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

lip, still staring at me intently for a few moments. Then he dips his head once. “Fine. You stay here. But”—he lifts a hand, the line of his brow hardening—“if we get even a hint that Judge Hollowell does know, that he’s planning on coming after you, I’m shipping you off myself.”

I nod. I hate this bargain, but I know Lincoln needs something to hold on to. And he may be right. I can’t help my mom at all if I’m dead.

On my right, River makes a small noise of defeat, and when I turn to face him, he’s shaking his head.

“Harlow… you should still probably get your stuff from my house. I don’t know if you should stay with me anymore.” His gray eyes churn like storm clouds. “My dad is pissed as fuck about my car. The towing company called him to confirm the drop-off at the mechanic, and he about lost his shit.”

My stomach clenches. River dismissed the damage to his car so quickly I pretty much forgot about it, but the truth is, I wrecked a vehicle that must’ve cost at least a hundred grand. And if the “you break it, you buy it” policy is in effect, I’ll be paying that shit off till the day I die.

“Shit, River. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things worse between you and your dad.”

He snorts a humorless laugh. “I don’t know what he’s so mad about. I never drove that stupid thing, I didn’t even want it, and he can afford to replace it without even blinking an eye. But it’s not about the money for him, it’s about the principle.”

I can believe that. River’s parents aren’t as disconnected from him as Dax and Chase’s are from the two of them, but I sometimes wonder if it’d be better if they were. I’m not sure if it’s related to River’s hearing impairment or something else entirely, but it seems like Mr. Bettencourt decided a long time ago that his son was a disappointment, and I don’t know if anything would change his mind.

“He’s been giving me a hard time lately about you staying at our house, and when the call came in about the car, he went off.” River shakes his head, looking almost ashamed, like he’s letting me down somehow just because his dad is an asshole. “He knows you borrowed it and were driving when it wrecked. He’s… not the biggest fan of yours.”

I allow a sardonic smile to tilt my lips, reaching for his hand and lacing our fingers together. “Oh, he’s not a fan of the girl who crashed at his house for weeks like a squatter, then borrowed your car and wrecked it? Gee, shocker.”

River’s expression loosens slightly, and he grins back, tightening his fingers around mine. Good. It sucks that his dad is pissed at me, and it sucks even more that he’s probably pissed at River for all of this too. But I don’t want the serious, brown-haired boy to feel bad about it. It’s not his fault.

“She can stay here,” Chase puts in, shrugging lightly. “It makes the most sense. Our parents won’t give a shit what she does. She could tap dance naked through the living room, and they probably wouldn’t even notice.”

“Shit’s still messed up at your house, with Paige and all?” Dax asks Linc.

Lincoln grimaces. “Yeah. She’s still threatening to blackmail dad over the baby. I don’t know what he’s gonna do about it.”

“Low can stay with us. We’ll look out for her.”

“Okay,” Linc finally agrees, then he shifts his attention back to me. I can tell he doesn’t like this at all, and neither does River—I have a feeling neither boy wants to let me out of their sight. But it says volumes about the bond the four kings share that they’re willing to trust my protection to each other. “Until we figure out what to do about this fucking Judge Hollowell thing, you’ll stay here. River and I can bring your stuff over tonight.”

“You don’t have to do that.” I shake my head, blinking hard. The adrenaline is gone, and with the Advil kicking in, now I just feel exhausted. “I’m sure I can make it one night with what I have. I can borrow clothes to sleep in, can’t I?”

“Yeah. No problem.”

Dax’s voice is low, and when I cut a glance his way, the expression on his face makes my stomach turn to liquid heat. He looks like the thought of me in his clothes is the hottest fucking thing he can think of.

Chase’s eyes have darkened too, and I glance away as my stomach flip-flops. I remember thinking once that at the rate I was going, I’d probably end up having to crash at the twins’ house at some point, but I honestly didn’t expect it to really happen—or at least, not under these circumstances.

I feel overwhelmed. Like so much is happening that my mind can’t keep up with all of it, and random thoughts and worries keep popping up and dropping away before I can even process them.

River, who notices everything, must catch the mess of emotions swirling in my eyes, because he scoots a little closer to me on the couch, bringing our joined hands to his lips.

“It’s okay, Low. We don’t have to figure this all out tonight. We’ll get there. Keeping you safe is the main thing, and we’ll make a plan for everything else.”

How the fuck does he manage to stay so calm, confident, and certain? I lean into him briefly, soaking up his scent and the warmth of his body, and then I nod. “Okay.”

He stands, pulling me to my feet with him. “Get some sleep, okay? We’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nod again, and Linc crosses toward us. He grasps my chin in one large hand, his gaze bouncing between my eyes as he brings his face so close to mine I can feel the caress of his breath on my skin.

“We will not let