She didn’t break it.
She was let out.
Of course she was.Becki Crowley has never stayed where someone put her.
Not in her childhood.Not in that church.
Not even with me.
Someone let her go.
Someone touched my lock.
The thought is gasoline to my temper.
Chapter 10
Royal
I leave the door hanging open and stalk down the hallway, boots silent on concrete.The common room is empty, lit by a single lamp over the bar, revealing a mess the bunnies haven’t attended to yet.Everything smells like bourbon, grease, and a faint underlayer of fear that no one will admit to.
The Kings pretend we fear nothing.But this town’s been swallowing girls whole.
A sound catches my ear.A metallic click.Soft, but sharp.The sound of a door.It comes from the far end of the hallway, where the exit opens into darkness.
My spine stiffens.
I take two steps at a time until I find her.Moonlight slices through the darkness, casting Becki in silver.She stands barefoot on cold concrete, wearing nothing but the tank top and shorts I gave her.Her dark hair stands up straight on her head like she crawled straight out of a nightmare.
Her wrist is still raw from the cuff.
In her hand, something small.Metallic.Familiar.A key.
Not the one that freed her.
She sees me.Her eyes go wide.She runs.She doesn’t make it three steps.I catch her by the arm and slam her into a tree with enough power to shake leaves down.She gasps, palms flat against the bark as she twists, breath hot against my throat.
The key hits the ground without a sound.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”I hiss.
She jerks her chin up, defiant.“Let go of me.”
“Not a chance.”
Her chest rises and falls against my forearm where I pin her.Her throat arches, soft skin offered up like a dare.She smells like adrenaline and stubbornness and the ghost of that night in the forest when she whispered someone else’s name against my skin.
No.
Not going there.
“You think you can sneak out?”I growl.
She lifts her chin higher.“I was looking for answers,” she snaps back, voice shaking but steady enough to piss me off.
“Someone has to.”
“You’re gonna get yourself killed.”
