Page 32 of Wicked Promises (Fallen Royals 3)
Caleb could very well be the bad guy in my situation, pulling the strings. It’s what he’s wanted from day one: to break me. Destroy me.
He’s still playing the game.
“He’s not your knight in shining armor,” I tell myself.
He’s the villain. I’ve known this from the beginning. And villains…
They’ll do anything to win.
11
Caleb
Eli and I run, and I try not to think about where our feet are leading us. My body is spiked with heat and nervous energy, like I got a shot of adrenaline just by leaving the house. Our five-mile run has more than doubled, but we seemed to agree without words that something bigger than just a run needed to happen.
We go to Theo’s house first. It’s in a gated community on the edge of Rose Hill, and it takes us a half hour just to get there.
We’re dripping sweat, but exhaustion is a long way off.
Theo opens the door and scowls. “Do I need to hose you two off?”
Eli slaps his back and slips past him. “Mmm, an ice-cold shower would feel good right about now.”
“I could smell you idiots from the kitchen,” Theo’s brother calls, passing us for the stairs. “For the love of God, haven’t you heard of deodorant?”
“This musk is what draws the ladies,” Eli says. “Not that you’d know anything about that…”
Theo snickers. “Not that you’d know anything about that, either.” He crosses to the window. “You know you had a shadow?”
I frown. “The detective?”
He shrugs, turning away from the glass. “Dark sedan, so yeah, probably. Why exactly did you march into the hospital with Margo instead of calling an ambulance?”
“It was faster.”
“Yeah, but it also made you seem guilty.”
I grit my teeth. “You would’ve done something different?”
“You bet—”
“Okay, okay.” Eli gets between us, glaring at him, then me. “Let’s go easy. And get Liam here.”
Theo shakes his head. “For what, exactly?”
“Matt apparently has an alibi,” I tell him. “Even though Margo told the detective—”
“You touch Matt and you’ll get arrested for assault quicker than you can say ‘don’t drop the soap,’” Theo says.
“Which is why we’re here, establishing an alibi of our own…”
Eli meets my gaze and grins. “Right. So Liam comes here, we all have a grand old time, and then Caleb and I will steal Will’s car and find Matt.” His grin turns positively gleeful. “And we’ll get to the bottom of his alibi.”
I knew Eli would get it. He has Riley—although that’s just temporary. Even if he refuses to acknowledge it.
But for now, he has her, and he understands.
“Will isn’t going to let you steal his car,” Theo grumbles.