Page 7 of The Royal Flame (The Royal Academy #3)

They hug, and Finn tells her everything will be okay.

“Maybe tell me that after we get out of here,” Lily mumbles, stepping back and dabbing her eyes with her fingers.

“Yeah, let’s get the hell out of here,” he agrees, his attention briefly sliding to me.

Then he turns and hurries back down the hallway, motioning for us to follow him.

The man and woman that were having sex are gone, and we don’t pass by anyone else until we step out into the bar area.

We’re pushing our way out without any issues arising, and I can’t help thinking this is all too easy.

Why would Will lure Lily here to try to drug her, then just bail?

Here’s the thing that I’m stuck on. Lily is a Royal, and Will had to know that.

I feel like he was working some sort of angle there, but we haven’t run into him.

It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe the sight of Finn scared him?

Finn is tall and muscular. One look at him, and it’s clear he works hard to make his body a machine.

I stupidly attempt to convince myself that that’s the reason we make it out of the club without any altercations.

Noah and River are waiting for us when we exit, and the cool night air is sweeping around us as we do.

The bouncer makes some suggestive comments as we pass by him, but everyone is too relieved that Lily is okay to even notice.

I should’ve noticed.

I should’ve noticed a lot of things.

Been on high alert.

The old, pre-Royal Academy Maddy would’ve. She would’ve been carrying her Taser in her hand, ready to fight at any given moment. But this surrounded-by-Royal-men Maddy is getting a little too comfortable.

The five of us are wandering toward the corner when this reality bitch smacks me across the face.

“Maddison Averly, what the hell are you doing with a bunch of Royals?” Will’s voice makes me cringe as I reel around, my hand darting toward my pocket.

He’s standing at the entrance to an alleyway that runs down the side of the club.

He has a cigarette in his hand, is dressed in a leather jacket, black pants, and boots, and he isn’t carrying a weapon.

Yet. There’s a good chance he has one in his pocket.

I also feel uneasy that more people might lurk in that alley.

“Who is this guy?” River inquires as he moves up behind me.

The corner of Will’s lips quirk into a smirk. “Huh, I wouldn’t have thought the virgin Maddy would end up being a Royal whore?”

Here’s the thing. The guys and Lily haven’t seen me at my North Side worst. But I think they’re about to.

“Better to be a north side whore than a drug dealing piece of shit that can even get a girl to put out unless you drug her drink.” I draw out my Taser from my pocket and push the button, causing it to zap a few times.

“Jesus, Maddy,” River mumbles from behind me while Finn lets out a, “What the hell?”

Will takes no offense to this, his smirk remaining. “That’s not why I do it. I just prefer my sex conquests to be silent and pliant. If they’re not drugged, I have to pretend I care, and I don’t.”

“You’re gonna care when I zap your balls like cooked meat.” I step toward him and zap my Taser.

This time he startles and stumbles back.

“Yeah, screw you, you stupid small dick prick,” I taunt, zapping the taser again.

His nostrils flare. “You wanna go?” He charges at me.

In the back of my mind, I’m aware that if he’s coming at me with River, Finn, and Noah being behind me, his crew is likely close by. But I’m too far gone in my anger to what he tried to do to Lily to give a shit.

I shuffle forward, one of my hands balled into fists, the other clutching the taser.

But an arm slips around my waist and hauls me back.

The scent of River’s cologne engulfs my nostrils.

He’s lucky it does because I’m so far into protection mode that I may have tased his ass had I not realized it was him.

He protectively swings me back behind him while Finn and Noah stride beside him, the three of them forming a wall between Will and me.

I stare at their backs, unsure what to do.

I’ve never had anyone protect me like this and my instincts struggle to process it.

“Just let them handle it, okay?” Lily gently places her hand on my arm, causing me to jolt and press the button on my Taser.

It zaps, and she jumps and squeals, her eyes widening.

“Sorry.” I shove my Taser back into my pocket and return my attention to the guys.

They’re arguing about what Will did to Lily. Surprisingly, Finn is the one getting the most riled up. He’s usually all jokes and lightness. But not with this. He’s in Will’s face, towering over him, and the bouncer is watching it like it's live porn.

“This is a trigger for them,” Lily mutters with her head tipped down toward the sidewalk that’s littered with cigarette butts and a used condom— gross . “They’ve had to bail me out of a situation like this before.”

I whirl toward her, my lips parting in shock. “You’ve been almost drugged at a north side club before?”

Shaking her head, she meets my gaze. “No, it was at a Royal party.”

It clicks. “Eli?” I ask, and she unsteadily nods.

I knew Eli had done messed up stuff to Lily, but not to that extreme.

I want to talk to her more about it, but the sound of glass shattering captures my undivided attention. I’m not even sure where it came from, but panic lashes through me.

“I don’t like this. I feel like Will’s crew is watching us.

” My fingers hover near my pocket as I peer around at the club, the busy bar beside it, and then at the alleyway between the two buildings.

Across the street are vacant, boarded up brick buildings, and a few people are loitering on the sidewalks, kicking bottles, so maybe the shattering glass noise from that.

“What did Will say to convince you to come here?” I ask Lily.

“Not much. Wren and I were at this party. We were drinking and Will was there. I knew he was from north side, and I’ll admit, I was intrigued by it.

We talked and flirted for a bit, and then he convinced me to come with him.

He said we could dance and drink and have some fun…

I just got into the car with him without asking any questions. ” She groans. “I’m so stupid.”

“Lily,” I scold. “Seriously?”

“I’m sorry. Eli was at the party, and I had too much to drink.” Tears well in her eyes. “Plus, this guy I like broke up with me.

I might’ve continued to lecture her if I hadn’t spotted movement in my peripheral vision. I turn just in time to see five guys walking out of the shadows of the alleyway.

“Dammit, we need to go,” I hiss at Lily, shoving her toward the street corner.

Then I grab the nearest guy’s shirt, which happens to be Noah.

His head snaps in my direction as he trips over his feet. “What the hell, Maddy?”

“We need to go. Now.” I point at the group of guys stalking toward us.

“Shit,” Noah mutters under his breath as he reaches for Finn’s jacket sleeve.

Finn is reaming out Will with his fists clenched at his side, like he’s about to take a swing.

“We need to go!” Noah shouts over Finn’s yelling as he yanks on Finn’s sleeve.

Finn shuffles backward, his sneakers scuffing against the concrete. “What the hell is your problem?” He scowls at Noah but then notices the group of guys, and his expression falls.

River tracks Finn’s gaze and backs up, stiffening as he lets out a string of curses.

Will smirks as he retrieves a knife from his pocket and flips open the blade. “You’re in big trouble now, royal dumbasses.”

The five of us silently agree to take off running, spinning around and barreling toward the corner where the parking garage is looming in the distance. Lily is slow in her heels, and Will and his group are right behind us. This won’t end well if we don’t devise another plan.

“Keep going,” I shout to River as we near the corner. “I’ll distract them.”

He gapes at me. “Are you crazy? I’m not letting you do that.”

“Oh, River, I think I already established you can’t make me do anything.” I retrieve my Taser from my pocket and zap it a few times, the buzzing causing him to jolt. “I’ll be okay. I know my way around here.” I offer him a cheeky, very-forced smile before I grind to a stop and reel around.

Will and his crew are confused and slow down, uncertain what to do next.

“What’re you doing, Maddy?” Will calls out as he stops just short of me. “Trying to be the hero?”

“Nah, I’m not selfless enough to be a hero.” I smirk at him with my fingers curled around the taser. “But I’ll give you some incentive to chase after me.”

Most of Will’s crew has stopped behind him, but one guy chases after Finn, Noah, River, and Lily.

“Why would I do that?” Will questions with a tilt of his head. “I can just go after these rich pricks and get some cash.”

“Is that what this is about?” I tap my finger against my chin. “You think you can what? Lure their sister down here and blackmail them with ransom to get her back?”

He lifts a shoulder. “Sounds like the perfect plan to me.”

I smile sweetly at him. “Too bad it didn’t work.”

“Didn’t it??” His lips peel back into a malicious grin. “You’re outnumbered, and I’m not letting you go until I get some money.” His gaze roves over my shoulder at something.

I peer behind me, thinking one of his guys has snuck up. But it’s River.

Stupid, sweet guy.

Now, he fits the profile of a hero.

“Like I was going to let you do this alone,” he tells when I scowl at him.

“You better be ready to run,” I whisper, causing his brows to furrow.

I don’t have time to explain. I rotate back to Will.

“You remember how someone stole from your boss, and no one could figure out who it was? You tried and tried to figure it out but failed. Well, here’s a little incentive to chase me instead of them.

” Grinning, I back away, urging River to do the same.

“I know who stole the money and where it’s hidden. All twenty-thousand dollars of it.”

Wills expression crumbles. “You’re lying.”