Page 67 of Queen of Spades

Cassian

Road trips are not my style, under the best of circumstances. Being trapped in a confined space with a perfuming omega, two psychopaths, and Ward makes the trip even less tolerable.

I briefly consider banging my head against the window until I pass out. Unfortunately, my mind has always been my greatest asset in life. It’s not worth the risk, even if I’d like to claw my own eardrums out.

If Grady and Kane aren’t fighting, then Annika is moaning so loudly, my cock feels like it might explode.

After Kane busted Ward’s lip at the first rest area, I decided to keep the tidbit of information about Ranger supposedly wanting Annika and me to marry to myself. The two had a lovely tumble in the grass. I told them they should watch out for dog droppings, but I’m surrounded by cavemen.

I do intend to tell Ward at the first moment of privacy that we get. He’s bonded to my future wife, if Ranger has anything to say about it. At some point, I should likely come clean to Annika as well. It probably doesn’t matter one way or another. We had to leave, and the ceremony never took place.

That’s not to say he won’t try to force it again in the near future, but once we make it to Virginia, he can explain his ludicrous plans himself.

“We’re stopping for the night, and that’s the end of it,” Kane growls.

“Or you could give me a little trust and let me drive?” Grady offers, pulling on his T-shirt. His jeans are still undone. I’m still baffled at how he, Ward, and Annika have managed to have such copious amounts of car sex. Neither of those alphas are teenagers, but they sure do seem to have the stamina to bounce back like one.

Not that I have issues with performance.

Christ.

I’m losing my mind.

“I could take a turn if you prefer.” Ward twists in the front seat to look at Kane.

“It’s dark. We still have nine hours to drive, and I haven’t slept in two days. I have a friend who is expecting us,” Kane growls. “End of discussion. We all need rest, or we won’t make it to Kentucky to begin with.”

I frown, trying to determine who made him the boss. It feels safer to deliver her directly to her brother in Virginia, but my family’s estate in Kentucky will have to do while Ranger gets his house in order.

“Got it, boss.” Grady chuckles.

Good God, I need some space from all of this.

Kane stops at a small hotel in an even smaller town in Kansas.

We end up with two adjoining rooms.

Kane and Grady head to grab food from a nearby restaurant and touch base with Kane’s contact. Ward passes out face-first on his bed before he can even shower.

Annika is in the attached room, but I believe she hops in the shower, based on the sound of the water running.

My phone rings, and I pull it free from my pocket. I’m expecting a call back from my father. He handled my frantic call, begging for help cleaning up my home, as well as I could expect. His fury was palpable, even through the phone. I’m not sure what his plans are, but he’s on the warpath with the Andrettis as his target. My only concern is what he’ll expect from me in return for his assistance.

A frown crosses my face as Ranger’s name taunts me. My head shakes, but I click the button to answer. “Hello.”

“I’ve heard from Kane, but not a peep from you,” Ranger says in a humor-lined tone.

“I was under the impression he would be updating you on our movements.”

“He has.” Ranger chuckles. It’s an eerie sound that makes my stomach drop. “I just wanted to congratulate you. It’s not every day you get married.”

“What?” I choke out. “We had to leave before?—”

“The minister was just a formality. Mostly, I needed Sparrow to come to terms with things. It’s always best to show her, not tell her,” he says. “The paperwork was electronically filed, and we should have copies with the fancy little seal by the time you make it to Virginia.”

“You know your sister is about to go into heat any day, right?” I say to distract from the fact I’m pretty sure I’m on the verge of having a panic attack.

I am physically attracted to Annika, but marriage is not something I take lightly. It’s very difficult not to tell him where he can shove his outlandish ideas.

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