Page 137 of Wicked Promises (Fallen Royals 3)
I flip off Eli as they leave. He returns the gesture, laughing.
“We need to make a pit stop,” I tell Theo.
His eyebrows go up, but he says nothing. We shove the door open and head around the building. It’s easy to spot Margo and Riley by her car.
Margo clutches her jacket tighter around her, frowning at me. “It’s freezing out here.”
I shrug. “We need to get in shape.”
Coach’s voice in the distance drifts closer on the wind. I would’ve thought he’d stay inside, but I guess he wants to make sure we actually run. Theo and I need to get moving before he spots us chatting—otherwise we’ll end up with another two miles on our plate.
I tilt her face toward me and steal a kiss. She rises on her toes, trying to deepen it, and I grin against her lips. “I have to go.”
She huffs. “Fine. I’ll see you later.”
I stuff a folded envelope in her hand. It has the key to my aunt and uncle’s house, as well as the code to their alarm system.
“Tonight,” I promise. I’m going to take her on an actual date—nice clothes, flowers. The whole thing. I’ll pick her up and take her to the fancy restaurant, and we’ll drink fizzy cider and pretend its champagne. It’s a surprise I’ve been holding on to for a few days now, and I’m proud of myself for not ruining it.
After all, we deserve a spot of happiness in our senior year.
“Come on,” Theo groans.
I touch her cheek, smiling to myself, and turn away. That kiss will keep me warm.
Theo and I head off, quickly finding a pace that both of us can sustain.
“I’m thinking the old mill road,” he says.
It’s a dirt road, winding and long, with a giant hill in the middle.
Kind of perfect… kind of awful.
I grunt, then catch his grin out of the corner of my eye. Bastard.
Coach’s one rule is that we have to stay together. It’s why I don’t generally run with Liam—he likes to go slow, then sprint toward the end. Eli and I run best together, but Theo… when I need a push, he’s my guy.
Even now, he speeds up a bit. I lengthen my stride to match his long one.
“I’m gonna be in pain by the time this is over,” I tell him.
“That’s why I like this route,” he tells me. “Once we get over the hill, it’s all downhill. The first half is just a bitch.”
“Speaking of bitches…”
He rolls his eyes. “Nice segue.”
“Have you heard anything about Amelie?” I ask. “I never thought to ask her how she knew about Margo’s mom.”
He nods. “Right. She knew where Amberly was staying.”
“Kind of a weird thing for her to know…” I roll my shoulders back.
We turn onto the dirt road. It takes us a few strides to adjust to the new texture under our feet, and both of us slow a fraction.
“What are you thinking?” he asks.
“Matt knew people from Emery-Rose,” I reason. “So it wouldn’t be crazy to think Unknown goes to our school.”