"Are you going to lecture me?" she asks him defensively.
"Am I River?" Finn responds, then opens his arms to her. "Come here. You look like shit."
They hug, and Finn tells her everything will be okay. It’s sweet. It makes me kind of sad because I’ve never had that. But this isn’t really about me. It’s about getting Lily out of here before Will finds us.
"Maybe tell me that after we get out of here," Lily mumbles, stepping back and dabbing her eyes with her fingers.
"Yeah, let's get the fuck out of here," he agrees, his attention briefly sliding to me.
Then he turns and heads back down the hallway, motioning for us to follow him. The man and woman who were having sex are gone, and we don't pass by anyone else until we step out into the bar area. Then we’re pushing our way through the crowd, and without any issues arising. I can't help thinking this is all too easy.
Why would Will lure Lily here to try to drug her, then just bail?
Here's the thing that I'm stuck on. Lily is a Royal, and Will had to know that. I feel like he was working some sort of angle there, but we haven't run into him. It doesn't make any sense. Maybe the sight of Finn scared him? Finn is tall and muscular. One look at him, and it's clear he works hard to make his body a machine.
I stupidly try to convince myself that's why we make it out of the club without any altercations. Noah and River are waiting for us when we exit, and the cool night air is dancing around us as we do. The bouncer makes some suggestive comments at Finn aswe pass by him, but everyone is too relieved that Lily is okay to even notice.
I should've noticed.
I should've noticed a lot of things.
Been on high alert.
The old, pre-Royal Academy Maddy would've. She would've been carrying her taser in her hand, ready to fight at any given moment. But this surrounded-by-Royal-men Maddy is getting a little too comfortable.
The five of us are wandering toward the corner when this reality bitch smacks me across the face.
"Maddison fucking Averly, what the hell are you doing with a bunch of Royals?" The sound of Will’s voice makes me cringe.
I reel around, my hand darting toward my pocket.
He's standing at the entrance to an alleyway that runs down the side of the club. He has a cigarette in his hand, is dressed in a leather jacket, black pants, and boots, and he isn't carrying a weapon. Yet. There's a good chance he has one in his pocket. I also feel uneasy about the possibility of more people lurking in that alley.
"Who is this guy?" River inquires as he moves up behind me.
The corner of Will's lips span into a smirk. "Huh, I wouldn't have thought the virgin Maddy would end up being a Royal whore?"
Here's the thing. The guys and Lily haven't seen me at my northside worst. But I think they're about to.
"Better to be a northside whore than a drug-dealing piece of shit that can even get a girl to put out unless you drug her drink." I draw out my taser from my pocket and push the button, causing it to zap a few times.
"Jesus, Maddy," River mumbles from behind me while Finn lets out a, "What the hell?"
Will takes no offense to this, his smirk remaining. "That's not why I do it. I just prefer my sex conquests to be silent and pliant. If they're not drugged, I have to pretend I care, and I don't."
"You're going to care when I zap your balls like cooked meat." I step toward him and zap my taser.
This time he startles and stumbles back.
"Yeah, fuck you, you stupid small dick prick," I taunt, zapping the taser again.
His nostrils flare. "You wanna fucking go?" He charges at me. “Let’s go, bitch.”
In the back of my mind, I'm aware that if he's coming at me with River, Finn, and Noah being behind me, his crew is likely close by. But I'm too far gone in my anger over what he tried to do to Lily to give a shit.
I shuffle forward, one of my hands balled into fists, the other clutching the taser. But an arm slips around my waist. The scent of River's cologne engulfs my nostrils. He's lucky it does because I'm so far into protection mode that I may have tased his ass had I not realized it was him.
He hauls me back behind him while Finn and Noah stride beside him, the three of them forming a wall between Will and me.
