Page 121 of Vicious Desire (Fallen Royals 4)

“I, um…”

He turns onto the school’s street. “You okay?”

“My keys are in the locker room.”

He squints at me. “That’s why you kicked your tire.”

I lean forward, anxious to lay eyes on my car—if only to make sure it’s still there. Who knows if a stalker would’ve vandalized it or stolen it…

But there it is, near the row of busses.

I exhale.

Now I just need…

“Shit.” I smack my forehead. “Clearly not sleeping most of the night wasn’t a good idea. My keys are how I got into the school in the first place.”

He rolls his eyes. “Who do you think you’re looking at?”

I stare blankly.

“Assistant Coach? They gave me a key last week.”

Ah. Well, that’s handy.

We hop out, and I follow him to the side entrance, and he sticks the key in the hole… then frowns.

Super frowns.

“What’s wrong?”

He glances at me. “The deadbolt didn’t slide. I think it was already unlocked.”

A weight lands on my chest. I can still breathe, though, and I prove it to myself by inhaling sharply. My lungs expand. I let it out bit by bit.

“It’s probably nothing,” he says to himself. “The janitor might be in here cleaning…”

“Right.”

We head for the athletic wing. It’s a shorter trip from this entrance, and soon we’re at the locker rooms. I think for a second that Eli will leave me outside, but he follows right behind me.

And I really appreciate that.

The lights take a moment to flicker on, and my attention zeroes in on my keys on the floor. The water bottle is on its side, just behind it.

Nausea rolls through my stomach at the sight of it.

“You look pale,” Eli says. “You good?”

“She’s probably coming to the realization that wandering around the school after hours is a bad idea,” a voice says behind us.

We whirl around, and I relax.

“Kaiden, what are you doing here?” I ask.

Kaiden West, Noah’s friend, sticks his hands in his pockets and saunters closer.

Eli’s only reaction is to shove me behind him.