Read Online Not Juliet by Ella Medler - Free Book Online

particular.
The embodiment of unreasonable macho behavior. No, you go wait over
there. See that tent, by the new development?”
    Riella looked
to where he was pointing. At the far edge of the field she could
see a couple of bulldozers and a tent-like construction that looked
like canvas stretched over an old gazebo frame. They must have been
readying the land for more trailers, or something. The place looked
deserted for the moment. She nodded.
    “Go wait in the
tent, and I’ll bring the king to you.”
    She nodded
again, thanking Zamir for his help. Whatever had taken him away
from England, she was happy he was here now, and on her side. More
in control of her emotions, she walked at a fast pace to the tent
on the building site.
    Twenty minutes
of waiting later, she heard the sound of engines turning over.
People were starting work. About time, she thought, peeking through
the tent flap to see one of the bulldozers roll away from her. She
glanced back to the camp, but no one was walking over – no king,
and no Zamir. She slipped back into the shaded cool of the tent,
thinking she’d give them ten more minutes, then, if they still
hadn’t shown up, she’d go back to camp, braving any number of herds
of hostile children, and scream at the top of her lungs until
someone gave her what she wanted.
    Riella sat down
on a mat, waiting patiently, listening to the rumble of engines
working the land. The second one had started up now, and sounded
like it was moving away to join the first.
    Her thoughts
drifted back to her father, and the effort he’d put into acquiring
and building solid camps for those who had tired of a life on the
road and would rather settle down. He’d brokered a deal with the
local authority responsible for public welfare to help integrate
the youngsters into apprenticeship programs and provide his people
with medical care. Of course, there was much more to do; since
she’d left the camp and moved into town, she’d done all she could
to enlighten her father and his advisors, and help improve the
living conditions on site.
    Not everyone
appreciated her efforts, of course, but she was prepared for a
small amount of negative comeback. Most saw her as an interfering
bitch at best, or worse – a deserter. Still, she was not going to
change for anyone. Help, yes. Change, to conform, to fit in a neat
little box, never.
    Those
bulldozers were making a lot of noise, she thought of a sudden.
Then again, it wasn’t like she had a lot of experience with heavy
machinery. She pulled her bag off her shoulders to check Luca’s
phone for messages. It was long past ten, but he hadn’t called yet.
His face was smiling at her from the screen, but there were no
missed calls and no messages. She frowned, wondering why he hadn’t
tried to contact her. Was he at the hotel, thinking she’d stood him
up?
    Before she
could take that thought to a conclusion, the back of the tent
ripped open and Luca’s worried face peeked in. Riella smiled,
relieved, but he didn’t. He looped an arm around her middle and
whipped her out the same way he’d come in, and didn’t put her down
until they were twenty feet away, around the side of the tent.
    In the next
second, Riella watched one of the diggers motor through the
entrance to the tent, flattening it all to smithereens. The frame,
the few spindly chairs and tools inside, the canvas – all was
broken and churned into the muddy ground.
    Her bag, too,
and Luca’s phone. She’d dropped them when he’d yanked her away.
    Before she
could open her mouth to complain about his rough handling, Luca
whipped her into his arms and launched them both sideways. The
second bulldozer sped past them at right angles to the first,
crushing the already-broken tent pieces under its heavy tread.
    “What is going
on?” she shouted over the racket.
    Luca didn’t
answer. His gaze was fixed on the cab of the second bulldozer. He
let go of her and skipped after the machine, jostled up on the step
and