Cracked Kingdom (The Royals #5)(70)

East pulls me against him. “I’m there with you. All the way.”





Chapter 28





Easton





“I can’t believe I’m using a chauffeured Town Car to spy on someone.” I didn’t want to hire out a car for this spy-capade, so Hartley and I are making do with my dad’s driver, who wasted no time picking us up from the gas station. “Can you look a little less conspicuous?” I ask Durand, tapping his shoulder.

He slides down in his seat. “Will this do, Mr. Easton?” He’s mocking us, but we deserve it.

This cloak and dagger shit probably looks ridiculous to anyone who doesn’t know what’s going on inside the Wright household. The idea of casing her dad’s study seemed good a half hour ago, but now I’m not so sure. What happens if she gets caught? I’m not going to stand around while her father breaks her other wrist, but I’m not sure how to broach the topic. Hey, babe, but I might have to beat your dad’s face in tonight. Hope that’s okay.

But Hart’s tired of doing nothing. She said that she was too passive before. I don’t know if that’s a fair characterization, but I understand wanting to take action. I’m always in favor of doing instead of sitting around.

"No offense, but this car is pretty noticeable.” Hart looks worried.

"No offense taken, miss," Durand replies.

“Let’s go take a closer look. That’s why we’re here, right?” I give her a chance to back out.

“Yup,” she replies, and hops out.

I guess that’s my answer. "We'll be back," I say as I slide out of the car after her.

"I'll be here." Durand's in a cheerful mood. I think he's into this spy shit. It’s probably way more interesting than just driving me in a big boring ass loop from home to school to hospital and back again.

I flip up my collar against the chilly night air and hustle after Hart, who's stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, staring back down the road.

"The accident happened close to here, didn't it?" she says when I catch up to her.

"Do you remember something?" I search her face for signs of recognition.

"No, but I heard that it took place around the curve." She points to the sharp corner that we passed.

The nightmarish scene flashes in front of my eyes. The back end of her car crumpled. Glass from the twins’ windshield strewn on the gravel. Seb's body twenty feet from the Range Rover.

I turn my back on the scene and block her view. If she can't remember, what's the point of dwelling on it? It's not going to undo the accident. "You're both better now," I say. "That's what's important."

She stares past my shoulder and then nods sharply as if trying to come to terms with it. "Right. Okay, let's do this." She looks around, taking in the houses, many of them mansions, lining the street. The Royal property is large enough that we can’t see the house next door, but the homes in Hartley’s neighborhood aren’t as isolated. "Should we pretend we lost our dog and that's why we're running through people's backyards and looking into windows?"

I cough lightly to cover a laugh. "That might attract more attention than you want."

"We don’t have a choice. Mrs. Roquet is dead. The only option we have left is to get direct evidence from my dad.” She shoves her hands inside the pockets of my navy overcoat, her shoulders hanging so low, they’re going to brush the sidewalk soon.

"Let's walk in the back, along the property line," I suggest, because she’s right. This is as good as anything.

"What if someone shoots at us because we look like we're going to rob these houses?"

"Your jacket is worth a couple of mortgage payments. I don't think anyone is going to mistake you for a burglar."

"Of course it is.” She rolls her eyes. “Do you get an allergy if your clothes cost less than four figures?”

“Yes. Yes, I do. And my dick shrinks, too.”

“Only you, Easton, would be confident enough to joke about your dick getting smaller.”

“Big dick problems,” I solemnly intone. We reach the end of the lot line. No dogs are chasing us yet.

“How can you sleep in that shabby apartment if you like nice things?”

Because it's your place, I want to answer, but I don't think she's ready for that. "Because it's private. I don't have to deal with the twins or Ella." And you're there. “Why were you okay with it? Your house isn’t a shack.”

“Eh. It’s not that nice inside. I think my parents bought it because they wanted to look richer than they really are. We don’t own designer gear like you do. Mom talks about how expensive things are. Keeping up appearances are important to them. When I asked Parker for help, she told me I was making the family look bad.”

“That sucks.”

Her shoulders hitch slightly. “It is what it is.”

She sounds resigned. Out of all the things that make me the angriest about Hart’s position is how her family totally abandoned her. My brothers and I may fight, Seb may have woken up a completely different person, but we’re always there for each other. And when Ella came into our family, even when we weren’t entirely sold on her, the minute someone tried to hurt her, we were ready to defend her. Family stands up for family.