Shattered Kingdom: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Royal Falls Elite Book 2)

by Kristin Buoni

  “That must be it,” Trina said, nodding fervently. “Whoever’s coming after you now must think you know the real killer’s identity, and it must be them.”

  “But I don’t know anything!” Laney replied, throwing her palms up in exasperation. “Also, all four of us were looking into Lindsay’s death. So why am I the only one being targeted by this person?”

  “Maybe there is something you know. But you don’t actually know that you know it yet,” I said. “But as soon as you make a few little connections, you’re going to figure it out.”

  Adam nodded. “Yeah. That would mean you—and only you—have the key to solving Lindsay’s murder, and someone out there is fucking terrified of that happening,” he said. “They tried to scare you into dropping the investigation, and now they’re worried you won’t, so they’re trying to shut your mouth permanently.”

  Laney sighed and rubbed her eyes. “This is crazy. I swear, I don’t know anything,” she muttered. “I honestly thought the Network killed Lindsay, so I haven’t even thought about any other suspects in weeks.”

  “There must be something in that head of yours,” Trina said, tapping the side of her own head. “Something that this person is willing to kill over.”

  “Well, what the hell am I supposed to do about it? I have no idea what it is.”

  Trina let out a heavy sigh. “Honestly, I think it’s time we revisit that conversation we had a few weeks ago. The one where I suggested that you leave town,” she said softly. “I know Hunter and Adam think they can keep you safe at their house, but… I don’t know. I really don’t think it’s safe for you here at all. If I were you, I’d be making a beeline for somewhere like New York so I could disappear for a while. I might even change my name just in case.”

  I narrowed my eyes. I knew Trina was probably just concerned about Laney’s wellbeing, but it almost sounded as if she wanted her to leave Royal Falls.

  “If she actually does have some sort of key to the identity of Lindsay’s killer, then we need to do whatever we can to figure out what the fuck it is,” I said. “We can’t do that if she leaves.”

  Laney nodded. “He’s right,” she said, looking at Trina. “I have to stay.”

  Trina flushed. “I didn’t think of it like that,” she replied. “Sorry, I’m just really worried about you.”

  I gave her a tight smile. “I know you’re worried. But I promise—now that we know someone is still after Laney, we’ll do everything we can to keep her safe.”

  “Good,” she said stiffly, folding her hands on her lap.

  Laney let out a deep sigh. “I just wish I knew what the hell to do next. I genuinely have no idea what information I could possibly have on this person. All I know is that they’re obviously a dangerous psycho.”

  I pulled her close to me again, squeezing her tightly. “Don’t worry. We’ll find out who it is,” I said softly.

  “How?” she said in a bleak, defeated tone.

  I drew back and looked at her. “I don’t know yet. But we just took down a massive sex trafficking ring,” I said. “If we can do that, I think we can do this too.”

  A ghost of a smile crossed her face. “You’re right,” she said, grabbing my hand. “We can do this.”

  16

  Laney

  I dreamed I was drowning, being dragged to the bottom of the lake at RFA by clutching hands. All I could see was murky water and swaying lake weeds, and all I knew was that someone wanted me dead. I had to escape these icy hands, but they kept multiplying, pulling me deeper and deeper until I knew there was no chance of survival.

  I woke up gasping. A thin sheen of sweat coated my face and neck, and for a few terrifying seconds, I thought it was actually water from the lake.

  “It’s okay. I’m here.” Hunter’s arms were around me in seconds, pulling me into a tight, warm embrace. “Just a bad dream.”

  I exhaled deeply. “Am I ever going to sleep properly again?”

  He stroked my hair and nodded. “As soon as this shit is over, you’ll sleep like a baby.”

  “Pretty sure I’m sleeping like a baby right now,” I grumbled. “Waking up every few hours screaming.”

  Hunter let out a soft chuckle and sat up straight, leaning his back against the soft bedhead. “I got the house manager to drop off some coffee and breakfast for us,” he said, motioning to the nightstand beside me. “Want some?”

  “It’s morning already?” I said, smothering a yawn. “I can’t tell with these blackout curtains.”

  “It’s half past ten.”

  “Shit.” I sat bolt upright. “We’re late for school!”

  “We’re not going in. They’ve given you a couple of days off, for obvious reasons, and I told them I’m staying out to keep an eye on you.”

  “Oh.” My shoulders sagged with relief. “I honestly thought they’d make me go back right away. I was totally dreading it.”

  Hunter snorted. “Sanders probably would’ve made you go back right away, but he’s gone now, so it’s cool. I talked to Ms. Flores, and she basically said you can go back whenever you’re ready.”

  “That’s good.” I yawned and reached upward, stretching my tired limbs. “I can’t believe I slept for so long.”

  “I can.” Hunter’s face turned serious again. “Your whole system is in shock.”

  “I guess so,” I said softly. “It still seems completely crazy to me. Like… someone actually tried to kill me. It really happened.”

  “Well, they won’t get a chance to try again,” he replied, eyes narrowing. “Now that I know someone’s after you, I’m not taking any risks. I even tried all the food and coffee over there before you could have any of it, just in case.”

  I raised a brow. “In case the staff poisoned it?”

  “Yeah. I know it sounds paranoid as fuck, but we can’t trust anyone right now. Except each other.”

  “Well, you’re still alive, so I think we can trust your staff,” I said with a faint smile. I reached for the breakfast tray and brought it onto the bed.

  As I sipped at my coffee, I snuggled up to Hunter. “Do you think everything happens for a reason?” I asked, tilting my head slightly to one side.

  “I think everything happens because of a reason, yeah.”

  “No, I mean… do you think everything in the universe is predetermined?”

  Hunter chuckled. “That’s kinda deep for breakfast conversation.”

  “I know. I just can’t stop thinking about everything that’s been going on.” I paused to take another sip of coffee. “Like… you were only ever horrible to me in the past because you thought I hurt Lindsay. Then I decided to join the Medusas because I thought you put that video up, purely because of the way you’d treated me before. And then after that, we only started investigating the Medusas and the Network because we thought they might’ve killed Lindsay and threatened to go after me.” I paused, brows furrowing. “We were wrong about everything. But if none of that stuff happened, and we didn’t think any of those things in the first place, then we wouldn’t have uncovered the whole sex ring. Your dad and all his gross perverted friends would still be free.”

  “That’s true.”

  “It’s crazy how stuff works out,” I said, brows knitting.

  “Well, I can tell you one thing,” Hunter said, warm breath ghosting over my ear. “I think we were supposed to meet each other. So that’s an argument for predeterminism.”

  I smiled. “Are you saying we belong together?”

  “Yeah, in a really pretentious way,” he said with a cocky grin.

  I turned my head and kissed him, giggling softly. He always made me feel better. Even now.

  I finished my coffee and forced myself to eat some fruit and muesli, even though I wasn’t hungry. My stomach was churning from all the nightmares I’d endured while I slept, along with the nightmare that was my current waking life.

  “So… what are we going to do?” I finally said, turning to look at Hunter again.


  “About your situation?”

  “Yeah. Where would we even begin?” I asked. “I keep going over it, and I just can’t figure out what it is that I supposedly know that no one else does.”

  Hunter frowned. “If we’re right about the person being Lindsay’s killer, then we should go back to the list.”

  “What list?”

  “The one you were working on before we started thinking my dad and the Network killed Lindsay.”

  I sat up straighter. “Oh, right. Do you still have the copy I gave you?” I asked. “It’s okay if you don’t. I’m pretty sure I took a photo of it and uploaded it to Dropbox or something.”

  He reached over and opened the top drawer on the nightstand. “I’ve got it.”

  He smoothed out the paper on the blanket in front of us, and we both leaned over to look at it. “There’s a lot of people,” he muttered.

  I stroked the top of his hand, knowing how much it still hurt him to think about his sister’s death. “Does anyone stand out to you?” I asked.

  He looked over at me. “There is someone I’ve wondered about lately,” he said. “But she’s not actually on your list.”

  My breath hitched in my throat when he said ‘she’.

  “Is it Trina?” I asked. The words felt like poison on my lips. Part of me couldn’t even believe that I’d said them out loud.

  “How did you know that?” Hunter said, brows shooting upward.

  I settled back against the bedhead, hands nervously entwining in my lap. “I feel horrible for even thinking this,” I muttered. “But lately, there’s been a couple of things about her that have made me wonder.”

  “Like what?”

  “When I first met her, she mentioned Lindsay, but she never told me they were best friends. She made it sound like they were just vague acquaintances,” I said. “I only found out they were best friends when Adam told me.”

  “Did you ask her about it?”

  “I was going to, but other stuff kept coming up, so I never got the chance.”

  “Hm. It’s definitely weird,” Hunter said, rubbing his chin.

  “Yeah. Like, why wouldn’t she want me to know she was friends with Lindsay? Unless she was worried I’d start asking questions.”

  “The wrong questions.”

  “Exactly.” I nodded slowly. “And it’s not just that. There’s also the abandoned building thing. It was meant to be me, Adam and Trina hanging out there that day. But she never showed up. She said she couldn’t come because she felt sick.”

  “You think she might’ve been lying?”

  “Maybe.” I pursed my lips. “When we thought the Medusas were responsible for the whole thing, we thought they poisoned her lunch to make sure she got sick and couldn’t come, because they didn’t want her getting in the way. But now I’m wondering if she was actually there the whole time, and the text about being sick at home was just a cover.”

  “Adam did see a girl that day,” Hunter said, face darkening. “He saw long dark hair sticking out of the ski mask, right?”

  “Yup.”

  “And Trina has long dark hair.”

  “Yes.” My brows dipped in an inquisitive frown. “What made you think Trina could be a suspect?”

  “Nothing major. I just thought it was weird how she was so hell-bent on getting you out of Royal Falls yesterday. Almost sounded as if she was trying to get rid of you.”

  “She’s been suggesting that I quit RFA and move away for a few weeks now,” I said. “But Adam agreed with her after she brought it up, so she’s not the only one. I think it’s just a friendly concern kind of thing.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” Hunter scrubbed a hand over his face. “Why would she do it, though?”

  “Hurt Lindsay, you mean?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Adam told me they had a big fight not long before Lindsay died,” I said softly.

  “About Lindsay sleeping with her brother-in-law?”

  “Yes. Apparently Trina was furious, and she was going to come over here and confront Lindsay about the whole thing. But she never had the chance.”

  “Because Lindsay died,” he muttered.

  “Yeah.” I paused, gnawing at the inside of my cheek. “What if she decided to come over a day earlier than she originally planned?”

  “And she was so mad at Lindsay that she ended up pushing her off the roof,” Hunter said, finishing my thought.

  I scrunched my eyes shut and groaned as the scene played out in my imagination. “No,” I said. “There’s no way she could’ve done that. I feel like a monster for even considering it.”

  “We have to consider everyone.”

  “I know, but this is Trina,” I said, guilt stabbing at my guts. “She’s been nothing but nice to me since I started at RFA. I’m the worst fucking friend in the world for thinking that she could do something like this.”

  “No, you’re not. Like I said before, we can’t trust anyone right now. That includes our friends, no matter how good they’ve been to us, and Trina has definitely said and done some weird shit.”

  I groaned again and sank lower on the bed. “I still feel fucking awful.”

  Hunter rubbed my leg in a comforting gesture. “Is there anyone else who stands out to you?” he asked. “Apart from Trina?”

  “Not really,” I muttered, still riddled with guilt. “You?”

  “No.” He put his hands behind his head and leaned back again. “But you know what I keep coming back to?”

  “What?”

  “The necklace,” he said. “Let’s just say it was Trina, for argument’s sake. Why the hell would she steal Lindsay’s jewelry and pawn it after she pushed her off the roof? It doesn’t make sense.”

  I sat bolt upright. “Shit. You’re right,” I said, heart pounding. I turned to look him in the eye. “I know what we need to do. We should’ve done it ages ago.”

  “What is it?”

  “We need to go to the pawn shop and ask the owner if they have a record of who brought it in. They might even have CCTV footage of the person, if they have a decent security system.”

  Hunter’s eyes widened. “Wait… you actually know which pawn shop it is?”

  “Yes. Mom told me she got it in Silvercreek, and there’s only one pawn shop there. So it has to be that one.”

  “Well, fuck. Let’s go right now.”

  We hurriedly dressed, grabbed Lindsay’s necklace, and dashed downstairs. Hunter was careful to check his car before we got in it, just in case my crazed stalker had followed me here and stuck another bomb beneath it, and when we knew we were safe, we peeled off the estate and headed for Silvercreek as fast as we possibly could.

  “I can’t believe we only just thought of this,” Hunter said, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

  “Me neither,” I said, cheeks flushing. “We should’ve gone to the shop as soon as I told you how I ended up with the necklace.”

  Towering pine and birch trees whizzed by the windows in a blur as we sped along the stretch of road that led toward Silvercreek. The woods finally gave way to flat fields and buildings, and five minutes later, we pulled onto the town’s main avenue.

  “It’s over there,” I said, pointing toward a dilapidated building across the street. It was flanked by a closed-down hair salon and a hardware store.

  A bell dinged above our heads as we pushed the door open and headed inside. The place was filled with rows and rows of shelves, littered with all sorts of household appliances. On the left, a long glass display cabinet filled with jewelry made up the main counter. Behind it, the wall was lined with guitars and guns.

  A tall bearded man in a plaid shirt stepped out from a back room and regarded us with a surly expression. “Can I help you?” he asked.

  “I hope so.” I stepped up to the counter. “What can you tell us about this necklace?”

  As I spoke, Hunter pulled out Lindsay’s necklace and lay it on the counter.

  The
man raised his brows. He grabbed a pair of glasses from beside the cash register, slipped them on, and leaned down to examine the diamonds and emeralds. “What exactly do you wanna know?” he asked, glancing back up at us a moment later. “I’m guessin’ you already know what this thing is worth.”

  “We want to know who sold it to you last year.”

  The man’s brows met in the middle. “Huh?”

  “My mom bought it from you last year,” I explained. “But I want to know who originally sold it to you. I figured you might have records or surveillance images of them. Or maybe you remember what they look like?”

  He grunted. “Sorry, kid. Your mama’s either lyin’ or rememberin’ wrong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I don’t know nothin’ about this piece,” he said, pushing the necklace back across the counter. “Never seen it before in my life.”

  “But… that’s impossible. She told me she bought it here.”

  The man let out a snort. “I might look stupid, but I’m not. I can tell that piece is worth at least fifty grand. Probably more. And in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re in fuckin’ Silvercreek,” he said. “Nobody around here can afford shit like this. So even if someone did try to hock this off to me, I’d assume it was stolen and call the cops.”

  “Are you absolutely sure you didn’t buy it from anyone?” Hunter asked.

  The store owner narrowed his eyes at him. “Like I just said to your little girlfriend, I’m not a dumbass. I run a tight ship here. That means everything that comes in is catalogued. So if you don’t believe me, I can check my records to prove this necklace has never been through here.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m tellin’ you, though, I’ve never seen it before.”

  Hunter leaned on the counter, matching his gaze. “Check the records.”

  The man grunted and disappeared into the back of the store. He returned with a huge blue file and dropped it on the counter with a loud thump. “I keep everything in this book, on my computer, and in here,” he said, tapping the side of his head with one finger. “So I know I’m right. But feel free to have a look. I’ll wait for my apology.”