Lovely Deceit: Pretty Little Dead Girl Book 2

Growing up in the elite world, I’ve been taught not to trust. Still, I did it anyway.

Silly, silly me. I should’ve known how it would end…

Blindsided by their broken parts and their similarities to my own story, I let my guard down. I put my faith in them—my gorgeous Economics professor and the Knights’ bad apple.

And was rewarded with the ultimate betrayal.

Not again. Never again.

It’s time for my revenge.

It won’t be pretty. It won’t be sweet. But it will be one-hundred percent satisfying.

I can promise them that.

Chapter One

Alaric

Shock.

Horror.

Dread.

Icy fear slides down my spine as Eden Astor plunges into the black sheet of frigid river water.

But I don’t move a muscle under the dark robes hiding me. Staying stone-faced has been more difficult than I thought, especially when the taunts began. And more so when Eden called out for me.

Me.

Heir to the Barclay businesses and fortune. Heir to everything my predecessors began before me. My name is like a physical restraint holding me back.

Now I stand and watch another girl mistreated by the power of the Knights of Arcadia. When will it end? When will we stop?

Oliver breaks the holds of the Knights keeping him back, and dives into the water after Eden without a second thought while Leo and I stay with the others on the dock, just watching like the pussies we are.

Is it the money that holds us here? Is it the promise of power? The world’s riches, monetary and otherwise, hanging like a carrot above our heads?

I used to think it was a pretty big fucking diamond-encrusted carrot I was willing to do anything for, but it’s fading now. Fading even before Eden came into my life, but she’s all but left it a disgusting memory.

The Knights like to play with people. To prove themselves the victors. To prove to the players that they want to be part of the elite because no one wants to be the one in the water right now. They want to be the ones on the dock.

That’s how the Knights get you. Manipulation is the greatest seduction.

And I don’t know if I want to play anymore.

Heart stuttering in my chest, I frantically search the water for any sign of the two of them. Panic clings to me. I’ve never been one to get anxiety attacks, but I’m terrified for them both. My heart drums in my ears like death knolls, and I can’t suck in a full breath for the life of me.

Oliver crests the surface first, tugging a lifeless Eden beside him. I’m stunned by her eerie resemblance to the mannequin head that floated to the water’s surface during one of her Trials. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Knights had all of this planned.

My stomach squeezes as he pulls her to the barrier wall. I step forward on instinct, attempting to help get her out of the water, but my father places his hand on my shoulder. A warning.

The restraints tighten a little more, shackling me to where I stand.

Oliver curses, breathing out heavily. With Herculean strength, he braces himself against the retaining wall and heaves Eden’s body onto the island.

No one helps.

I turn my head, searching for Leo. He’s not even watching them. His gaze is still on the pulley system they used to hoist Eden into the air above the freezing water. His lips are a cruel slash against his face. Arms crossed, his tattoo-riddled skin bulges in the shadowy light.

I don’t know who I see when I look at him. A pawn of the Knights. Someone trapped, scared. He’s always been such an asshole, but I thought Eden was getting through to him. Who fucking knows? We’re taught from young ages to hold all emotion in, and by the time we’re this age, we’re so fucking good it hurts.

Leo himself probably doesn’t even know who he is.

Sir Jarvis chuckles when Oliver puts his ear to Eden’s chest, the moonlight reflecting off the droplets in his hair.

I sigh when he droops over her in relief, using his body as a blanket. He must be satisfied that she’s breathing, and I finally take a breath to ease my own suffering.

“I guess not exactly two pretty little dead girls,” one of the robed men boasts with a hint of humor. I can’t put a face to his voice, but honestly, it could be any of them. The Elders all get off on this shit.

“Welcome to Fledgling status,” Sir Jarvis grinds out. He turns in a flourish, his robe billowing around his feet. I catch a glimpse of disappointment painting his narrow features.

Sir Jarvis has got it in for Eden, and if she’s on his radar, she’s fucked. Without a doubt. What I’m unsure of is whether his grandson is in on it, too.

Leo doesn’t move as the other Knights disperse. They talk normally—business, family, social get-togethers—as if we didn’t drop a poor girl into the river minutes before. They’re utterly unfazed.

While everyone strolls toward the castle for brandy and cigars, I lose Oliver and Eden. Inside, I’m barely keeping it together, but on the exterior, I walk casually in the direction I saw them last when one of the boats tied up to the barrier wall starts, the engine purring to life.

Eden is slumped against the aft seating area while Oliver hastily unties the ropes. “Hey,” I call out.

He ignores me.

I stride toward them quickly, pulling the robe of my hood down so he knows it’s me. “Oliver!”

His gaze snaps up to mine, and he scowls. “Stay the fuck back.”

A figure steps up next to me. Leo’s presence is almost a surprise. The Knights said he was following her. Why? Has he been playing her this whole time?

Better question: Why the hell did Eden leave the house without telling any of us? I’d believed we were getting somewhere, but I guess there are still too many secrets separating our fucked-up group.

“Oliver, I’ll help,” I try again.

He snarls out a laugh. “Like you just did?”

I snap my jaw shut. I’m sure being the bastard son of a royal comes with its own shittiness, so he should know the pressure we’re under. There was nothing any of us could do.

Leo takes a more direct tactic and strides toward the boat, attempting to get on as if he can’t read the signals Oliver is giving off.

Oliver yanks on the last rope, and it unravels on the boat floor. Spinning, he grabs hold of a fire extinguisher and aims it at Leo. “Fuck. Off.”

Leo sighs. “What are you going to do, Number Five?” he taunts, using Eden’s playful nickname for him.

Oliver tugs the pin out and aims the nozzle at Leo before pulling the trigger. Puffs of white clouds shoot at Leo, and he staggers back, his ass hitting the grass.

The boat’s engine growls in the lingering clouds and then the vessel takes off. Oliver maneuvers it deftly, cutting a wide U-turn through the black water.

“Fuck,” Leo spits. When the haze clears, he’s left standing there, cloaked in white, as if he stepped out of a marshmallow. “Royal dick,” he bellows after the retreating boat.

He marches toward another small vessel and jumps in.

“What are you doing?”

“Going after their asses.”

“He clearly doesn’t want you to.”

“Does it look like I give a fuck, Barclay?”

Just as he’s released all the ties, I grab one up, holding the boat as he turns the key in the ignition. “What are you up to? Why do you care?”

“I could ask you that same question. Let go. I’m taking off, and I don’t give a fuck what happens to your preppy little outfit.”

“What does your grandfather want with Eden?”

Leo laughs cruelly, the sound seeming to echo off the water and come back ten times as sinister. He moves the throttle forward, and I have no choice but to jump into the boat.

Leo spins, grabbing me by the sides of my robe and gets in my face. “Why are you at Carnegie? You said it wasn’t because of the Knights, but I call bullshit.”

I push him off me, and the waves from Oliver’s escape bobble our boat, throwing Leo off kilter. He trips, using the captain’s chair to steady himself.

Roaring, he comes at me again, fists flying. He connects with my left cheek, pain bursting in its wake.

I counter, lowering my shoulder to drive him back into the captain’s chair. He hammers his fists against my back, and we end up a wrestling mess.

I don’t know who notices first, but a small island in the boat’s trajectory pops into view. Leo pulls away from me and launches himself at the wheel to change course.

I grab hold of the side of the railing to keep from flying off with the sharp turn. Luckily, we only have to deal with the bumpy ride of our waves ricocheting off the island’s barrier wall. The boat’s motor slugs through, and then Leo points us back in the direction Oliver went. Who even knows if Oliver’s aware of where the public boat launch is? He could drive around for hours, searching for a spot to tie off.

He might just end up ditching the boat. Wouldn’t that piss the owner off?

“We need to get to her,” Leo demands. “It’s our job,” he adds as an afterthought.

My mouth drops. I can’t believe what I’m hearing from Leonardo Jarvis. “She got to you, didn’t she?” I yell over the wind and the engine. I never thought I’d see the day.

“She’s our job,” he snaps back over his shoulder. “And that royal pain in the ass is taking her away from us.”

“That royal pain in the ass is her best friend. He has her.” I don’t know who I’m trying to convince. Him or me.

Or if it even matters right now. She’s going to be fucked up from what just happened. The Knights taunting her about Delilah. And Leo and I standing there, doing nothing. If we were worried about helping her, we should’ve intervened—at least, that’s how she’ll see it. From her point of view, we showed our cards, and we landed on the wrong side. No wonder Oliver is trying to get her as far away from us as possible.

“Just let her go,” I yell above the boat’s motor.

“What?”

“She’s better off without us.”

“Oh, fuck off, Barclay. I don’t need your altruism right now.”

I stand, marching up to his side, and pull his hand off the throttle. “Do you think she’s going to give a fuck about us right now? We just watched her relive her sister’s death and did nothing. We just stood there as she cried out for us. You heard the terror in her voice.” I shiver at the memory. “If we really want what’s best for her, we’ll let her go.”

“You’re a pussy, Barclay. Get over yourself. You know nothing.” His teeth grind together. “I don’t give a shit about the Astor girl. We’re here to do a job, and that’s what we’re going to do.” He wrestles his hand out of my hold. “If you’re going to back out of your position, take it up with the Elders, but I’m going after the bitch.”

His hard words eke out through clenched teeth, and I wonder if Leo believes his own bullshit. He’s stubborn enough to convince himself, that’s for sure.

Maybe he’s right. Maybe we should go after her. Even if the sight of us will turn her stomach. I’m still panicking, wishing with my whole body that she’s okay. That she won’t be irreparably damaged by the Trial they—we—put her through.

I always knew the Knights were self-deserving, power-hungry bastards, but I never quite understood how far it could go until I found out about my sister...

“She’s going to hate us,” I mutter.

“So?” Leo growls. “Do you need a box of tampons, Barclay? Shit. You said she got to me, what about you?”

I shake my head. I don’t want to let myself believe it. Not because I don’t think he’s right, but because I don’t trust myself with her right now. I don’t think I’ve ever done the right thing in my entire life, and I’m not sure I will even now. Hell, this Trial could’ve been a turning point for me, and what did I do? Watched from the sidelines like I could do nothing about it. What if one person intervened? Two people, even? Then what would’ve happened?

I’m full of shit. It would take a running majority to overturn tonight’s events, and there are far more evil Knights than there are any other. I can’t think of one who wouldn’t do anything they could to get a step ahead. That’s all these games are. If a Knight pisses off someone at the top, they’ve effectively dropped themselves to the bottom again.

In short, Eden Astor may just be fucked. And she’s doubly fucked if her only chances are two guys who don’t know whether or not they can escape the clutches of the Knights.