Page 51 of Wicked Heiress

The promise I made the day we met meant something to me. No matter what, I would always try to do right by her. I would do anything in my power to protect her. And if that meant finding a gray area to my rules, so be it.

Moments before sunset, I walked toward the Battle Fortress, the sky a purplish-orange hue.

Lovelace recognized me and opened the doors. “Welcome back, Mr. Marshall. You seem distressed.”

“Because I am distressed,” I told the AI as I entered the house. “Where’s Drake?”

“Master Battle is in the Fortress of Solitude,” she lilted. “He is not to be disturbed.”

Drake rarely slept, so I knew he would still be awake.

“Disrupt him, please.” I stood by the elevator, and it didn’t light up when I hit the button. “Tell him I’m here and to turn on the fucking elevator!”

I was angrier than I realized and now taking it out on a computer.

“Master Battle gave specific instructions,” she told me. “He needs complete concentration.”

“Then tell him this is an emergency.”

“Shall I wake Mr. Maxwell? Perhaps he can assist.”

“No, Tate can’t help me.” I was ready to lose my mind. “Get Drake. Now!”

“One moment,” she said, and the house fell silent.

Drake’s assistant and her older brother lived here. But even Drake didn’t expect them to work around the clock.

“Master Battle will see you now,” Lovelace said.

The elevator light turned green, and when I hit the button this time, the car opened to allow me inside.

Dammit, Drake.

Pain in my ass.

I cursed him all the way down to the secret lab he called many things. The Battle Cave. The Fortress of Solitude. My cousin was a nerd at heart and loved his comics.

When the doors opened, I exited the elevator and almost ran into a disheveled Drake.

“Jesus,” I muttered, studying his appearance. “You look like shit. When was the last time you shaved or showered?”

He scrubbed a hand across the dark stubble on his jaw, thinking over my question. “I don’t know. I lost count after a few days.”

He was serious.

I followed him into the room several floors beneath the house, built on the same level as the catacombs but not connected to them. My cousin wanted this place to have no exit points other than the ground floor.

Or so he said.

He would not spend this much time in a room with only one exit. So wherever the secret door was hidden, I didn’t know its location. One of many mysteries my cousin kept to himself.

“What’s the emergency?” Drake asked as he poured scotch into a highball glass.

I took the bottle from his hand. “The sun isn’t even up yet, Drake. What the fuck is going on with you? Have you become an alcoholic since the last time I saw you?”

“No.” He sighed, tugging at the ends of his hair that needed a cut and wash. Strands hung in front of his brown eyes, longer than usual. “I’ve been under a lot of stress, Cole. I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Talk to me.” I grabbed his wrist as he tried to walk away. “You can tell me anything, Drake.”

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