by Erin Watt
I watch helplessly as she reverses out of the driveway. I want to shout for her to come back, but I know she won’t hear me from all the way over there. Plus, the engine of that Volvo is loud as fuck. And so is the squeal of tires from the other car on the road and—what other car?
I blink a few times.
Maybe it’s because I’m drunk that the pieces don’t fall into place right away. My brain registers each thing separately.
The flashing headlights.
The crunch of metal against metal.
The body lying on the side of the road.
My legs start pumping. I sprint, falling to my knees next to a girl that my mind dimly registers as Lauren. Why is she here? She doesn’t live here.
No, she does. She lives down the street. But right now she’s curled over on the pavement as she tries to shake my brother awake. He’s lying half on his side, half on his stomach, as if he dove onto the ground from a great height. His white T-shirt is torn and streaked with blood. There’s blood on the pavement, too.
So much blood.
I feel sick but somehow manage to choke down a rush of vomit.
Something digs painfully into my knees. It’s glass. The windshield, I realize. The Rover’s windshield is gone.
“Sawyer,” Lauren begs. “Sawyer.”
“It’s Sebastian,” I choke out. I can tell the twins apart in my sleep. Even when I’m drunk.
Lauren wails harder.
As my pulse careens wildly, I look at the Rover again to check for my other brother. Sawyer’s slumped over the wheel, the seatbelt cutting into his neck, the airbag pushing against his face. A line of blood drips from his right temple toward his chin.
I turn toward the Volvo. It’s mostly intact, except that the back door and bumper are completely dented in. My heart lodges in my throat when the driver’s door flies open.
Hartley stumbles out of the car. Her face is white, like Seb’s T-shirt used to be. Her eyes are wide, but there’s something almost vacant in them. Like she’s gone completely numb.
Her gaze lands on Sebastian. It rests on his terrifyingly still form. His bloodied, crumpled body. She just stares and stares, as if she can’t comprehend what she’s seeing.
Finally, she opens her mouth and a desperate, strangled scream comes out. And mingled in with her screams are three gut-wrenching words that make my blood run cold and my entire body feel weak.
“I killed him.”
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Don’t worry. There’s still another book in the Royals saga. CRACKED KINGDOM will be published the beginning of January. That’s not too long!
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Paper Princess
Where the Royals all began…
Available Now
Paper Princess
Broken Prince
Twisted Palace
From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.
* * *
These Royals will ruin you…
* * *
Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.
* * *
Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.
* * *
Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.
* * *
He might be right.
* * *
Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.
Available in hardcover and ebook from
Harlequin TEEN and
#1 New York Times bestselling author Erin Watt!
Wealth, fame and a real-life romance she never expected—seventeen-year-old Vaughn Bennett lands it all when she agrees to become pop star Oakley Ford’s fake girlfriend.
She needs to scrape together enough money to help her family get by. He needs an image overhaul before his career crumbles. Together, they’ll fool everyone—maybe even themselves.
Because when ordinary rules no longer apply, there's no telling what your heart will do.
Buy your copy today!
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About the Author
Erin Watt is the brainchild of two bestselling authors linked together through their love of great books and an addiction to writing. They share one creative imagination. Their greatest love (after their families and pets, of course)? Coming up with fun--and sometimes crazy--ideas. Their greatest fear? Breaking up.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental
Copyright © 2017 by Erin Watt
Cover Design by Meljean Brook
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
