Page 97 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)

“Where—”

“Theo goes to LBU,” he says. “He lives down the street. And we’re going to catch the car he called for us.”

I’m relieved we don’t have to navigate the trains or walk. I feel like I just ran a marathon. Every muscle hurts the more I’m upright.

“Should I be freaking out?” I ask him. “I think I should. Maybe I’m in shock. Or I’m just fundamentally broken.”

He grunts. “You’re not broken.”

“Shock, then.”

He flags down a car and opens the back door. “Maybe we should take you to a hospital.”

I wiggle loose from his grip and climb in, scooting over for him. He joins me and greets the driver, and we head off. It’s a short drive back to Liam’s apartment, but I can’t keep my eyes open.

I wake up to my feet hitting something, and I lurch.

“Easy,” Liam says, just above me.

We’re moving.

He’s carrying me through the door, the frame of which I must’ve caught with my foot. Immediately, butterflies take flight in my chest.

I hate butterflies. The fact that that is my go-to expression. It’s more like bees buzzing around, with the potential to sting my organs. A terrible, nausea-inducing reaction to… him.

And now that I’m this close to Liam, my senses open up. He smells like soap and sandalwood and sweat. Somewhere between the fight and now, he managed to locate a shirt. His sweatshirt is in my lap.

Slowly, I loosen the knot in the center of my shirt that exposes my midriff.

“Stay here,” he says, setting me on the couch. “Okay?”

He waits for me to respond.

My mouth is dry, and I open and close it a few times before I manage, “Yes.”

Does he think I’m going to run right back out of the apartment? Into the hallway, shrieking my head off? Anything is possible.

He comes back with a glass of orange juice. “Drink.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You could ask.”

“You said yourself you’re in shock.” His eyes narrow. “So you can drink that, or I can hold you still and pour it down your throat.”

“Gee, Liam, you sure do know how to cheer a girl up,” I mutter.

Still, I take the glass and swallow a mouthful, then another.

“What happened?” he asks me.

“I ran into Taryn in the student center—”

“Before that,” he interrupts. “Why did you even leave? It’s Halloween.”

I shiver without warning, and the OJ almost sloshes over the rim. I set it down and tug on the sweatshirt—his sweatshirt. “I can’t be afraid forever.”

“You could avoid it,” he says. “Mitch invited you out.”

I nod once, making a face. “He’s a jerk. I don’t know why I was taken by him before.”