed me for a crime I didn’t commit.

I chuckle inwardly at that thought.

My guess is it’s Beckett or Gage and the rest of the guys. No one else would knock. The assholes in my life would barge in and try to take me as their captive.

I open the door, expecting Beckett.

Instead, I find Ryker leaning against my doorframe with a soft smile on his face.