“I’ll always be me for you, River.” Then he leans in and presses his lips to mine once more. A chill wraps around my spine, and a shiver runs through me.
“You cold?” he asks.
“A little.”
“Let’s go inside and get you warmed up.” He shoves to his feet and pulls his clothes back on. He helps me up, and I do the same before he grabs the blanket we were lying on and carries it to the stairs. We climb down and find Jeremy sitting against the wall.
“What’s wrong with you?” Royal asks.
“I can’t believe the party got moved twice now,” he huffs.
“You really pissed about the party?” I ask him.
“River, it’s the best fucking party of the year. Free drinks, free smoke, free pussy. Yes, I’m pissed.” Royal and I laugh now, and it’s the best sound in the world. I love hearing him laugh.
“Isn’t it tomorrow night?”
“Yeah, so what? A whole fucking night,” he complains as we laugh harder.
“Then I think you’ll live,” Royal tells him as he walks over and grabs the sleeping bag, tossing it out on the floor. He climbs in and motions for me to follow, which I do. I slide down inside of it and snuggle against him.
“This is where I always want you,” Royal whispers before pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
I close my eyes, and I easily drift off to sleep in his arms, just like every other night.
Chapter 21
Royal
The party is insane. Not that I didn’t think it would be, it always is. People fist bump me, knowing me from the fights. A few steer clear of me for the same reason. River hangs off my side, not caring what anyone thinks, and that’s what I like about her.
We get drinks, we laugh, we kiss. I’m having a great time when Jeremy pulls me away from her to talk to a few people. I keep my eye on her from across the room while she dances with some other girls.
“She’s fine,” Jeremy slurs as I keep watching her. He’s right. Nothing is going to happen to her while we’re here. We know a majority of the people here, and I’m not really worried about any of them.
I turn back to the conversation with a few of the guys, talking about the fights and the bets that go on outside the ring. I knew there was good money riding on the fights, but I wasn’t aware just how much.
I’m tipsy but not drunk as fuck when I pull away from the conversation. I turn around and look for River, but I don’t see her where I left her.
“Where is she?” I ask more of myself than anyone. Jeremy notices me looking when he steps up next to me.
“Probably in the bathroom,” he yells over the music. I nod my head and start walking through the crowd of people toward the stairs. I don’t see her anywhere, so I head up to look.
When I reach the top of the stairs, I’m not sure where to check, so I start opening every door I come to.
“River?” I call out her name, but get no response, so I keep going.
“River? You in here?” I holler into another room. Still no answer. I don’t like this shit. I don’t like the feeling I have in the pit of my stomach. I move faster, shoving doors open until I get to the last one. I’m not ready for what I find.
“River?” I say her name when she turns to look at me over her shoulder. Her eyes are wild, like she’s not even there. Her shirt is torn open, her bra showing.
“River, what happened?” That’s when she looks back over, and I see him. “Oh fuck.” I step into the room and close the door behind me before making my way to her.
“I … he …” She can’t speak, but I can guess what happened in here.
“River?”
“I killed him,” she whispers. I walk closer to her, grab the gun from her hand, and walk over to the body on the floor. I raise the gun and fire one shot into his head. I shove the gun into the back of my jeans and walk over slowly to River.
