Page 80 of Royal

Chapter 19

Royal

“Best. Day. Ever.” Brysen grinned and buckled his seatbelt.

“I’m surprised you can sit right now with all the dick you’ve had in you today.”

His grin widened and he closed his eyes. “Worth it.”

He’d fucked the security guard in a porta potty—gross, I know. At least it’d been before the place got busy, so it hadn’t been used yet. Still not his finest moment, though. After that, he’d met some rocker guy with a huge mohawk and had taken him into the woods around the festival.

We’d visited the convention center, eaten lunch from Adrien Reed’s menu—which had been incredible—and checked out the graphic artists. Then, we’d gone to Sick Beat’s show and met the band afterward. Turned out, the lead singer was bisexual and was totally into Brysen. So, they’d gone back to the band’s tour bus and B had his third man of the day.

“Ready to go home?” I asked, starting the car.

Brysen nodded, completely worn out.

I was tired, too. We’d been out in the sun all day, and it was nighttime now. A full day of walking around, being in large crowds, and stressing over every small thing.

After talking to Grayson over the phone, my happy, easy-going feeling from earlier had dissolved. The storm hadn’t passed yet. It was only just beginning. The serial killer had never left. My unease had returned, and I was super jumpy, seeing threats everywhere. I’d played it cool over the phone to Gray, but it’d really shaken me up.

Goosebumps formed on my arms as I remembered a guy I’d bumped into right after the conversation with Gray.

He’d been tall and lanky, dirty-blond hair, and had the darkest eyes I’d ever seen. I’d been walking to the restroom when I turned a corner and bumped into him.

“Sorry, man,” I’d said.

The dude just glared at me, grinding his teeth. His hands fisted at his sides. Then, he walked off. But before he was out of sight, he turned back to smile at me. The smile. It reminded me of the damn smiley face on my window, and I’d inwardly freaked the fuck out.

Grayson had arrived at the festival around four and hadn’t left my side for the rest of the day. In fact, the only reason he wasn’t with me right now was because he was in his car, following us as we drove to my house.

He’d insisted on staying the night, and I hadn’t fought him one bit. After the run-in with the creepy blond, I didn’t want to be alone. Brysen didn’t count. His form of defense would be to offer his ass to the killer and hope it worked.

“Kinda weird that someone copied the killer,” Brysen mumbled from the passenger’s seat, his eyes still closed. I’d told him the news. He’d taken it much better than me. “That’s probably gonna piss him off. He got mad when Grayson talked about him in the press conference. Crazy to think about how much being copied will set him off.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t say shit like that.” The last thing I wanted on my mind was an even more unstable psychopath in Addersfield.

“Sorries,” he said before yawning so big his jaw popped. “I’m hungry.”

“You just ate a whole funnel cake by yourself,” I pointed out, amazed. “How can you be hungry?”

“Funnel cakes aren’t food. They’re dessert. That doesn’t count.”

“Fine.” I sighed, knowing I gave into him too easily. “What do you want? I can stop at McDonald’s and get you a burger.”

“Burger King,” he said, creaking open his eyelids to look at me. “And I want two burgers.”

“Okay.”

I called Grayson so he wouldn’t wonder why I was going in the wrong direction.

“B is hungry, so we’re gonna stop and get something at Burger King,” I told him after he answered.

“Can you get me a chicken sandwich?” Grayson asked. “I’ll go ahead and go to your house. Check the place out before you get there.”

“I guess I’ll get you one,” I said with a smile in my voice. Then, my smile faded. “Do you really think I’m a target, Gray? You’ve been acting more protective than usual today.”

“I’m not sure,” he answered. “But I’m not going to risk it. Until he’s caught or dead, expect me to stick around.”