The Cruel World

by Scarlett Haven

Poor Ian. His nose is swollen, and he has black and blue bruises under his eyes from his fight with Jensen yesterday. I feel guilty—he wouldn’t have gotten into a fight to begin with if he weren’t defending my honor.

  “As long as Princess doesn’t try to flirt with them, I think we’ll be okay,” West says. “It’s work. We can focus on that.”

  I roll my eyes. “I’m sorry, have you met Jensen? He only flirts with me because he knows it annoys you, West.”

  “What’s your excuse for flirting back?” West pushes the down button on the elevator a little harder than needed.

  “I don’t flirt back.” I turn to Kal, giving him a pleading look.

  Kal tightens his grip around me. “Come on, West. Go easy on Roxy. You don’t want to be dumped back in a forest again, do you?”

  West grunts but doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to. We all already know the answer. None of us want to be dropped off again in the middle of nowhere. It might be good ‘practice,’ at least according to Michael Sinclair, but I’d rather break my own leg than go back out there.

  We get onto the elevator, none of us talking on the way down. I think everybody is scared to talk because of West. He isn’t just being cranky with me, he’s jumped us all. I just seem the be the easiest target for him.

  “You never told us what we are doing in St. Thomas,” Alek says.

  West clenches his jaw. “The other guys got a lead on our case.”

  “Our case?” I raise an eyebrow.

  We haven’t worked on anything since before Thanksgiving break. We followed every lead we could on the attempted assassination on the Russian president, but nothing came of it.

  “With the assassin group,” West explains angrily. “I’m not sure what we’re doing exactly. Michael Sinclair will give us orders once we’re there.”

  Great. Not only does Jensen Kaplan make West cranky, but so do uncertainties. He likes to be prepared and plan. The fact that we’re going there to just wait on orders is going to make him that much more anxious and cranky.

  As we’re loading our stuff into the Jeep, I hear footsteps in the parking lot behind us. I know without looking that it’s Jensen, Cole, and Rook. I don’t bother looking and neither do the guys. I’m surprised when the three of them walk over to their own vehicle, not saying a word to us.

  Maybe we can get along on this trip.

  Or maybe everybody is just waiting until we’re a mile high to get into a fight.

  Uh, this is going to be a long trip.

  As always, I’m stuck in the back. Thankfully, West drives today, and Alek sits up front with him. Kal and Ian get in the back with me. Alek turns on some Russian rock song that nobody but him can understand, but I don’t complain about the obnoxious music today. I’d never admit it to Alek, but his music is kind of growing on me. I even like the way Alek sings along. It makes me want to learn Russian, just so I can know what he sings. Maybe since I completed my French course, I can start learning Russian.

  Just as we’re about to pull out of the parking spot, a vehicle speeds past us. West reaches down, turning off the radio, and then he floors it, chasing the other car. I am nearly thrown across the vehicle as West accelerates to try and catch up with the other car. The only thing keeping me from hitting the window is Kal grabbing onto me.

  He smirks. “I knew you wanted to sit in my lap.”

  I tap my chin. “I believe I said I’d rather sit on a cactus.”

  “I’d like to think I’m more comfortable than a cactus,” he says.

  I grin, sliding off his lap. “Thank you for saving me. You are much more comfortable than a cactus.”

  “Maybe if you put on your seatbelt you wouldn’t have to sit on anybody’s lap,” West grumbles.

  “Maybe if you gave me a chance to put on my seatbelt before pulling out going one twenty then I would.” I reach over, putting the seatbelt safety around me.

  West looks at his speedometer. “I’m going ninety-five. Chill the dramatics, Princess.”

  I push my hair out of my face, giving him a glare.

  “It’s Jensen’s fault. When he pulled out like that, he was saying he wanted to race to the airport.” Alek turns in his seat to explain it to me.

  “An unwritten boy rule?” I ask.

  West grins, pushing down on the gas pedal. “I’ve almost caught him.”

  “I’m going to laugh when you get arrested and I have to bail you out of jail.” I cross my arms over my chest, thinking that I will never understand the opposite sex, least of all West Newman.

  Kal slips his arm around my back. “Roxy, we’re Royals. Don’t you know we’re untouchable?”

  I get the feeling that West genuinely believes that too. He has too much power—somebody really needs to knock him down a peg or two. He’s been wound so tight ever since we got that letter about The Royal Games. I don’t know if I’m going to survive until the end of next week.

  Getting on my nerves.

  My head is spinning by the time we race into the airport going ninety miles an hour. We arrive at the exact same time as Jensen and his team, which has West in a sour mood. Actually, the fact that Jensen is going with us has him in a bad mood so it’s hard to tell the difference. West hasn’t been in a good mood in ages.

  I can’t believe I was excited about coming back to our little condo—staying in Alaska with my parents is about as pleasant as being around West right now.

  Walking around the back of the Jeep, I go to grab my bag when a hand reaches over me. I smile, looking back. I expect it to be Kal or Ian, but instead I see Jensen. My smile quickly turns to a frown.

  “I can carry my own bag,” I tell him curtly.

  I don’t want to be rude, but it’s because of this boy that there is so much drama going on with my team right now. West hates me because of him. Also, him flirting with me is kind of getting old, especially when I know he only does it to get under West’s skin.

  “What kind of gentleman would I be if I let a lady carry her own bag?” His eyes sparkle as he looks down at me. Without waiting for a response, he turns and heads toward the plane.

  “A smart one,” I mumble, looking after him.

  West glares at me from beside the steps of the plane.

  Great—why not make West even more mad before getting onto a tiny airplane with him? I can already tell this trip is going to be a lovely one.

  I walk toward the plane empty handed. Honestly, having my bags carried isn’t so bad. It’s West’s glare that I can’t handle.

  Once on the plane, I sit down as far away from Jensen as I possibly can. Kal must’ve had the same idea. I squeeze in beside him, sitting closest to the window. I ignore Jensen, who is smirking at me from the front of the plane.

  Kal puts his hand on my knee. “It’s just three hours. You can handle three hours.”

  I let out a long breath, wondering if it’s true. I’m not sure, to be honest. Three hours is a really long time to be in such a small space with West and Jensen. There is bound to be an explosion.

  When I glance up, Jensen winks at me from the front of the plane.

  “That boy is getting on my nerves,” I tell Kal. “The worst part is, West thinks it’s my fault. He thinks I’m flirting with Jensen.”

  Kal chuckles. “West has been especially grumpy since they got here.”

  Since they got here? More like since we got that stupid invitation to The Royal Games, but I won’t bring that up. That first day after we got invitations, even Kal was acting weird.

  “Just when I thought we were making progress.” I sigh, looking away from the front of the plane. “At least I have you still. And Ian, kind of. He hasn’t really talked to me a whole lot since his fight yesterday.”

  “You definitely invoke a passionate response from all of us.” Kal shakes his head. “I never thought Ian would ever get into a fist fight. Especially not over a girl. Not that you’re just a random girl, but still…”

  I can’t help but giggle. “It’s not funny, I k
now it’s not. But it kind of was. Ian launched himself at Jensen with his broken leg. I’ve never seen anything quite so majestic.”

  “I would’ve liked to have—”

  Kal’s voice cuts off abruptly as Rook slides into the seat across the aisle from us. He doesn’t say a word, he just nods his head, giving us a small wave. Kal waves back, but I look at him with furrowed brows.

  What is up with Rook? I have dubbed him the nice one in my head. He’s so quiet. I swear the guy hardly ever speaks. But there is something about him that I like.

  “Good to see you, Rook,” Kal says, breaking the silence.

  The fasten seatbelt light comes on, so I quickly buckle up as the plane starts to move down the runway.

  “You too.”

  Rook has a pleasant voice—it’s smooth, like somebody who does voice overs in movies. And Rook’s face, well that deserves to be seen on the big screen.

  My cheeks grow warm as Rook’s eyes meet mine. I don’t know why I’m embarrassed, it’s not like he can know what I’m thinking.

  “How do you like being a Royal?” Rook asks.

  I take a deep breath before responding. “Uh, it’s kind of cool. I like my teammates.” I pause. “Well, most of the time.”

  Kal smirks. “Roxy is our favorite.”

  “I can imagine.” Rook’s eyes don’t leave mine.

  I shift uncomfortably at his attention.

  “Your parents are Royals, right?” Rook asks.

  I nod, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear. “Uh, yeah. My parents, my grandparents, my great grandparents, and even my great-great grandparents.”

  Rook’s eyes widen. “Wow.”

  Kal laughs. “Talk about pressure. It’s a good thing we all wrote your name down.”

  No kidding.

  Rook looks at Kal, finally breaking eye contact with me. “Wait… all of you voted for her?”

  “Yep.”

  Rook furrows his brows. “You know that discussing who you’re voting for with your team members is against the rules, right?”

  Kal nods. “We never discussed it. In fact, when she got here, everybody seemed to hate her and I felt so guilty for voting for her.”

  “They hated Roxy?” Rook cocks his head, looking toward me.

  “Hated is an understatement. They loathed me.” I clear my throat. “Uh, West put semi-permeant hair dye in my shampoo trying to get me to leave. It took three hours to get it out of my hair at a hair salon.”

  Rook’s jaw drops open. “And you’re still on their team?”

  I chew on my lip, not knowing what to say.

  I know how this must all look. West seems to hate me right now and I’m sure I appear miserable. Well, I am kind of miserable at the moment. But we’re a family. Having a bad week doesn’t change that.

  My face grows warm as I remember what it felt like to have my back against the Jeep with West’s arms around me. I remember how soft his lips were as he kissed me so gently. I remember the soft, whispered words. But then I remember how harshly he spoke to me the very next morning—how he accused me of flirting with Cole, Jensen, and Rook. As if I could flirt with them after what West and I shared.

  Kal grabs onto my hand. “She fell for my charms.”

  I laugh. “More like I got Kal shot, and I’m the reason Ian broke his leg. I suppose I have a lot to make up for. I’m surprised they still want me on their team.”

  Well… I’m not sure West does want me on the team anymore.

  “Are you kidding?” Kal squeezes my hand. “You couldn’t get rid of us if you tried.”

  I look at Kal through my lashes, flashing him a wide grin.

  How would I survive on the team without Kal?

  Rook clears his throat. “Since you aren’t dating Ian, are you dating Kal?”

  I look over at Rook, shaking my head. “No. I’m single. I’d—” I start to say I’d never date a teammate, but that’s not exactly true. I probably would date a teammate. I rub a hand at the back of my neck. “Kal’s got better taste than me.”

  Kal bumps me with his elbow. “Whatever. She knows I want her and I’m just waiting on her to reciprocate.”

  Reciprocate? Did I not kiss him back?

  Then again, I guess nothing more has come of our kiss. Neither of us has spoken one word about it. Part of me wants to talk to him, but if I did, what could I say? Would I tell him that Alek kissed me too? Would I tell him that I’m crazy about West?

  I like Kal—he’s exactly the kind of guy I should fall for. Yet, I still can’t help but be drawn to West. Maybe Kal knows it. Am I that obvious about my feelings?

  I sigh, looking up at Rook, who is watching me.

  Rook turns his attention to Kal. “It would be complicated to date a teammate, especially if other members on your team have feelings for her too.”

  Kal nods, not even glancing my way. “Exactly.”

  “I have no idea what you two are even talking about. I think you’re both crazy.” Because nobody on the team likes me like that. Maybe at one time Kal and Ian did, but they’re long over it now.

  Nobody has feelings for me. Not like that.

  Part of the team.

  St. Thomas is beautiful to fly into. One minute, you’re over the Atlantic Ocean, the next there is a mountain popping up seemingly out of nowhere. Glad for the window seat, I press my face as close to the tiny window as I can get to look out, leaving room for Kal to see too.

  The flight was only three hours and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. West and Jensen stayed separated and most of us didn’t talk to the other team members. Well, other than Kal and me. We did talk to Rook for a bit.

  Rook is surprisingly nice. He has never tried to flirt with me. He does give me these looks that I can’t quite read and that sort of drives me crazy. I will stay away from him—from all of them.

  When the plane finally lands, it’s eleven o’clock in the morning. I expect to head to the hotel and wait on a call from Michael Sinclair, but I am surprised when we go straight from the airplane and into a black SUV. West drives, Jensen gets in the front passenger seat, and the rest of us pile into the back two rows of seats. I somehow get crushed between Alek and Rook—not sure how that happened, but West gives me glares from the rearview mirror. Like he thinks I actually wanted to sit by Rook.

  I just can’t do anything right, at least not in his eyes. I’d scoot closer to Alek if I wasn’t already sitting halfway on his lap. I shift uncomfortably.

  Alek grunts. “Can you sit still, Roxy?”

  “Sorry,” I mumble.

  “Where are we headed?” Kal asks from the back seat. He’s sitting between Cole and Ian.

  West just taps the GPS screen with one hand, keeping the other on the steering wheel.

  I wait for West to say something to me—maybe for him to remind me what happened last time we were on a mission. Part of me expects him to say something about ‘letting the men take care of things,’ but he stays quiet as we follow the GPS to the address. I’m not exactly sure what to expect. Now is the time we’d usually be getting a rundown.

  Surprisingly, Jensen is the one to turn in his seat to give us a speech about what to expect.

  “There are a group of five assassins and Michael Sinclair wants us to detain them and bring them in without killing them. Obviously if it comes down to us or them, we kill them, but Michael wants them questioned. None of them were Spy School trained, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good at what they do. Apparently, they were trained at a school called Espionage Academy. They’re good at what they do, but we’re better. Don’t get cocky in there and everybody works in teams of two,” Jensen says, then looks at West. “Do you have anything to add?”

  West nods. “Princess is with me this time.”

  I meet his eyes in the rearview mirror. I wonder if I should be hurt that he wants me close by—most likely to keep me safe. But I’m excited at the prospect of working closely with West. I know him. He isn’t doing this becaus
e I’m a girl. He’s doing this because it’s our first time on the field since what happened last time with Kal, which means it’s only our second time together doing something like this.

  Well… there was the one time we were in the woods. That time, things worked in our favor. The five of us work well together.

  “You okay with that?” Jensen asks.

  I look from West to Jensen, who is looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I get the feeling he would fight West if I asked him to right now and not because of the rival.

  I nod. “It’s only our second time on the field together as a team.”

  Jensen’s face relaxes. “Yeah, you should definitely stick with West then.”

  I knew that would get Jensen to let up. Typically, it takes somebody at least five assignments to get used to their team, sometimes more. The guys and I have spent so much time together I feel like we’ll do well on this mission. At least, I hope.

  “I’m with Kal,” Ian pipes up.

  Alek grumbles. “Which one am I stuck with?”

  “I’m with Jensen,” Cole says.

  Rook looks over my head at Alek. “Guess we’re together.”

  “At least I get stuck with the nice one.” Alek puts his hand down on my thigh, squeezing it. “Next time I get the pretty one.”

  Cole chuckles. “Sorry, Alek. You’re not my type.”

  Alek rolls his eyes. “I meant Roxy.”

  I can’t help the snort that escapes me. “I don’t know. Cole is definitely prettier than me.”

  West’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror again, his sapphire blue eyes sparkling. “Princess, nobody is prettier than you.”

  I suck in a sharp breath.

  I hate how my heart and my body react to him. It’s like I can’t control myself.

  Jensen squints his eyes, looking between West and me. “You know, I can’t decide if the two of you love or hate each other.”

  Yeah, me either.

  West keeps quiet too. He just grips the steering wheel tighter.

  A few minutes later, West pulls the car into a parking lot. It’s a place where you can park and go out onto the beach, but we’re not here for sightseeing. I look longingly out at the ocean as we get out of the SUV and start heading to our target location on foot.