EIGHTEEN
Sweat pours from me,because the vicious September sun has beat down on our run like an evil asshole who likes to make people suffer. I slow my pace beside Theo as we begin the mutually-agreed-upon walk back to the Madden house. He and I had set it up in advance to meet at a spot down the road from Echo’s house and try a different route today. I tip back my water bottle, taking a huge gulp before dumping some of the ice-cold liquid over my head. It feels so fucking good, I almost groan aloud. “Well, that wasn’t too bad,” I huff out, still trying to catch my breath.
The aghast expression Theo shoots me tells me exactly what he thinks of that. “All runs are torture until October when the temperature drops a hair.”
“Come on, old man. You’ve never let a little heat mess with you before.”
“What can I say? I’m now older and wiser. I try not to do things to make myself suffer on purpose.” He slugs back some water, then gives me the hairy eyeball. “I’m slightly concerned about your mental well-being at the moment, just so you know.”
I laugh, gesturing to my dripping-wet chest. “Don’t worry, I was fucking with you. I think we can agree—that run was miserable.”
“But I came with you because it sounded like you needed it, and I hadn’t heard from you since you walked out of my bar still drunk after you found out you had a kid.” He swings his arms in front of his body, then out to the sides, over and over again as we continue to walk. “And then”—he draws out the word, staring at me through disbelieving eyes—“there was a literal double homicide at SIN Friday night. And no word about that from you. Simply an ‘I need a run ASAP.’” He huffs, “I’m glad you’re okay, but it would’ve been nice if you’d given me some idea what the ever-loving fuck was going on over there.”
“Yeah. Fuck.” I grab the back of my neck with both hands and tug. “I’m sorry. My life—it’s insanity right now. No other word for it.” I ease my arms over my head, reaching for the sky while groaning in response to the soreness in my post-run muscles. “First. Echo and I are doing pretty well. I actually thought maybe you might like to say hi, since we had you park near her house.”
He nods, and when his eyes meet mine, I see they have lit up at the idea of it. “I might like that, yeah. I haven’t seen her in forever. Not since she was a kid.” He freezes, his face falling, and I can only assume he’s realized that the last time he saw her, she was actually old enough to have a baby growing inside her. He clears his throat. “As long as you think she’d be okay with it, that is.”
“She’s actually mentioned she’d love to catch up sometime, so I suppose now’s as good a time as any. She headed out with Beckham earlier today, but I think she’s probably back by now. And, uh. Chase is likely there, too.” My baby. Our baby. “You know, if you’d like to set eyes on the little squirt. He’s like a mini me with Echo’s personality.”
He snorts. “Well, that’s unfortunate for him, but I’m sure his personality will more than make up for his terrible looks.”
I chuckle. “Fuck you.”
Theo’s chest rumbles with laughter. “I’m sure the kid is fucking adorable.” He grants me a wink, then his face goes all serious. “Royal, I’m honored that you trust me enough to let me meet him. You seem to be adjusting well to fatherhood.”
“We haven’t officially told him who I am yet… but”—I give him a megawatt grin—“Chase is so fuckin’ cute. A really sweet little guy. He likes to kick a ball around the yard, but he really loves it when I toss him into the air or I let him sit on my shoulders.” I pause for a second as we continue walking. “Oh, and he cracks up when I read bedtime stories to him with funny voices. And the best part is, I love doing all that stuff with him. It’s pretty great so far.” My head bobs, as if I’m agreeing with myself.
The side of his mouth quirks up. “Wow. I didn’t expect that.”
“Which? That Echo and I would be okay or that I’d respond like this to having a kid?”
“Honestly, both.” He chuckles as he plants his hands on his hips. “It’s kinda amazing to see that smile on your face. It’s been a long time coming.”
“Everything would be so fucking good if we didn’t have all this other stuff to deal with.” I throw my hands out from my sides with a massive shrug. I don’t even know how much to tell him.
“You mean the murders?” His brows furrow, but I can tell he understands there might be something more… and his curiosity is piqued.
I swallow hard. “That, of course. We don’t know who did it or why, and that’s frustrating… but also, we’ve been dealing with some other craziness I haven’t bothered to mention to you because it took us some time to realize the extent of what was happening. And now it’s gotten to an overwhelming point, and I don’t know if we can fuckin’ handle it on our own, but I don’t trust the cops in this town as far as I can throw them.”
“Tell me.” Theo’s voice is gruff, his tone demanding, but even so, I can tell by the concern washing over his features that he wants to help if he can.
I spend several minutes as we continue walking to share with him some of the recent events that have us on edge and how all four of us have been threatened in one way or another.
“It’s been bad, man. And I don’t understand what the hell is going on, but Echo and I seem to be at the center of it, and everyone in close proximity has come into the line of fire.”
“When would you say this all started?” Theo turns his head, arching a brow.
“I thought it was this semester, honestly. But then we found out about the photos of Echo’s parents that had to have been taken six months ago. And fuck, really? I feel like it could possibly have started as far back as the accident.”
His brows shoot up. “Seriously.”
I shrug. “That psychotic dickhead on the phone said I’d taken something from him. And all I can think is maybe he meant Alicia. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.”
“Fuck.” The expletive shoots from his mouth like a goddamn bullet. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Nope. Not in the slightest.” I heave out a harsh breath, then tip up my bottle for another swig of water. “I’ve mostly been on my best behavior since coming to KU. I kept to my-fucking-self in prison. I can’t imagine what else is serious enough to bring this down on our heads. At the same fucking time, why are Beck and Wild being fucked with, too? Echo, I get. She was around back then. But the guys? We’re close now, but…” No one outside our circle realizes how close. My stomach flips and twists in my abdominal cavity, a sick feeling of dread growing inside me. What the fuck would happen if this fucker were aware that we’re all involved with each other?
A squeal of tires coming around the corner distracts me from my thoughts at the same time it has me rolling my fucking eyes. I don’t bother to turn around. Don’t these assholes know that kids play in the streets in this neighborhood? That’s probably the reason why Echo doesn’t let Chase go outside in the front yard hardly at all. She usually holds his hand while they walk to check the box for mail.
Theo glances at me, rubbing his hand over his jaw. “It’s all too fucking much to be a coincidence, that’s for sure. Are you going back to live at SIN?”
Before I can answer, the asshole tire squealer revs the engine of his vehicle. I turn, my brows drawing sharply together, hoping to get a good look at who the dickhead is. One glance over my shoulder, though, and my stomach drops like a lead balloon.
Oh, fuck. The van that followed us. It’s the same one. As my head whips back around, and I try to assess if there is a way out of what’s barreling toward us, I catch the horror on Theo’s face. My heart knocks hard behind my rib cage as the van speeds toward us, and I swear, the driver means to run down one or both of us. I recognize this as one of those times when everything plays out in slow motion, even though the reality is that it’s all happening at high speed—much too fast to stop what’s about to transpire. I don’t have time to think, time to shout at Theo to get out of the way, or even to save myself. And the hell of it is, in a flash, I see it all play out in my head as I know it’s going to.
My ears buzz so hard that I can’t tell what Theo is shouting, but it doesn’t matter because the capacity to think about anything is far beyond me. It’s clear this fucker would love nothing more than to take me out, and there won’t be more than a split-second’s difference between whether he succeeds or not.
I dive and roll, feeling gravel at the edge of the road bite into my skin as I skid across it, and come to a stop. My head collides with the ground. Pain shrieks through my body. I lie there, wondering whether I’m dead or alive. If I’m dead, I’m going to be really, really pissed off.
The screech of the tires as the van races away up around the next corner is something that only registers in a distant part of my mind. Alive. I heave out a breath and close my eyes.
“Royal! Fuck!” Theo shouts, and my eyes pop open to find him on his knees at my side. He looks fucking terrified, which scares the fuck out of me, because I don’t know what he’s seeing. His hands quickly move over me, and I blink with the glare of the sun in my face, trying to track what he’s looking at. I swear I will never complain about it being blazing hot again because it means I’m not dead.
My head disagrees with me, though, as it’s still ringing from the crack my skull took when I hit the ground. I shift, trying to push myself up onto my forearm.
“Hey, hey, no. Don’t try to move yet.” Theo waves his hands. “Take a second to breathe and tell me what the worst of it is.” My old friend is trying hard to present a relatively calm front, but as I watch him pull out his phone, I do notice his hands are a little shaky. “I only got a partial plate.” His teeth clench. “I’m putting it in my Notes so I don’t forget.” He finishes, then huffs out, “I’m calling for help.”
“No.” I draw in an agonized breath, while the stars dance in front of my eyes. “I’m fine,” I grunt, trying to get up again.
“I don’t fucking buy that, and I think we should get you to the emergency room.” Theo bites back a curse. “Dammit, Royal, let me help you.”
“I don’t need the ER, don’t need an ambulance. The road rash doesn”t feel great, but it won’t kill me.”
“You hit your head. I saw it practically bounce off the ground.”
He’s not wrong. I groan as I take his hand. Hissing with pain, I clench my jaw as I gingerly come to a seated position. Trying to hide the worst of what I feel, I roll my eyes. “I don’t want to go to a damn hospital. I’m not drawing any more attention to us.” I let out a heavy breath. “Now, don’t fuckin’ freak out. I’m getting up.”
“I still think you need a doctor, Royal.” Theo lightly touches his fingertips to my head, and they come away bloody. His jaw works to the side, and he begrudgingly helps me to my feet. “You’re sure you don’t want to get checked out?”
He’s worried. I fucking get it, but I really am okay. Sort of.
“I’m positive,” I say through clenched teeth. “Just take me back to the house. Wilder will take care of me. He always does.”
Theo’s brows dart together. “What are you talking about?”
“You know—fights and shit. He’s a nursing student, and he knows what he’s doing. I trust him. I’m fucking fine. Please. Let’s just walk back to the Madden house. We aren’t far.”
Theo growls his disapproval but shakes his head and points. “Well, let’s fuckin’ go, then.”
With every step I take, I feel the hard landing. The way all the air had torn from my lungs. The scrape of the road against my flesh as it ripped. And lastly, the roar as the driver hit the accelerator after narrowly missing me.
I reach into my pocket for my phone. Fuck. “My phone didn’t survive the fall,” I grit out, holding it up to show Theo the shattered screen before I shove it back into my pocket. “Could you text one of them that we’re coming?”
Theo eyes me, ever watchful, as he pulls out his phone. “Sure. Got a number for me?”
My forehead creases. “The only number I know by heart is Echo’s.” My voice lowers. “Fuck, I don’t want to send her into a panic.”
The puff of air that escapes his lips demonstrates his level of frustration. “It’s your call.”
Finally, I rattle off the number to him. “Just tell her it’s you, and she needs to send Wilder or Beckham outside.”
“Yeah, okay.”
But as we approach, mere minutes later, only Echo is in the front yard with Chase. She may have already been outside with him, but now she’s watching anxiously, her neck craning as she squints in our direction. My eyes pin on my son as he toddles around, squatting down here and there to look at things.
I try like hell to appear normal, but I know the second we get close enough, she’ll be able tell something is very fucking wrong. Fuck, even if I wasn’t walking so slowly and stiffly, she’d still see the gash on my head, plain as day. I don’t know how big it is, exactly, but I have a feeling it’s bad enough that there’s plenty of blood. The warm flow trickles steadily down the side of my face, and onto my chest. I wish I could somehow protect her from this, but my only thought is to get back to the house. Back to her and Chase, Wilder, and Beckham.