Page 25 of Wicked Promises (Fallen Royals 3)

She hadn’t… “If you say he didn’t do it, then yes. I believe you.”

Caleb scoffs.

Josh rises. “Gather some things, Margo, if you would.”

Whirlwind. Like so many other things in my life, this is happening almost too fast to comprehend.

Accident. Kidnapped. Hospital. Home. And now—Caleb’s home.

I shove clothes into a bag. I don’t know how long I’ll be, so I take only a few items. My school uniform. Toiletries from the bathroom.

Caleb is in my room when I return, sitting on my bed again.

“Matt fucking Bonner,” he repeats. “That’s the part that doesn’t make sense. He was helping me find you. He’s my friend.”

I lift my shoulder. “I don’t know.”

My gaze clashes with his, and he exhales. “You’re crying.”

I swipe at my cheeks. They’re wet. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”

And yet, it keeps building. The sadness.

“Mom told me not to tell.” I stare down at my boots. “I promised.”

“I know.”

“I have a history of not keeping my promises, Caleb. How can you believe anything that comes out of my mouth?”

He may be a liar, but so am I.

I was the original.

“I know you,” he says. “Okay? I know you. And some promises you won’t break.” He reaches out and snags my wrist, pulling me closer. Between his legs.

“Why can’t we go back to normal?” I ask.

He laughs. His thumb brushes my cheek. “Normal? What’s that?”

I giggle—and then abruptly stop. I laughed. Robert is in the hospital and I laughed. And—

“Stop.”

His gaze is dark. I could run from it, but what’s the use? He’d just find me again.

I back away from him and grab my bag. It’s an improvement from the garbage bags I’ve had to use in the past. This one is thicker canvas. It won’t break on me.

An omen if I’ve ever heard one.

And then… I leave him there. Sitting in my room, staring at me like I’m still his salvation.

I’m not. I’m so not.

I’m dirty. Just as dark as him now. Maybe worse. Because I remember the start of my awful betrayal, and I know the memories that will come next: I’ll tell someone.

I’ll betray my mother.

It’s in my blood. It’s in my history. So what if I do that to Caleb? What if the next time the detective asks, I lie and say he did take me?