Brooklyn
I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t even see straight. My God, my gut reaction had been right. It had to be, right? We were staring at the evidence! The God bolt, or whatever it was, didn’t look like it had been through anything. It was pristine, and shining, almost as if it were new!
Almost as if it had never been on the helicopter during that crash.
Everything seemed to move around me at lightning speed. Lila insisted on taking her findings directly to the police station. She didn’t want to risk her mother finding out and managing to do damage control. But, it wasn’t until I felt something warm wrapping around my hand that I startled from my trance. I whipped my head over and saw Jude staring at me with a softness in his eyes I was growing all too fond of. And when I swallowed hard, I heard his voice in my ears.
“It’s going to be all right. She’s going to pay for this.”
After I got my wits about me with Jude holding onto my hand, we agreed that Jude and I would send an email with photos and facts to the FBI, just in case someone on the police force tried to help the congresswoman cover this up. Jude wanted to go with Lila to the station but had to agree that it would only slow everything down and would raise alarm bells because of how hard it would be to get him out of the house without anyone noticing.
Still, we still weren’t sure what exactly we knew. What we did know, though, was that we had enough to get the authorities involved and let them handle it.
Once Jude and I had typed up the email, I grabbed his hand before he clicked the ‘send’ button. And I gazed deeply into his eyes.
“Are you sure about this? This is your mother we’re talking about.”
He scoffed. “Of course I’m sure. She might have killed my dad. Your parents! And if that’s true, she needs to be in jail. For good.”
“But she’s still your mom,” I said. “I just want you to think about it before hitting that button and be sure this is what you want to do.”
“Trust me, Rosie. I’m sure.”
Then, with a glint in his eye and a lingering kiss that settled the panic roiling in my stomach, he hit ‘send.’
36
Lila
Call me cold, but seeing the handcuffs close around my mother’s wrists felt like one of the greatest moments of my life. The cold, hard steel contrasting against her alabaster skin. The deadpan look in her eye as she attempted to intimidate the few officers she didn’t have in her back pocket. The sheer delight that coursed through her veins as her heel broke off while the officers dragged her toward the car, kicking and screaming up a storm.
It was so tasty I almost poured myself a glass of wine for the show.
As they led her away, she caught a look at my face and turned beet red with fury. And when my smile spread across my face, her hissing voice echoed up from the police cruiser they shoved her into.
“You’re smiling at this? At me, your mother, your flesh and blood? You nasty girl,” she spat.
“You thought we were stupid, Mother,” I said calmly, stepping back out of spitting range. “But, you never really gave us any credit at all. Maybe if you had, you would have gotten away with it.”
I saw the realization hit her. “This was your doing? You did this!? I will kill you. I swear to God, Lila, I will! I’ll kill you and strip you of all the money your pathetic little ass doesn’t deserve in the first place!” she shrieked as the policemen closed the door in her face, her screaming muted behind the heavy metal door.
I wiggled my fingers at her before blowing a kiss, watching as her eyes widened with fury.
May they pop out and roll all over that nasty prison floor you’ll be sleeping on.
One of the detectives came up to me with a smirk. “Well, that should certainly help our case in court.”
“I’ll give you anything you need,” I said grimly. “She deserves to rot in jail for what she did.”
He put a big hand on my shoulder. “I gotta say, I’ve never met anyone like you.”
I looked up at him, surprised. He was cute. Mid-to-late twenties if I had to guess—broad-shouldered and brawny from the sun. And his eyes…they were entrancing.
I had to clear my throat to pull myself out of it. “Thanks.”
His hand fell away from my shoulder, and I suddenly wanted his touch back. “This might be inappropriate, and feel free to let me know if it is,. But, uh, can I take you to dinner sometime?”
I gazed up into the man’s sun-kissed stare of amber and forest green. His smile was kind. Kinder than anything I’d ever been graced with for the past few years of my life. In fact, I thought a smile that kind had been snuffed out the day my father died. There was no malice in his face. No crooked grin against his cheeks. And his eyes.
Damn it, what was it about his eyes?
I smiled. “Sure. I’d like that.”
The officer nodded. “Here’s my card. I’d love any information you have that you can pass me regarding your mother’s case. But, uh, feel free to use it any other time as well.”
I took the card he offered me. “I appreciate that, thank you.”
I heard Mother kicking the backs of the seats in the cruiser, but this man’s eyes overshadowed
everything going on around me. And then, it hit me. It hit me why his eyes were so wonderous. Because when he smiled, they smiled, too.
And that, in and of itself, told me that everything would be all right.
Whatever shitshow became of my mother’s arrest and trial, his eyes told me everything would be just fine.
37
Margeaux
My hands nearly dropped my cell phone, they were shaking so hard. Because the news alert that came across my phone stopped me in my tracks. I had a news alert set for my name, my father’s name, and all of the Carlisles. Anything that rolled through any national or local syndicate, my phone pinged and brought straight to the front of my screen. So, when a breaking news bulletin sent me to an alert for Congresswoman Carlisle saying she had been arrested, I felt my entire body grow weak and weary.
That couldn’t possibly be right.
I bent down and scrambled for my phone. I rushed back up the stairs, almost tripping over myself to get into my bedroom. If this was true—if any of this was true—whoever was in my father’s path when he figured it out would get hit the hardest. And I damn sure didn’t want to be anywhere near him if this article was even remotely truthful. I hit Lila’s contact on my phone, hoping my best friend had some answers. But, it rang and it rang before it went to voice mail.
“Jude. I’ll call Jude,” I whispered.
He answered on the first ring. “I guess you’ve seen the news.”
I hissed. “What the hell is going on, Jude? The news just sent me the most outlandish alert saying your mother had been arrested? For murder!”
“Yeah,” he said.
“What do you mean, ‘yeah’?” I could have reached through the phone and strangled him. “What the fuck is happening?”
“She’s been arrested. For murdering my father and Brooklyn’s parents.”
I blinked. “What!?” I screeched.
He sighed. “Listen, Margeaux, I really don’t want to get into it, okay? It’s been a really long few days, and I just want a moment’s peace to rest and breathe.”
“But why didn’t you call me? Why wasn’t I there? I’m your fiancé, Jude Carlisle, and I deserved to find this out from you and not from a news alert!”
I heard my voice rising unattractively but was powerless to stop it.
However, Jude remained calm. “You’re right, and I’m sorry about that. I should have called you myself. You didn’t deserve to find out that way.”
His calmness only served to infuriate me further. “So, what now? What’s happening? Daddy is not going to be happy about me marrying the son of a murderer! Hampshire Prison is a far cry from the fucking White House! Do you know what he’s going to do to me? Do you know what this man is capable of!?”
&nb
sp; He paused. “You know, make a good point. And I think it brings us to one unavoidable point. The wedding’s off.”
My heart stopped. “Off?”
“Off,” he confirmed.
I tried to find my words. “You mean… postponed. Delayed? Until your mother’s lawyers figure something out?”
“Nope. It’s off. We’re done, Margeaux, I’m sorry. Actually, no. I’m not sorry. You can keep the ring, of course, if you want it. But, I’m not sorry any of this is happening. My mother murdered people. She murdered my father. She murdered Brooklyn’s parents, and for what? Some money? A career? And you, Margeaux. If you’re not careful? You’ll end up just like her. I never wanted to marry you in the first place because you reminded me so much of my own abusive mother, and I hope you use this moment to dig down deep within yourself.”
I didn’t know whether to yell or cry. “Are you… are you insane!?”
“Actually, I’m thinking more clear-headedly than I have in a very long time. I do hope you haven’t lost too much on deposits for our wedding, and if you have? I’ll make sure to pay you back for what you can’t get back yourself. You know, once they unfreeze our family assets. Until then, though, I’m not sure how all of this will impact mother’s financial holdings. But once I have a better idea, you can send me a bill, and I’ll repay your father for anything non-refundable.”
He was so maddeningly calm and unemotional, like he was canceling a night out and not our entire fucking marriage! I squeezed my phone so hard I could hear the case grinding against it.
“No, Jude. You listen to me and you listen right now. We’re getting married. It’s all been planned,” I protested weakly, trying to get my bearings.
“Planned by our parents. Not by us. You knew what our relationship was. We have always been honest with each other about that, so let’s not start lying now. I wish the best for you, but I’m not marrying you.”
“Jude…,” I said in a broken voice.
He sighed again. “I am sorry if this hurts you. But I can’t imagine you won’t bounce back from it. You deserve someone whose goals are more aligned with yours, because everything you said you wanted isn’t what I want for my life at all. I want a completely different kind of life. One where I’m in control, and not someone else. One that is built on trust, and love, and not money or power. We would have made each other miserable. It’s better this way.”
His voice had taken on a pitying quality that I couldn’t stand for. It made me so sick to my stomach the only thing I could do was press ‘end’ and hang up on the man. Then, I threw my phone as hard as I could across the room, denting the wall in the process.
“Whyyyyyyyy!?” I shrieked.
I threw my hands into my hair. I fisted my tendrils as I sank to the floor. Unending tears flooded my cheeks as my only escape plan away from my father and away from the underside of his thumb quickly faded away. Jude was ending things with me? Just like that!? With all that high-handed talk about wishing the best?
No. Fucking. Way.
I was getting out of my father’s house one way or another. And he was helping me do it.
I ran downstairs to my father’s office, knocking on the door and then throwing it open, unable to wait. “Daddy!” I called as I entered.
He would know what to do. He could fix this.
“Margeaux!” Daddy said, jumping up from his office chair. I heard a ‘thump’ beneath his desk before a skinny blonde who had been on top of him fell to the floor. And when I saw it was Carolyn--that weak little assistant who he had offered to give advice to wearing only a lacy thong—I snapped. I watched as she jumped up, crossing her arms across her chest to cover her bare breasts, and I lost it.
“What the fuck are you doing in here?” I asked.
My father’s voice growled at me. “You will use decorum in this office. Why don’t you try that statement again?”
I looked up at him. “My apologies. Please, Daddy, can you tell me what the fuck this bitch is doing in your office?”
His eyes lit up with anger, but I quickly distracted him as I thrust the news on my phone in front of his face.
“What the hell is that? You know I can’t read those tiny screams,” Daddy hissed.
“Fine. Then, let’s do it this way,” I said.
I clicked the remote on his desk and I heard the news come on behind me. Already talking about the events that had unfolded. It was the leading story, of course. I mean, how the hell could it not be? I watched my father’s blood drain out of his face while he watched the screen, and I wondered who he’d charge first.
Myself, or Carolyn.
“What the flying fuck?” he asked. Then, he turned to me, furious. “What in the fuck is this, Margeaux?”
I backed away. I hadn’t expected him to turn on me so quickly. “I have no idea, Daddy! I just found out too. And Jude… he broke up with me. He said the wedding was off.”
My eyes filled with tears, but he didn’t turn his anger anywhere else but me.
“How could you have ruined this?” he yelled, showing no sympathy whatsoever. “You idiot. Get out of my sight. I can’t even stand to look at you right now.”
“But, Daddy—”
“Out!” he roared, making Carolyn jump. I fled from the room and slammed the door shut behind me. And once I got upstairs, I threw myself on the bed and screamed as loudly as I could into my pillow.
The Carlisles had ruined my life. My father would undoubtedly punish me for months after this. Restricted meals. Nothing but water. Possibly having my driving privileges and credit card stripped from me. And that was just the start. The longer this went unfixed, the more his hands would fly.
In the literal sense.
“They’re going to pay,” I murmured.
And as I lifted my tearful face from the pillow, I made myself a solemn vow.
The Carlisles were going down.
Because if my father was going to make me miserable, then I would make them feel just as equal as myself.
38
Jude
I hung up the phone with Margeaux and felt as though one-hundred pounds had been lifted from my shoulders. One-hundred-and-twenty pounds, to be exact.
I pulled myself out of bed. I was getting stronger every day and was starting to feel better than I ever had. Using my crutches, I hobbled to Brooklyn’s room. She had wanted to give me privacy for my call with Margeaux. What a woman I had in my life.
I pushed open the door. She was sitting on the settee at the foot of the bed and looked up at me, hope shining naked from her eyes.
“It’s done,” I said, smiling.
She let out a squeal and leaped up, almost throwing herself at me before remembering. I anchored myself to the wall and opened my arms. She launched into them at once—powerful and gentle at the same time. I buried my nose in her sweet, smelling curls.
“It’s just you and me now, forever,” I promised.
“I’m yours,” she said, holding me tighter.
I crooked a finger beneath her chin and pulled it up so she was looking at me.
“You’re mine, do you hear me?” I asked.
And when she nodded her head, I held her in a tight embrace and dropped my lips down. Capturing hers in the sweetest, most fulfilling kiss we’d ever shared.
“And you’re mine,” she whispered.
I chuckled. “Forever.”
As I pulled back, I gazed into her eyes. With Margeaux and my mother out of the picture, we were free to live the lives we wanted. Free to be whoever we wanted to be. Granted, all of our assets were frozen. I had no access to credit cards. Hell, the only money I had limited access to was my trust fund, and even then that was capped off at fifty grand. Still, though, fifty grand could get a girl like Brooklyn by for an entire year without blinking an eye. Surely, she could teach me her ways.
“It’s going to be okay, all right?” she asked.
I grinned. “I swear, you read my mind, Little Rosie.”
She c
upped my cheek. “We’ll get through this together. And once we have everything settled, we can figure out where to go from there. Together, okay?”
I smiled as bright as my love for her blazed. “Whatever happens, so long as we’re together, is just fine with me.”
Free Preview - Off Limits
Chapter One
Libby
Imagine being in love.
I mean deep, deep in love. The kind of love that songs and sappy movies are written about. The kind of love that makes your friends jealous, grossed out, and happy for you all at once.
Imagine having a person you can’t wait to come home to at the end of a long day. A person who makes you laugh and smile and holds you when you cry. Now imagine they’re gorgeous, successful, wealthy, and incredible in bed.
Now imagine that person leaving you, kicking you out of the apartment you thought you were sharing and then almost immediately shacking up with some bimbo from Milan.
Just for a non-specific example.
A person might be crushed after something like that. They might give up on life and happiness altogether.
But not me. Nope. Never.
I have too much to live for and too much to do to let some asshole who didn’t know what he had stop me from achieving my dreams.
Or at least that’s what I tell my mom when she asks how I’m doing. Going out on a limb, I don’t think she really believes me.
But that’s fine because what matters is what I do, and I definitely don’t sit around moping, wishing he’d call me and tell me what went wrong. Closure is a wonderful thing (another nugget from my mother), but it’s not always necessary. Sometimes you just move on and stop dwelling on things you can’t change.
My mornings start early. My alarm goes off around seven, and I lay in bed, groaning and dreading the day. I’m not a morning person, and it usually takes me about two cups of coffee to really get going.
BITTER PRINCE | A DARK COLLEGE BULLY ROMANCE: HEIRS OF HAVOC Page 15
