All Chapters of The King's Hart : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

41 Chapters

The boy who almost killed me

"You're late."My supervisor Diane doesn't look up from her clipboard. She doesn't have to. I already know I'm in trouble.The tutoring center smells like stale coffee and desperation. Three students huddle over textbooks in the corner. None of them look at me. None of them care that I sprinted across campus in the freezing rain because my bike chain snapped for the fourth time this month."Mrs. Calloway called," Diane says. "Again."My stomach drops. My landlord has been calling everyone. The tutoring center. The library. The financial aid office. She wants her rent, and she wants it now, and she doesn't care that I've been picking up extra shifts cleaning the hockey arena until two in the morning."I'll handle it," I say."You have two weeks, Sophie. After that—""I said I'll handle it."My voice comes out sharper than I meant. Diane finally looks up. Her expression flickers between pity and annoyance, and I hate both.This is what being broke does. It strips you naked in front of e

Stay away

"I told you to leave."Jace hasn't moved from the hallway. Blood drips down his cheek and onto his ripped t-shirt. His hands are still shaking, but his voice is ice now. Cold and hard. A door slamming shut.I'm standing in his bathroom doorway with the first aid kit in my hands. My heart is pounding. My feet refuse to move."I heard you," I say. "But you're bleeding.""That's not your problem.""You're right. It's not."I walk toward him anyway. He flinches when I get close. Actually flinches, like I'm the one who might hit him. The reaction sends something sharp through my chest. Guilt or recognition or both."Sit down," I say."Get out.""Sit. Down."The air between us crackles. His blue eyes are wild and furious and terrified all at once. I don't back down. I've stared down landlords and debt collectors and professors who told me I'd never make it. Jace Kingston is just another wall.He sits.Not because he wants to. Because he's too exhausted to keep fighting me.I kneel in front

The wrong message

I don't delete the message.That's the thing I keep coming back to as I walk home through the freezing dark. I should have deleted it. Any normal person would have deleted it. But instead I read it four times on the elevator ride down, and then I saved it to my phone like evidence.Stay away from my son, you broke little whore.Gregory Kingston knows my name. He knows my number. He looked at me for ten seconds in a hallway and now he knows enough to threaten me.I shove my phone into my coat pocket and keep walking. The sidewalk is slick with ice. My shoes are too thin for this weather, but I can't afford new ones. I can barely afford the rent I'm about to be evicted from.The Den is three blocks from campus. It's the only bar that doesn't card at the door, which means it's packed with students on a Tuesday night. Music thumps through the walls. Someone's laughing too loud by the entrance.Marcus is waiting for me.The inside of The Den smells like cheap beer and fried food. I spot Ma

Don't say her name

I didn't sleep.Not a single minute. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Gregory Kingston's face twisted with rage in that hallway. I heard his voice slurring my name. I felt my phone buzz with another message that never came but always felt one second away.By the time Thursday afternoon arrived, I was running on caffeine and adrenaline and the desperate hope that Jace wouldn't notice the dark circles under my eyes.The walk to The Forge felt different now. Every parked car was a potential threat. Every man in a dark coat was Gregory. The winter wind cut through my thin jacket, and I kept my phone clutched in my pocket, fingers wrapped around it like a weapon. The doorman buzzed me in without a word. He was starting to recognize me. I hated that. The elevator ride to the sixth floor took forever. I caught my reflection in the polished metal doors—pale skin, tired eyes, a girl who looked like she was barely holding it together. I straightened my spine and rolled my shoulders back. By

What he doesn't know

I didn't go home.The elevator spat me into the lobby, and I stood there shaking for a full minute before my legs remembered how to work. Gregory was watching. He knew I hadn't told Jace. He knew about the almost-kiss in the bedroom—the hands on the desk, the breath on my cheek, the way Jace looked at my mouth like it was the only thing he wanted in the world.But if you kiss him again—if you even touch him—I'll make sure you regret it.Again. He said again. Like we'd already kissed. Like he'd been close enough to see something that never actually happened.The thought made bile rise in my throat. I shoved through the lobby doors and into the freezing night. The snow had stopped. The streets were wet and black and empty. Every shadow was a threat. Every parked car was Gregory Kingston waiting with my name on his lips.I walked fast with my phone clutched in my pocket and my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my teeth. The library was still open. The library was safe—bright ligh

The line between us

The silence Jace left behind was louder than any slap shot.I stood at the edge of the ice long after the tunnel door slammed shut. My phone was still warm from his grip. His voice still echoed in my head—you'll be safer than anyone who ever loved me—and I couldn't decide if I wanted to scream at him or chase after him. The emergency lights buzzed overhead. The ice stretched out like a frozen wound. Somewhere in the distance, the Zamboni hummed to life, a low mechanical growl that meant my cleaning shift was starting without me. I didn't care. I couldn't move. Gregory Kingston had called me on speakerphone while his son held my phone, and Jace had threatened to expose everything, and now the boy who swore he'd never let anyone close had just pushed me away harder than ever.I should have felt relieved. I should have felt safe. Instead, I felt gutted.The walk home was a blur of black ice and paranoia. Every car that passed too slowly made my heart stutter. Every shadow in a doorway w

After the flames

The news alert glowed on my screen like a death sentence.Fire reported at 612 The Forge luxury apartments. Apartment 612. Jace's apartment. The sirens that had been distant a moment ago were screaming now, tearing through the night, heading straight for the building where I'd sat on a leather couch and bandaged his cheek and watched his walls crack open just enough to let me see inside."Sophie." Marcus grabbed my shoulders. His voice was urgent but steady. "What does it say? What's happening?"I couldn't speak. The words were stuck in my throat like broken glass. Gregory's voice was still echoing in my head—now I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget—and suddenly everything made terrible, horrifying sense. He hadn't just threatened me. He'd gone after his own son."We have to go," I choked out. "We have to go right now."Marcus didn't ask questions. He just grabbed my coat off the hook and shoved it into my hands, then pulled me out the door and down the stairs. His truck w

The Last Place They'll Look

Gregory's message burned behind my eyelids every time I blinked.You kissed him. I warned you. Now you'll both pay.I shoved the phone into my coat pocket before Jace could see my face. He was still coughing smoke, still gripping my hand like I might dissolve into the cold night air. Marcus was already pulling his truck around, headlights cutting through the chaos of fire trucks and emergency vehicles. The Forge was still burning, orange flames licking out of the sixth-floor windows, and somewhere out there in the darkness, Gregory was watching it all with a smile on his face."What did that text say?" Jace's voice was hoarse, but his grip on my hand tightened."Nothing new." The lie came out smooth, automatic. I'd been lying to protect him for days now, and it was starting to feel like a second skin."You're doing it again.""Doing what?""Shutting me out." He stopped walking, pulling me to a halt beside him. His soot-streaked face was inches from mine, and even covered in ash, even

The Devil at the door

"Open the door, son. I know you're in there."Gregory's voice slid through the cheap motel door like oil. I could smell the whiskey even from across the room—sour and sharp. Jace stood frozen beside the doorframe, his hand wrapped around the lamp base, knuckles white. His eyes were fixed on the doorknob like it was a live grenade."He's not leaving," Jace said quietly. "He'll stand out there all night.""Then call the police.""They won't get here fast enough." He looked at me, and his expression was unreadable. "Stay behind me. Don't say anything. No matter what he says.""Jace—""Promise me."I nodded. He opened the door.Gregory Kingston stepped inside like he owned the place. He smiled when he saw me, and it was the kind of smile that made you check for exits. "The tutor. Still here. I'm impressed.""Say what you came to say and get out." Jace positioned himself between us."I came to apologize." Gregory spread his arms wide. "The fire was a mistake. I was angry. You know how I ge

The space between truths

The detective's eyes dropped to my pocket before I could hide the phone. "Miss Hart? Who just messaged you?""No one." The lie tasted metallic on my tongue. Jace's words were still glowing behind my eyelids—trust no one—and even if I didn't fully believe him, I wasn't about to hand his secrets to a stranger with a badge.Detective Marlene Cross didn't blink. She stood in the doorway of the motel room, blocking my only exit, her dark coat dusted with fresh snow. Her gaze was steady and patient and absolutely certain that she could outwait me. "You looked at your phone. Your face went pale. Either you're lying or you just got very bad news. Which is it?""I'm just tired. It's been a long night.""Then you won't mind showing me the message."The command hung in the air. I thought about the blood on Gregory's car seat. I thought about Jace's voice when he said I'm going to end this. I thought about all the things a desperate man might do to protect someone he cared about.I pulled out my

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