Read Online Exiled: Kenly's Story (A Talented Novel) by Sophie Davis - Free Book Online

own this
city. We do. You would do well to remember that.” The threat was
delivered in that same easygoing tone that Monroe used with me. It
made the words all the more ominous.
    I glanced from Willa to Spikey-Hair to
Monroe, unsure who to trust.
    “ Willa,” I said, drawing
her attention away from Monroe. “What are you doing here? What’s
going on?”
    “ Get over here, Kenly.”
Willa extended her hand and wiggled her fingers, beckoning me
towards their group and away from Monroe. I hesitated. Did I want
to go with them? The last time I’d seen Willa she had booted me
from her grandfather’s bar without an explanation. And now…well,
now I had no idea what was happening, exactly. Was it possible she
was here to rescue me? I almost laughed at the absurdity of
that.
    “ Lord Monroe won’t stop you or try anything, just come over here,”
Willa added when I stayed put. The venom in her voice startled me.
She was always so pleasant at the pub, even when she’d told me to
leave. Now there was no trace of her friendly smile.
    “ Don’t be daft, I’ve no
intention of hurting her. I just wanted a chat. That’s all,” Monroe
answered. He paused for a moment, looking me over. “Americans are
just so… interesting .”
    The way he said ‘interesting’ sent chills
down my spine. Suddenly, I felt less sure of myself. Slight changes
in his tone and demeanor had dropped some of the pretense. This
might not be an entirely friendly guy.
    Willa’s jaw tightened and the spikey-haired
boy started forward, followed by the two others. Now that they were
out of the shadows, I recognized them as Ghost Girl and Platinum
eyes.
    Shit .
    I didn’t move. My brain was on overdrive,
computing all of the variables and possibilities with only half of
the data needed.
    Willa and her friends were
dangerous but meant me no harm. At least, they certainly didn’t
seem to. Monroe— Lord Monroe?—didn’t appear dangerous, though I was beginning to
think he wasn’t entirely safe either. There was something about him
that I was missing; something Willa and the others obviously knew
but weren’t saying outright. She and the spikey-haired kid had
called Monroe by name, which implied familiarity. Yet they were
clearly not friends. The blatant hostility suggested enemies or, at
the least, adversaries. But the most important questions were
coming up as complete blanks.
    Who was my friend? Who was my enemy?
    Too many variables. No obvious or computable
solutions.
    “ Alright. Alright.” Monroe
held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not looking for a row. I’ll
go.” He turned to me, leaving his back to the foursome. It was a
bold move, in my opinion, and spoke volumes.
    “ My sincere apologies that
you’ve been mixed up in our affairs this evening. I regret that we
weren’t able to better make one another’s acquaintance. I do hope
another opportunity will present itself, so we can rectify the
error. Another time, then,” Monroe said with a friendly smile. The
flash of menace that he’d revealed earlier was gone, replaced by
his former gentlemanly countenance. If he’d been wearing a hat, I
swear he would have tipped it to me.
    Confidently, like the royalty he apparently
was, Monroe sauntered towards the mouth of the alleyway. Platinum
Eyes shoved Monroe as the golden-haired boy passed, evidently
unable to contain his apparent anger. Monroe stumbled, shook it
off, and kept walking. “I reckon I’ll remember that, Wellington,”
he called as he disappeared around the corner.

“ SOMEONE HAD BETTER start
explaining. Right. Now,” I demanded, whirling on Willa and her
friends.
    Willa, who had been so confident, so
forceful with Monroe, now looked sheepish. She averted her gaze,
deferring to Spikey-Hair, thus confirming the odd boy as the
group’s de facto leader. Unable to stand being the only one out of
the loop, I turned my frustration on him.
    “ Talk,” I
growled.
    “ Riley,” he said, jerking a
thumb towards his