by Rose, Louise
“You guys better get out of here,” I say. “Because the second I fire her up, everyone’s going to know we’ve escaped.”
Archer gives me one more look, and he gets into the Bimmer. Romy starts the engine and the garage door rolls up automatically.
I turn the key and the Honda bursts into life. Clicking the visor into place, I kick the stand out of the way and speed out of the garage.
Guards come running out of the house, firing warning shots into the air. But it is too late. My beloved boys are already well on their way to safety and nobody is going to catch up with me on my bike.
My father is going to regret buying it for me. But that isn’t the only thing he is going to regret. I will make sure of it.
Epilogue
Archer Knight
Six months later…
Romy and Declan gather together in my front room, neither one of them saying a word for a long time. I don’t know why we fucking bother with these meetings every week, nothing changes. It’s not safe to get Ivy and we all fucking know it. We live off photos taken at a distance, off whispers from the guards who stalk her without her knowing.
We are the heirs to the most powerful town in the world.
And we can’t save her.
“How’s the shoulder healing?” Romy asks.
“It’s okay,” I say. “Dad hired a top physio to make sure I don’t lose any movement. And when I’m signed off by the medic, I’m starting shooting lessons. I want to be the one to put a bullet between Archaic’s eyes.”
“You’ll have to beat me to it,” Declan replies grimly. “I’m not letting him get away with the way he treated Ivy.”
“Speaking of Ivy,” Romy says. “Have any of you heard anything we need to cover up about where she is?”
“No.”
“Not a word.”
“My dad hired a private detective, but he hasn’t found anything yet,” Romy fills in. “He was paid to not find anything by me.”
“Same here,” added Declan with a smirk. “It’s like she vanished into thin air according to our parents. Funny that.”
“I’m glad she’s safe, but she can’t stay under the radar forever,” I add. “What happens if Solomon finds her before us? I hate to think what he would have done to her after she ruined his plans. I’m worried hiding her isn’t always going to work.”
“Yeah, there’s no way I’m going to let him get his hands on her,” Romy growls, picking up his beer and having a long drink. “We have to find Ivy before he does. It’s the only way we can protect her.”
The three of us fall into an awkward silence.
“I need her back,” Romy adds.
“Ivy’s special,” Declan murmurs. “I’ve never met anyone like her. She’s so talented, so pretty.”
“And that body…” Romy sighs. “The feel of her against me is just… Mmm-mmm.”
“Tell me about it,” I reply, our one night haunting me all the fucking time. I can’t sleep, can’t do anything without craving more of her.
A knock at the door makes us all halt. No one should be here.
I quickly pick up the statue on the side table and grab a gun I left in here. I might be a shitty shot, but I won’t let anyone get the one up on me again.
The door bangs open as I raise the gun and no other than Solomon Archaic himself walks in…and he isn’t alone.
Behind him are our fathers. I lower the gun, eyeing my father with caution.
“We all owe Ivy’s mother a debt and we can’t pay it back to her any other way than this. Get Ivy back and she will be protected by us all,”
“And you?” I ask Solomon.
“I just want my daughter home. Then it’s her choice what happens next. There is a lot I haven’t told her.”
“There is a lot none of us have told you all,” Declan’s dad says.
I eye Romy and Declan, seeing the same suspicion in their eyes.
The truth is…Ivy can’t hide forever, and it looks like the rulers of King Town are bowing down.
No better time to strike…if the queen wants to.
“Let’s get our girl.”
Continue reading this series by clicking here for Take My Place (Boys of King Academy #2)
Description
The elite of King Academy have declared war...and I'm going to win.
Sometimes picture frames can be broken, shattered into a hundred tiny little pieces, and then no one can see the darkness under the cracks. King Town and its heirs couldn’t save me from their sins. Instead, they pulled me in and even when I tried to run, I couldn’t escape them.
And now I think no one can.
But maybe I’m not alone this time. Maybe the three heirs who challenge my heart can save me?
Archer, Romy and Declan own the academy, the town, and they call me their queen. They promise to protect me, if that is even possible.
But everyone falls. Especially those who have a secret.
And in this town, history repeats itself, creating the same chaos that ruined so many lives only nineteen years before. This time, will it be any different?
Recommend for 18+ readers due to content. This is a full-length book and the first of five books in this series and a reverse harem romance which means the main characters have more than one love interest.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Time keeps escaping me,
Cos I keep sitting under this oak tree.
Thinking of you,
Dreaming us true.
But dreaming is sleeping.
And I will never really find you.”
I sing a newly made up song as I finish cleaning up the last of the mess left after one of the residents accidentally knocked over her tea. She is so apologetic, but it isn’t her fault–Ethel has Parkinson’s and has recently had a stroke. The poor woman is fiercely independent, but she doesn’t have the physical capability to do everything she wants. It is becoming a habit of having to clean up after her, but I don’t mind.
Ethel is such a sweetheart and has so many stories to tell about her time as a groupie during the Swinging Sixties. I’m not sure how much of what she told me is true–she claimed to have partied with Brian Jones and done LSD with David Bowie before he became famous. But if they weren’t, she has an incredible imagination, and I love sitting with her to keep her company. She only has one son, and he lives on the other side of the country, so she rarely has any visitors.
Once I am done, I give the rest of the communal lounge another final check, making sure everything is clean and tidy, before taking the cleaning trolley and locking it up in the storeroom. Heading out to the back of the retirement home where I now live, I walk past Leticia, the night nurse.
“Everything all right, Beth?”
“Fine, thanks, Leticia. I’ve finished up cleaning the lounge, so I’m done for the day. I’m going out now, but if there’s anything you need me to do, text me and I’ll get straight on it first thing in the morning. I didn’t get time to put up that painting for Stan, but I’ll make sure I do it tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Beth. We got really lucky when you started work here. Not all our caretakers have been as diligent as you. You really care about the residents.”
“It’s no biggie.” I shrug. “They’re all really interesting people. I could listen to them talk for hours.”
“Keep this up and you could find yourself getting promoted,” Leticia tells me. “You’ve got a bright future here if you want it.”
“Thanks.” I couldn’t help but glow with pride. For the first time in my life, I really felt like I belonged somewhere. This might not be the life my father wanted for me, but it certainly suited me and most importantly, I am safe from him.
Even if it means running from them.
As I go into my room, I feel my phone vibrate with a text. Pulling it out, I smile sadly at the photo I am using for my home page. Taken at the first Bomber Derby, Archer is tinkering with his bike, Romy and Declan are standing nearby offering ‘h
elp.’ The three of them are grinning, but you can see the competitive undertone between them. The photo makes my heart beat fast and long to be near them once again.
Leaving was the right thing to do, to get away from my father, but I miss them.
This photo sums up the dynamic between the three of them. In different circumstances, the three of them would probably have been best friends, but the politics between their families meant they would never be able to fully trust each other. They were always going to vie for dominance over King Town.
It is strange to think that I love each of them in my own way. I’m not quite in love with the boys, but if I hadn’t been forced to flee, who knew what could have happened?
The three of them couldn’t be more different. Take Romy Navarre. Short for Romeo, he is the school Lothario, fully living up to his name. But beneath the flirting lay a man who is fiercely loyal, with a strong sense of justice.
Declan Dauphin had been dating someone else when we first kissed. If I’d known he had a girlfriend, I’d never have gone there, but I was new to the school and he was just sexy as fuck, not to mention talented. We’d been partnered in music class and we’d been working on a song when I had to flee my father. It was the best song I have ever written, and I wished we’d been able to finish it before I left.
After our kiss, he split up with his girlfriend because he wanted to explore what we had together and I hated my father for denying me the chance of discovering what a relationship with Declan would have been like.
And last but not least, there is Archer Knight. The classic bad boy who stole my heart easier than I was willing to let it go. He was the one my father sent to kidnap me, but I soon forgave him for that. As I learned more about him, I found out what an impossible situation he’d been placed in. My father had some kind of hold over him that meant he had no choice but to do what he was told As I got to know him better, I learned that Archer is sweet, caring, and incredible in many ways.
Any one of them would be the perfect boyfriend, but I am going to have to forget about them. They are my past. I am building a new future, one which doesn’t include my father. Which meant I had to say goodbye to the boys too. As many times as I tell myself that, it never sinks in. My heart just says no and demands that I figure out a way to get back to them.
Without letting King Town destroy me.
The text notification shows it is from Katy, my foster mum who has been a rock to me. I know I shouldn’t be in contact with her, it’s the first place my father would look, but I need someone. Being alone is harder than it seems.
Just checking we’re still on for tonight K. x
Of course! Wouldn’t miss it for the world. x
Great. What time do you think you’ll be here? K. x
Give me half an hour to freshen up. I’ll see you soon. x
My room is small, but it has its own en suite bathroom, so I have a quick shower, scrubbing off the grime from a day spent cleaning and fixing things. I throw on my red and white plaid shirt and jeans. Tying up my dyed blonde hair in a ponytail, I look nothing like the Ivy Archaic who’d attended King Academy. Call me twitchy, but after my father tracked me down before, I am always looking over my shoulder to make sure he hasn’t found me a second time. I’ve changed my name, found a job with accommodation and board so I don’t have to go out very often, and the only person who knows my new identity is Katy–and even she doesn’t know where I live. I have taken every precaution I could think of to stay safe.
But tonight, I am taking a chance and going to visit my foster mum. She has been so supportive since I showed up on her doorstep after running away. She is the one who helped me set up a new identity and helped me plan out my new life. I owe everything I have to her and I fully intend to pay her back as soon as I have earned enough.
My phone beeped again.
Are you on your way yet? x
“Jeez, Katy! Impatient much?” I laugh as I tap out a reply to let her know I am leaving.
I didn’t keep the Honda my dad bought me, as much as I wanted to. Not only did I need the money I got from selling it for a fraction of its worth, it’s way too distinctive a vehicle. It would have been too easy for my dad to track me down if I still had it.
Instead, I traded down for a little Vespa. It doesn’t have the oomph of a proper bike, but it has enough to get me from A to B and I can’t bring myself to give up the freedom two wheels give me. There is something about the feel of the wind in your hair, being exposed to the elements instead of cooped up in a car.
My Vespa might not be winning any races anytime soon, but didn’t attract any unwanted attention, which is just how I liked it.
As I buzz down the road towards Katy’s home, I think about how lucky I am to have a job so close to her. She has no idea I am only in the next town, but I figure that being this close means I am hiding in plain sight. It is far enough away that I wouldn’t run into her when I’m out doing errands for the care home, but close enough I could see her every six months or so.
And if I sometimes drive past her house and imagine the two of us sitting down together, gossiping over a cup of tea, I’m not doing any harm, am I?
At last, I arrive at Katy’s house. I push my Vespa round the back, looping a chain through the wheels and padlocking it tightly shut. Katy doesn’t live in the best of areas and if someone took my Vespa, I would be stuck without transport. The care home didn’t pay enough for me to buy a replacement. Much as I love the job, the pay sucks, but at least they provide me with free food and accommodation.
Once my bike is secure, I go through the back door which is unlocked, as always.
“Hello?” I call out, walking into the kitchen. “It’s me.”
“Hi, Ivy.”
I stop dead in my tracks when I see who is sitting at the kitchen table with Katy.
“Romy!”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Ivy! It’s so good to see you.”
Romy moves over to give me a hug, but I push him away, stepping back as my hands shake. What the living fuck is he doing here?
“What’s he doing here?” I ask Katy. “Did you tell him where I was?”
“Of course not!”
“Don’t blame Katy,” Romy gently says, taking a step closer to me once more. Damn he smells nice, whatever aftershave he has on floods my system.
I close my eyes for a moment, pretending that if I keep them closed long enough, he wouldn’t be here when I open them. It doesn’t work, of course. Romy is here, looking sexier than ever, and my heart hurts because I really did miss him.
“My father has an excellent private investigator on his payroll and we always knew exactly where you were. You can’t escape us. You belong to King Town, Ivy.”
A million questions fill my head, but the panic over the slight chance my father could find me scares me out of asking any of them. “Which means that if you’ve found me, so will my father. Thanks for the heads up. I’m out of here.”
I turn to leave, my head whirring with plans. Luckily, I’ve prepped for something like this, so most of my things are kept packed up, ready to run at a moment’s notice. It is going to be heartbreaking abandoning my friends at the care home, but it isn’t like they couldn’t get another caretaker.
Get back to the care home. Grab my stuff. Run.
“Ivy, wait.” Romy reaches out and softly grabs my arm, before pulling me against his chest.
I breathlessly stare up at him, remembering what it’s like to kiss him. Wondering if he is thinking the same thing I am. The way his eyes seem to darken suggest he does.
“You don’t have to leave.”
“Of course I do. There’s no way I’m going back to my father.”
“Things have changed,” Romy says. “Sit down and let’s talk about it. I can explain everything. If you still want to go after I’ve finished talking, I’ll give you a hundred grand of my own money to get started somewhere else. You could even leave the country. But I don’t think you’ll
do that once you hear what happened.”
“Please, Ivy. At least hear the man out.” Katy pulls out the spare chair at the table.
Nervously, I sit down. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to hear what you’ve got to say.”
“Great!” Romy’s smile sends a stab of emotion through my heart. I’ve really missed him. I had no idea how much until this moment. “As you can probably imagine, the shit really hit the fan when Archer, Declan and I managed to get back to our families. When Archer’s dad saw the state of him, he wanted to start a full-on war in the town. But when we told him how we’d taken him to your father because we knew it was the best way to get him fast treatment and how he’d brought in his very best doctor to take care of him, he calmed down.”
“Wait.” I frown. “What do you mean, you told him my father looked after you? You lied about what happened?”
“It’s how things work in King Town,” Romy says simply. “We have a real chance of making peace. Believe it or not, our fathers have come to an agreement over you. Because of you. Something that has never happened before.”
“But you’re going to let him get away with it?” I shake my head in disgust. “I can’t believe you people.”
“Oh no.” Romy reaches out and takes my hand. “We’re not going to let him get away with it. I promise. Life in King Town is like a dance. Sometimes you take a few steps forward, sometimes you go back, and sometimes you sidestep. Your father tried to take over. But fuck, so has my dad. So have all our fathers at some point.
“If he’d succeeded in keeping us all hostage, he would have been able to wield his power over our families. He would have made us look weak, positioning himself as the only person strong enough to lead the town. Instead, he played right into our hands. Thanks to you, he’s the one who looks weak. Archer, Declan and I all have material on him that he wouldn’t want to be made public. How do you think he’d like it if it were public knowledge that his own daughter betrayed him to save the other Houses? It would be a devastating blow to his reputation.”