Kings of Linwood Academy - The Complete Box Set: A Dark High School Romance Series Callie Rose (i read a book TXT) 📖

makes my chest constrict with both gratitude and fear. I’m so glad I have the kings of Linwood on my side, but the shit we’re mixed up in is beyond what any of us are capable of handling.

Not that we won’t fucking try.

Lincoln shoots me a look as he turns the key in the ignition, and when we pull out of the motor court, his hand finds mine. He holds it the entire way to River’s house, gripping so hard our knuckles turn white.

I’ve never been to River’s house before, and it just goes to show what kind of luxury and extravagance I’ve been exposed to recently that his place actually looks modest. It’s still a humongous house by anyone’s standards, but it’s not quite as ostentatious as the Black mansion or a lot of the other ones I’ve caught glimpses of in Linc’s neighborhood.

It’s almost ten p.m., and most of the lights are off except for a few scattered throughout the house. River meets us at the door, having obviously been expecting us.

“Hey. Come on in,” he murmurs. “My parents are upstairs.”

We move through the quiet house to River’s room, which is in the huge, finished basement. He’s an only child, and it strikes me as a little funny that his folks’ bedroom is upstairs and his is downstairs, leaving the entire main floor as a kind of neutral zone or something.

Then again, as I think about the tension that gathers in River’s face whenever he talks about his dad, I wonder if the neutral ground is there for a reason.

And for the moment, I’m grateful there’s so much distance between their bedrooms, because I’m not entirely sure his parents would be okay with me being here.

As we step into River’s bedroom, I glance at Linc. He sets my suitcase down just inside the door.

“This can’t be a permanent solution though, right?” I ask. “I mean, what will we tell any of our parents? Yours are gonna wonder where I went, and River’s…”

“I’ll deal with them. If we’re careful, they might not even notice for a while. And they probably won’t care that much when they do,” the gray-eyed boy says confidently, his gaze shifting up from my lips to meet my eyes.

My nose wrinkles.

That’s so fucking… weird.

I’ve been realizing slowly just how different my relationship with my mom is from the relationships any of these guys have with their parents. They’re used to sneaking around, lying, and getting away with it because their parents just don’t care.

Guilt churns in my stomach. I’ve done more sneaking around and lying to Mom since we moved to Fox Hill than I did in the previous several years combined. There are reasons—good reasons—why I haven’t told her certain things, but it doesn’t make me feel any less like shit about it.

“I’ll tell my dad we… broke up.” Linc’s face twists as he says the words, like he hates the way they sound. Then he focuses his gaze on me again. “He’ll believe that. And he’ll believe that’s why you don’t want to stay with us anymore. I won’t let him know it’s about him.”

A glint of surprise flashes in River’s eyes as he watches Lincoln speak. The dark-haired boy must not’ve mentioned why he was bringing me over.

I’m struck yet again by the level of unconditional trust these guys have with each other. It’s kind of fucking amazing, the way any of them would step out on a limb for any of the others, not even glancing down to see how far the fall would be—just believing that his friends will catch him.

It’s a powerful thing, that kind of trust.

“You’re sure you can… keep it together around him?” I ask Linc, trying to phrase my question in a way that doesn’t sound insulting. But I’ve seen him when he’s pissed. Hell, I’ve been the person he’s been pissed at, and he’s not necessarily the best at hiding his emotions when he’s worked up.

“Yeah.” As if giving me a demonstration, his face smooths out, the harsh edge of anger in his features evaporating. “And if he thinks I’m being weird, I’ll just blame it on our ‘breakup’.”

This time, it’s me that grimaces when he says the word. Linc hasn’t even officially asked me out, and our relationship definitely isn’t following a conventional path—in fact, it seems to be expanding to include three other people—but whatever we have is still real.

Real enough that it hurts to think of losing it, even if that’s just a lie for his dad’s benefit.

Maybe he notices the shift in my expression, because Lincoln strides forward, capturing my face in his hands. They’re large and warm, and I melt a little at the contact. When he tilts my head up and drops his head to claim a kiss, I sag against him, letting my muscles and bones sink into his touch.

“It’s better this way, Low,” he mutters against my hair as he wraps his arms around me, engulfing me in a tight embrace. “I’m not letting you get hurt.”

Part of me doubts Mr. Black would do anything to me while I was living under his roof, if for no other reason than that it would cast suspicion on him immediately. But people can do horrible things when they feel trapped, and I’ve been having a harder time keeping up my poker face around the older man lately. This probably is for the best.

So I nod against Linc’s chest, taking in a deep breath and letting his coriander scent fill my nostrils. “See you at school tomorrow.”

“Yeah. See you.”

He kisses my hair one more time and then heads for the door, jerking his head almost imperceptibly to River as he goes. The other boy moves to walk him out, leaving me alone in the bedroom. He closes the door behind them, and I can hear their quiet voices fading as they head up the stairs.

I set my backpack down by my suitcase and turn to take a look at the