Page 55 of Crimson Vows

Amelia doesn’t waver, a sentinel watching my every twitch.

“I demand to know who is spreading these lies about me,” I continue after she remains silent. “They will have to answer to me!”

She inches closer as she continues to study me. “One of the captains came to me,” she says before scoffing. “He says he’s worried about you. He’s afraid you’re being manipulated, and he thought perhaps I could help you figure a way out of this mess before it turns into something you can’t get control of.”

“Manipulated?” I repeat before allowing the silence to stretch, waiting for her to fill it. “That doesn’t make sense. Who the hell would be manipulating me?”

“I hope I can believe you. But if you are telling the truth, we still have a problem,” she replies, once again ignoring my direct question.

“What are you talking about?”

“If you’re as loyal as you say, then clearly someone is trying to use you to drive a wedge in the middle of the King family,” she replies. “We need to figure out who would benefit from such a thing.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why would anyone want to do that?” I ask, my stomach twisting into knots. My mind latches onto her earlier statement when she asked me if I had enjoyed my evening with Gia. Is that who she is alluding to? Does Amelia think Gia is manipulating me to turn on Vincent?

“I don’t know, but if I were you, I would find out and fast.” Her lips curl, not quite into a smile, but into more of a challenge.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry. I’ll root out who is behind this lie,” I promise, desperate for her to believe me.

“Good. Because Vincent . . . he knows.”

Ice floods my veins. “Vincent knows? What do you mean he knows?” The words choke out, my composure cracking. “There’s nothing to know because none of it is true.”

“Alexei was in the other room when the captain came to share what he had heard with me. He overheard everything. Needless to say, he was very upset and told me he couldn’t keep the information to himself. He felt Vincent should know right away.”

My hand itches to check the gun at my back, but I resist. “I see. And what did Vincent say?”

“Well, I’m sure you can imagine how upset he was,” she says. “He decided to end his trip, and he’s coming back.”

“When?”

“Immediately.”

“What?” I gasp. If he didn’t think there was any truth to the rumors, there would be no reason for his immediate return. My jaw clenches as the idea sinks in. At least some part of him thinks I could be capable of this. My head is spinning, and I can’t help but wonder if perhaps my loyalty to him was misplaced. “He believes this nonsense?”

“Belief isn’t the issue.” Her gaze is steel and shadow. “Marco, you have to see what kind of position this puts Vincent in, don’t you? The King’s house has been standing on a knife’s edge since my father died. Vincent can’t ignore even a whisper of dissent—not after everything that’s happened. We spoke last night, and he said he should be back later today. Whoever is behind this, you need to handle it before Vincent comes back.”

“It’s my name that is being destroyed. Of course I want to take care of this as quickly as I can,” I assert, the words leaving my lips with a grim determination. “I need to know which captain came to you so I can ask who fed him these lies.”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“What do you mean no?” I growl, my hands tightening into two fists.

“I mean exactly what I said,” she snaps. “This captain came to me because he trusts me. He already told me he would prefer to give the name of who supplied him with the information to Vincent directly.”

“Are you kidding me? How the fuck am I supposed to figure out who is behind this if I don’t have all the information?”

“I’m sure you can figure out something,” she says as she walks past me toward the door. She pauses and looks at me before she exits. “And Marco, be careful with Gia. I know you think she cares about you, but keep in mind that she very well may still feel like she has a score to settle with my brother.”

I stiffen. “Gia has nothing to do with this.”

“I hope that’s true,” she replies. “For her sake.”

Amelia doesn’t wait for me to respond before she exits the office. A minute later, I hear the distant sound of the elevator.

I’m alone now; the weight of urgency is my only company. The walls of Vincent’s office feel like they’re closing in on me. Vincent’s trust, the loyalty I’ve sworn—none of it seems to matter anymore. I push the spiraling thoughts away, knowing time is not a luxury I have.

My thumb hammers at my phone screen. “Emergency meeting. Urgent.” I hit send on the group text to the only three people in the world who were a part of the conversations that could have led us to our present situation. The text conversation begins to erupt on my phone almost immediately.

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