Page 67 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)

His knuckles brush my jaw, and I hold my breath. He wraps his hand, still tangled in my hair, around my throat.

If this is worry, I don’t think I want to see indifference.

“Do you remember what I told you?”

“About not doing anything stupid? Or was it something else?”

His fingers tighten, and I force myself not to react.

“I remember,” I force out.

“So then you go on a little hike alone?”

I meet his eyes and say nothing. There’s no point in arguing that I wasn’t alone. Because being with Taryn was almost worse, in a way.

He isn’t even squeezing my throat—and we’ve been in this position before. I hold still and hope he can’t feel my rapid pulse under his fingers.

This is worse than the times he kissed me, because I want him to kiss me. I want him to take out his anger on my mouth, but my mother is in the hallway.

He suddenly grins. “Don’t worry, angel. You’re going to regret that decision in about two minutes.”

His hand drops away, and he steps back, leaving me pressed against the wall. Breathless.

Mom pushes the apartment door open and glances around, taking stock, before her attention lands on me. “Skylar. You and Liam getting along?”

He’s moved away from me, putting a few feet between us, and he’s watching me carefully. Is this a test?

My heartbeat skips, and my limbs decide to follow my direction again. I skirt Liam and rush to Mom, throwing my arms around her. I haven’t seen her since the summer.

Dad moved me into the apartment, and he’s been up once since Labor Day. Most of the decorating fell to Whitney and her parents, but I didn’t mind that so much. I picked out pieces for my bedroom, trying to develop my own style.

Liam probably had to show Mom how to get in, since every time she’s been in the city, we haven’t made it back here. Weird to think that this is her first time in my apartment.

“So, um, why are you here?” I blurt out.

She narrows her eyes. “I can’t visit my daughter?”

“Towing around my mortal enemy?”

Liam chokes.

Mom flushes. “I came up as soon as I saw the news, honey. You said yourself that the girl was your friend.”

“They don’t know it’s her. And Natalie isn’t my friend.” I grab a glass and pour myself water, then frown. “Wasn’t.”

“But…”

“She’s my roommate’s best friend. So, not really mine. Didn’t you hear that the detectives haven’t released the name of the girl yet?” I don’t want to think about Natalie, because then the image of her body will be front and center in my head. And if that happens, there’s no chance I’ll be sleeping tonight.

“Maybe you should come home,” Mom suggests. “Just until they catch whoever is doing this.”

I almost protest, then catch myself. I was going to say it couldn’t be just one person, but even the detective on the phone yesterday thought it could be a serial killer.

A serial killer in Boston, abducting college-aged girls before slitting their throats.

Well, not Amber. She was sedated and beaten death, then dumped in an alley. That’s why they suspected her boyfriend, after all.

And Jasmine… I’m not sure.