Page 89 of The Merciless King

I love my family.

Despite what we are.

“Well,” I start to say, “I don’t think I have any secrets. Our worlds are—were in Mia’s case—very controlled.”

“Very.” Mia nods.

“I remember we snuck out with those two cute guards when we were, what? Fifteen? Sixteen?”

“Oh gosh. At that party at your family estate in the Hamptons?” Mia cries.

“Yeah, we don’t need to hear all that.” Connor shakes his head as he tosses back his drink.

“Which guards? I’ll kill them tomorrow.” Braxton growls beside me and everyone looks at him in surprise, then laughs.

It feels forced, but I feel Braxton’s hand slide onto my thigh and squeeze, distracting me.

“Joking obviously,” he says, taking a sip of his whisky.

I watch Mack study him before continuing with his meal.

“Where did we go?” Mia asks, still going down memory lane. “To the pond?”

I look up. “The Hartsdale Duck Pond? No. I...no. I never took any guys there. It’s so beautiful. Not a place to take dumb boys.”

“Even in winter,” Mia says wistfully, “it is gorgeous.”

The Duck Pond was always a special place for me. It still is. I go there when I want peace, making my guards stay a good distance away.

When I was younger, Mama used to take Dante and me so we could feed the ducks. Now, I simply love the space and taking in the peace that only nature can provide.

When you’re surrounded with crime and violence—the awareness is always there—it’s the simple things in life that you value.

As I grew older, I’d watch couples walking hand in hand, being proposed to, and wonder if that would ever be possible for me.

I know it won’t.

But I go there to dream.

To be.

To escape.

“Oh, I love that place. My grandmother used to take us,” Isabella says. “We should go. Take the baby.”

“Let it be born first,” Decker says, then takes a mouthful.

And just like that, I feel my heart crumple when I imagine the two of them walking through my park, pushing a baby.

I want that.

Leo will probably have no interest in being a family beyond celebrating having an heir when I have a boy. Which is expected.

I glance at Braxton and find him frowning. God, what I wouldn’t give to read this man’s mind.

“What I do remember is when you were learning to ride a bike.” I tell Mia.

“You do?” she asks, surprised.

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