 by Ruby Vincent.jpg)
Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
And I won’t stop until I find the truth.
Unfortunately, I can’t count all the obstacles in my way.
The battle between the Crows and Bedlam Boys is heating up.
No one is safe. No one is innocent.
Every move to protect the people I love brings them closer to danger, and I never thought that list would include the Bedlam Boys.
They’re falling for me.
Bringing me deeper into their world where I’ve never felt so safe and protected.
All I want is to beat back the shadows creeping into our lives.
But the more I discover, the more I begin to wonder if the person I can’t trust is myself.
Riot Kings is a dark contemporary reverse harem romance. This is the second book in The Bedlam Boys series.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
The clock ticked down to nine. Ten. Eleven.
Dusting off my hands, I checked outside one last time. No one had arrived or approached the house. Once you got to the trees, you had cover. Otherwise, it was clear sight lines on the twelve acres of farm.
I’ll go inside and stand with my back facing the fireplace. I’ll have them if they come through the front door or from the back. If they attack me, I defend myself.
A simple plan without holes—except when I considered the possibility all they wanted to do was talk.
The question invaded my mind on the walk across the green.
If the death of Axel Verlice changed things and now they were willing to tell me the truth, how would the night end? Do I hope to get him to the police station with a bow and arrow at his back? Do I entertain the thought of killing him and ending his threat to my life once and for all?
I climbed the porch steps. If I find out his name and who he is, I’ll let him go. The police can mull over the dilemma of killing him in a shoot-out instead of—
Pausing, I lit on a small, black envelope lying where the welcome mat used to be. When did he leave this? He couldn’t have come while I was in the barn, so it must’ve been sometime before then and after Jeremy and I drove away from the farm.
I picked it off the porch.
Did you really think you could fool me, bitch?
I’ll give it to you, you had me going for a second. That just makes the betrayal worse.
You’re not who I thought you were.
You’re a fake. A mistake. A waste.
Damaged garbage left in the discard bin, and you’re too stupid to know it.
I bet you still don’t know who’s on the other side of this door.
I read the note once, twice, five times, palms slickening with each one.
Did I think I could fool him? What did that mean? Did he know about Verlice?
How?
Doesn’t matter. I dropped the note, leveling my bow. I didn’t know who was on the other side of this door, but I was going to find out.
“This ends tonight.”
Grabbing the knob, I let the door swing open. It parted a crack and stopped.
“Hmm.”
Planting my feet on the wood, I kicked it in, running inside.
“Hmmm!”
Bella screamed at me—eyes bulging and wetness soaking her gag. She thrashed in the chair she was tied to, banging the legs on the rotted living room floor.
“Hmm!”
Snap.
A tiny missile streaked across my vision. The arrow sunk in Bella’s chest, and it wasn’t mine.
“Bella!” I ran to her, dropping my bow and arrow at her feet. “Oh, Bella, no. No, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Her head dropped to her chest, the light fading from her eyes.
“No!” I screamed. My lungs ripped with sobs.
It was a trap. A trap that I sprung.
The Letter Man found out I didn’t kill Axel, and my friend paid the price as promised.
“No, p-please. Bella, no. It’s my fault. This is all my fault.”
I scrabbled at her zip ties. She couldn’t be dead. I’d get her to the hospital. I’d call—
Eeeee.
A door creaking open pierced my mania. The Letter Man was here. He came to watch the final moments with Jennifer, and now my destruction.
A polished black shoe stepped over the threshold.
Snatching up my bow, I whipped around, a keening wail breaking the silence, and released my arrow.
It stuck in the wood—centimeters from his face.
“Ouch.” He stepped out of the shadows, and every beautiful inch of Cairo Sharpe was revealed. “Not the welcome I was hoping for.”
Chapter One
Cairo stepped inside. “What the fuck was that—” His expression changed, eyes falling on Bella. “Holy shit, Rain, what did you do?”
“Me?!” My heart rended in two—both pieces screaming agony as they died. I asked it not be Cairo. Let the Letter Man be anyone else but Cairo, Roan, Arsenio, Jacques, or Legend.
I scrambled for another bow, aiming for a dead-on strike.
“You did this! You— You—” Understanding dawned. “You knew I didn’t kill Axel Verlice. Of course you fucking knew. So, you killed Bella.”
That gorgeous, perfect face remained fixed in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about? Once again there’s a body and you’re standing there holding a bow. I figured the first time you had no choice, but this...” He shook his head at my dying friend. “You really do have a taste for killing.”
Fury eroded my veins, spilling hot blood that rushed to my head and cheeks. “That’s not going to work. You don’t get to blame me for this— Don’t move!” I drew back, narrowing on his heart.
He halted, though no trace of fear shone in his eyes.
“Why did you do this?” Brushing against Bella’s shoulder, tears dripped down my chin. “You didn’t have to do this to her. Bella was good. Kind. How could you?”