Princess: Ridgeview Prep Book 2 Read online

  Princess

  Ridgeview Prep Book 2

  Londyn Quinn

  Copyright

  Princess © 2020 Sinners & Saviors, LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

  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.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Published: Sinners & Saviors, LLC 2020

  Cover Design: Sinners & Saviors, LLC

  Formatting by: Sinners & Saviors, LLC

  Editing by:

  Elaine York: Allusion Graphics

  [email protected]

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Londyn Quinn

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  For anyone who has ever fought back and found happiness in the darkness…

  This is for you!

  Prologue

  Charlotte

  “Char! Your boyfriend is here!” My brother’s high-pitched, teasing voice assaults me as he bangs on my bedroom door like a lunatic. My eyes pop open as Andrew’s words register in my sleep-fogged brain.

  Why in the world is Xander here?

  Groaning, I scrub a hand down my tired face. It’s way too early for his stupid mocking about my best friend. When is Andrew going to get it into his thick skull that Xander and I are just friends?

  My heart tightens — just friends.

  I don’t want to be ‘just friends’.

  I want to be so much more.

  Everything.

  But I can’t — we can’t.

  Glancing at the clock, I grumble to myself. It’s summer, doesn’t he realize how annoying it is to be woken up at eight in the freaking morning?

  Andrew’s remark starts to register in my drowsy brain even more.

  I shove the covers away from me, roll out of my plush bed, and grab my robe from the armchair in the corner of my suite.

  “What boyfriend?” I growl as I fling open my bedroom door. Andrew is standing with an ear-to-ear grin plastered on his goofy face. My brother looks way too put together. How long has he been up? His blonde hair even has a little bit of product in it.

  Hello, it’s summertime. Is this for real?

  “You have company,” he snips, poking at me as I head toward the stairs.

  “Why are either of you up this early?” I grumble, raking my messy hair into a ponytail before I hit the first step.

  “Early bird gets the worm. Or, you know, the girl,” Andrew sings out as he follows me down to the foyer where my bestie is standing awkwardly in swim trunks and flip flops with a football tucked under his right arm.

  Xander’s eyes widen as they lock on me. Embarrassment flows in quickly. I am a train wreck of a mess most mornings, and today is no different.

  Still in my pajamas with a disheveled robe barely cinched around my waist.

  My hair is a disaster. I’m barely awake yet. And yet here I am, standing in front of my best friend.

  The best friend whom I just so happen to be in love with.

  “M-morning.” Xander rubs the back of his neck just under the brim of the baseball cap nestled backward on his head.

  “Hi.” I swallow hard. “Did we, ah, have plans?”

  I try to wrack my brain. I have no memory of anything scheduled at this ungodly hour of the morning. At least, not yet. It’s totally possible that my brain cells haven’t fired just yet.

  “The beach,” Xander replies. His glowing smile broadens as the wheels creak around in my head.

  “Oh...yeah.”

  Crap. How could I have forgotten?

  “Give me a minute to get changed and I’ll drive you guys.” Andrew bounced a little on his heels as he invites himself to spend the morning with us. I guess he can’t wait to get behind the wheel of his shiny new car again. He’s looked for any excuse to drive us around since getting his license a few weeks ago.

  And I’m not complaining, either.

  His ride is sweet as hell.

  “I’ll get dressed. Be right back,” I mumble as my eyes betray me and rake over Xander’s t-shirt. My mouth waters as I eye the way the fabric clings to his newly bulging muscles. His dark eyes smolder when they meet mine and I force my gaze in a different direction, my breath hitching.

  This is dangerous. Every thought I have about him leads me down a very bad path. I have to stop thinking about the way his shoulders relax the moment I walk into a room, the way his jawline twitches when he teases me, the way his smile lights up a room, how I’d need to stand on my tiptoes to graze his lips with mine…

  Yeah. All of it. Bad with a capital B.

  Andrew jabs me with an elbow, jarring me from my inward gawk-fest. “Shake a leg.”

  “Fine,” I grunt at my big brother as I shove past him.

  “Someone is grumpy in the morning,” Andrew chortles, on my heels yet again.

  “Shut it, Andrew,” I bite back over my shoulder as I make my way back up the stairs.

  “Don’t be all pissy with me.” He snickers, his voice dropping. “Blame your boyfriend for the early wake-up call.”

  * * *

  As soon as my feet sink into the hot sand and the salty air wafts under my nose, the annoyance of being yanked from a deep sleep washes away like a sandcastle at high tide.

  Completely erased.

  And forgotten.

  “This is perfect,” I whisper under my breath.

  The beach is practically empty. Just the way we like it.

  Xander and Andrew set up our spot with a blanket and towels as I shimmy out of my sundress, revealing my skimpiest bikini because, hey, I like playing with fire.

  Hiding behind my sunglasses, I watch as Xander peels off his black T-shirt.

  I swallow a gasp as the sun glows on his already-bronze skin. Holy cow. Where did that six-pack come from?

  My cheeks and ears flare as I lick my lips for the second time this morning.

  Thankfully both of the guys are too preoccupied to notice.

  “Catch!” Andrew yells over to me as the football comes whizzing for my chest.

  I don’t miss a beat. The pig skin lands perfectly in my a
rms.

  “Nice one!” Xander jogs a little farther away, setting himself up for the game.

  As the ball passes between the three of us, I soak in the moment. It’s everything. Mornings like this are my absolute favorite.

  Especially when they start a lot later.

  No pressure of Hawthorne Manor.

  No prying parental eyes.

  No riding lessons.

  Just the three of us in our little bubble.

  “I’m going to hit the water,” Xander calls out, breaking into a jog.

  I wave at him. “Sounds good.”

  I collapse next to Andrew on the blanket and twist off the cap of my water bottle, chugging the cool liquid.

  “Are you going to tell him?” Andrew asks, sinking down next to me before rubbing the sweat away from his brow with a towel.

  “Tell who, what?” I cock my head to the side at my brother.

  He chuckles. “When are you going to tell Xander that you’re in love with him?”

  “I am not!”

  “Whatever you say, sis.” Andrew lifts his glasses so I can see him wink at me. “Your secret is safe with me. For now.”

  I roll my eyes. “Enough, Andrew. How many times are we going to have this conversation?”

  “The fact that we’ve had it more than once should tell you something.”

  I lift an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

  He grins. “Like ‘shit or get off the pot.’”

  A huff escapes my lips and I swat at Andrew. “Cut it out. He’s coming back and I don’t want him to hear your kind of crazy, okay?”

  I watch Xander’s leg muscles ripple as he trots toward us. It’s mesmerizing and it doesn’t go unnoticed by my brother, either. I catch him smirking at me and I clear my throat, looking away.

  A faint beeping noise sounds in the distance, getting louder and louder with every step Xander takes toward us until suddenly, it is deafening.

  “Char?” Xander screams at me as I slam my hands over my ears, the ringing like clashing cymbals between my temples. He drops to his knees right in front of me. “Charlotte? Talk to me! Are you all right?”

  I open my mouth to respond but no words come out. The incessant beeping consumes me as a sudden and intense searing pain snakes throughout my body, rendering me paralyzed with fear.

  What the hell is happening?

  * * *

  My eyes flutter open as I am sucked out of my dream.

  Was it a dream?

  It felt like a memory.

  It was all too real.

  All of a sudden, I realize where I am.

  The hospital.

  Everything is hazy.

  Nothing seems real.

  What happened?

  How did I end up here?

  Just then, I feel him. I know he’s here, but I can’t move my head to look over at him.

  “Xander...” I rasp.

  Chapter 1

  Xander

  “She what?” I grab the sides of Chase’s navy-blue crested blazer and pull him close.

  “It was an accident, Xan. A bad one. Happened right after she took off with Blaine Montrose.”

  “How do you know it was bad?” I scream into his face.

  He exchanges a look with Asher.

  “I saw pictures. The car was totaled. I don’t know how anyone could survive that crash.”

  I sweep a hand through my hair. “And Montrose was driving? You’re sure?”

  “Yeah. They didn’t make it too far from school before it happened. People saw her get into his car. They said she’d been crying.”

  “How did it happen? Is she—?” Blood surges through my veins as Chase stammers a response that basically tells me nothing.

  “The car was hit on the passenger side while they were going through a light,” Asher volunteers.

  I throw Chase backward, releasing my death grip on his jacket. “I’m going to the hospital,” I growl, running toward my car in the student parking lot of Ridgeview Prep. I pull open the door, jump into the front seat, and gun the engine. Chase and Asher don’t follow me this time like the minions they are. For once. They just stare at me like I’m a goddamn crazy person.

  And they’re right to do that because right now, I’m fucking insane.

  Charlotte is hurt, maybe worse than that, and I have no idea what happened or why.

  The only thing I know is that I violated a very big fucking rule by sleeping with her last night.

  The realization hits me in the gut with the force of a cement block.

  What if that accident wasn’t just an accident?

  Jesus Christ, what if she’s…what if all of this happened because of me?

  What if I put her on their radar?

  My thoughts race.

  I bailed on Phoenix when we were supposed to be finding the threat and eliminating it.

  What if that threat is no longer just against me and my family?

  My pulse throbs.

  I fucked her…literally and figuratively.

  I press my foot on the gas, my tires squealing as I careen around the circular driveway of the school grounds.

  Hospital. I need to get to the hospital!

  My phone vibrates in the console and I grab it, slowing for a Stop sign.

  I stab the Accept button. “Phoenix,” I choke out before he can even get in a word. “There’s been an accident.”

  “What the fuck happened, Xander?” His voice is strained, and I don’t blame him. I really screwed up last night by leaving him in the lurch to find Lorenzo. But my biggest fear may become reality if I’m right and Charlotte is being targeted by Gio Rossi.

  I told Phoenix I wouldn’t choose Charlotte over the family.

  But yet, here I am, driving at light speed toward the hospital when he’s out there lurking and waiting for a chance to pounce on what we’ve built.

  And me.

  I’m as much of a liability to my family as my fucking brother Jase is right now.

  I shake my head as that terrifying thought settles deep into my brain.

  How in the world did I let this happen?

  How did I become the one who’s so goddamn unhinged?

  Fuck it all to hell.

  “Charlotte was driving with some douchebag from school and they were ram-rodded at an intersection. It’s bad.”

  “And let me guess, you’re on your way to see her, right?” he snips. “Did you ever think that it could be a fucking trap? That if it was Rossi, that he knows you’re going to get your boxers in a wad and run to her…and to him?”

  “I’ll handle it,” I say through gritted teeth. “I need to know if she’s okay.”

  “You’re not equipped for this job,” Phoenix says in a cold voice. “You can’t separate yourself from your emotions, and that kind of shit will get you killed. You’re so worried about Charlotte, did you ever think about the fact that it’s your neck on the chopping block? How am I supposed to be able to trust you with serious matters? I need to know if you have my back, Xander. That you’d protect the family’s interests over your own. That’s why you’ll never cut it in Chicago. Because your priorities are fucked!” He lets out a frustrated sigh. “So go to the hospital. Sit by her bedside. Wander right into the fucking lion’s den and leave me to clean up your goddamn mess. Just know that it’s the last time. You were on your way to proving yourself, Xander. I really thought you’d be my number two, that you were hungry for it.”

  “Phoenix,” I say, trying to keep the hint of desperation out of my voice. “You know I have your back! I told you I was sorry for what happened last night, but if I’m right and she’s being targeted by Rossi, we have a real shot at him!”

  “We could have had a real shot at him last night. That is, before your social agenda got in the way.”

  I slam my hand on the steering wheel. “Look, we need to find Moretti. I know I screwed you over last night, but really? All I get is one shot to prove to you that I can do this job? I’ve done so
much for Dad and for the family. I fucking deserve this, Phoenix! I know what the family’s priority is!”

  “Yeah, but does it match yours?” With a huff, he clicks off the phone.

  He didn’t even tell me why he was calling, not that it would have been good anyway.

  Seems like I’m on everyone’s shit list these days.

  Everyone except my mom’s.

  At least I have one ally.

  Minutes stretch into what feels like hours as I fly across town to St. Mary’s Hospital, swinging my car into the first parking spot I see outside of the Emergency Room. I eye the cops loitering against their cars, the flashing lights temporarily blinding me.

  Whatever. I’ll risk the fucking ticket.

  I push through the revolving door, waiting for it to creep around to the building entrance and I dart toward the nurses’ station as soon as my feet hit the shiny beige tile.

  “Charlotte Hawthorne,” I say, my voice breathless. “Is she here? Is she okay?”

  One of the nurses walks over holding a clipboard. “Who are you?”

  “Her brother,” I croak without thinking twice.

  She narrows her eyes, examining me from head to toe. “Come with me,” she finally says. I guess she decided not to challenge the bullshit I just spouted, and in the next second, we’re walking through the big red door.

  “Are her…um, my parents here yet?” I ask.

  That could be a problem.

  But I shouldn’t have worried.

  “There was a man here when the ambulance showed up. Said he was an uncle but then disappeared. I never got a name. And your parents have been contacted, but so far neither has called back.” She quirks a brow. “I don’t suppose you’ve been in touch with them?”