Page 83 of Notorious Park Avenue Prince

King looked somewhat amused as he tapped one of his steepled fingers. “Have you ever considered law school? You’re persistent. Tenacious. And a total pain in the ass. You’d be perfect for it.”

“Stop trying to change the subject.”

“And you keep the witness on task.” King grinned. “Just think about it.”

If he thought he was going to sidetrack me, he had another thing coming. “Did you cheat on him?”

“No.”

“Did he cheat on you?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Did it end badly?” I asked again.

“Yes.”

Bam.He’d answered this time, and now I was more curious than ever.

“So what was it? You didn’t trust him with all your secrets about your hooded friends?”

King snapped his mouth shut, and something clicked.

“Wait,” I said, scooting to the edge of the couch. “Don’t tell me. Heisone of your hooded friends?”

He stared at us, his finger stilling, the silence deafening until a shrill ringing jolted the quiet. It shook King out of his thoughts as he looked over at the landline.

“Oh, would you look at that,” I said. “Saved by the Bat-Signal.”

King swung his legs over the chair, and as he headed to answer the phone, Zac smacked my arm.

“Seriously? You think an inquisition is the way to go about getting answers?”

“I don’t seeyoudoing any of the heavy lifting over here, so you don’t get a say in my methods. You could just say thanks.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“That’s not a thanks.”

“No, it’s a?—”

I clamped a hand over his mouth as King picked up the phone, his back to us, and barked out, “What is it?” He listened, his shoulders tense, and in the blink of an eye his entire bodybecame as stiff as a board—much like it was back at Astor. “I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed.”

I glanced at Zac who was watching the exchange as intently as I was, and lowered my hand from his mouth. Whoever was on the other end was clearly someone King knew. He hadn’t even bothered to ask who it was before he started in on them.

“I leave for one week…” King scrubbed a hand over his face. “No. I’m not going to do that.” He shook his head. “Handle it. You don’t need me for that.”

My eyes bugged when he slammed down the phone, and as he stood there facing the kitchen, Zac’s mouth hung open.I wouldn’t want to be whoever was on the other end of that call either.

Finally, when King seemed to calm, he slowly turned back to where we sat, his dark eyes shifting between us before stopping on me.

“To answer your question, yes, he is one of my ‘hooded friends.’ Any other questions?”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “Just know you don’t ever have to worry aboutmefalling in love with you.”

But as Zac remained suspiciously quiet, I thought,Buthemight.

THIRTY-ONE

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