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I look up at him to find him giving me a judgemental stare. I return the look, throwing daggers his way. I know how I feel, don’t I?
“Why would she leave her room?” he continues, staring me down. “She’s lost, confused, heartbroken, and grieving. You can’t blame the girl.”
“Since when did you become so noble?” I mock.
Dax rolls his eyes.
“You know I’m right, man. Just fucking treat her like a human being. It’ll make shit easier for you both.”
I roll my eyes at that.
“Anyway.” I cough, changing the subject. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with Kennedy to book our meeting, but I can’t get a hold of him. He’s been in the Third District a couple of times this week, so not sure what business he’s doing, but we need to find out alongside getting our money, finding out who set the attack on Theo and finding that anonymous fucker who gave Kennedy all that cash.”
Dax nods and taps away at his phone.
“I’ll see what I can find out about why he was in the Third. I’ll get Rori on CCTV checks,” he replies, standing up promptly to get to work. I nod back, always appreciative of him. And Rori.
The girl is a liability, but she’s loyal and works hard, and whether I like it or not, I love her like a sister. Like Bonnie.
I sigh and shut down my computer before standing and twirling the key to Theo’s cell around my finger. Let’s go and ignite the little firecracker some more, shall we?
22
THEO
The waterfall crashes loudlyagainst the rocks and the surface below, the sound deafening as the engine of King’s bike quietens. I look out in awe at the huge mass of blue reflective water cascading in a beautiful chaos.
It’s hidden way deep in the woods surrounding the Three Districts, possibly even crossing onto Newlands territory. I never knew about it. King gets off the bike and holds his hand out to me, and I look at him hesitantly.
“It’s okay, we won’t get caught. No one comes here,” he says with certainty. When I hesitate a second longer, he smiles. “I promise. I won’t let you get caught.”
Well, I’ve snuck out this far. What’s the point in not going that little bit further?
Me and King have been speaking for a month now, ever since that day I met him at his mansion. I had a letter arrive the next day with my name on the envelope in scrawny handwriting. I’ve never received a letter before.
Inside was a small ripped piece of paper with a phone number written on it and a single sentence.
I said I’d see you again…
King
Did I have doubts that this is some sort of set-up? Of course. But I take the plunge anyway because in those few minutes with King, it was the most I’ve felt in all my life. I want that feeling again. We spoke for hours on the phone day and night during that month, but finally we found a time we could sneak out and see each other.
And that’s how I find myself turning in for the night early, locking my door, climbing out the window, and hiding in the bushes until Emerson walks around the corner. I take off down the driveway and wait until King appears, then climb onto the back of his bike, trusting him with everything I have, because what have I really got to lose?
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper in awe as he takes my hand, leading me towards the edge of the rocks. A current of electricity shoots through my arm and around my whole body, lighting me up at the contact. Romance has always been fictional to me. But now I’m beginning to understand where authors get their inspiration from. It feels different, like some sort of special.
King helps me climb up a few more rocks until we’re a quarter of the way up the waterfall, staring into the deep blue water rippling below. He smiles. The biggest smile I think I’ve ever seen.
Memories of our texts and phone calls float around my head. The pointless conversations about TV shows and books (on my part anyway, King doesn’t really read), to deeper conversations, like how I have zero freedom and the business trips I’m forced to sometimes take with my father. Or how he’s next in line to rule the First District. He tells me about his cousin Dax, who I’ve only seen in pictures, and I tell him about my mother, who’s my best friend.
It’s been the most wonderful month and I finally feel like my life is starting to begin. Meeting boys and having crushes should’ve been something I experienced years ago, not at the age of sixteen. But I do have a crush. A big one. And I don’t think I’ll ever feel about anyone else like I do King. He’s shown me there’s more out there. That there’s more to life than being a prisoner in your own home.
“Ready?” King asks, grinning more mischievously now as he wraps his hands around the bottom of his T-shirt and pulls it up over his head.
I blush at the view. A lot.
King’s smile grows even bigger as he notices the pink shade coating my cheeks. Hell, he can probably hear my heartbeat banging on the outside of my chest. I don’t know where to look, my gaze flickering from his eyes to his toned chest, to a solid six-pack. A six-pack? He’s seventeen! How has he got a six-pack this good?
