Page 12 of Ruthless King

“I … I’m not sure. Call it a gut feeling.”

Andrew has been my second in commands for years. I trust his gut feelings. They’ve never steered me wrong before.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Aurora impressed me. She didn’t come into this room to flatter me. She came into this room to win the game. To win me.

I respect the play. When I want something, I go for it, and I suspect Aurora is the same. If I’m going to have a pretty wife, might as well have a wife I like, too.

“I like Aurora,” I say.

“Why?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Andrew. Remember—I’m the boss here.”

“I think you’re making a mistake.”

“If you can’t give me a reason, then I don’t care.”

He grabs my arm before I can leave the room. Looking down at it, I raise an eyebrow. Andrew quickly lets me go. “The reason is that I’m your second in command. My word should count for something.”

“Aurora will be the woman I share my bed with, not you, Andrew. Your word doesn’t matter here.”

I leave him behind and head back out to Aurora. She quickly stands when I approach. She’s beautiful, with soft blonde hair and large eyes. Her freckles make her appear cute, but I think there’s more to Aurora than just “cute,” and I want to see what that is.

I hold my hand out to her. “Ready to get married?”

Chapter

Three

AURORA

Am I ready to be married?

The answer is—not even a little bit.

But I grab Nico’s hand and let him lead me outside. This is my destiny. Nico chose me, and it wasn’t even hard. I’m still not surewhyhe chose me, but I’m not going to let this opportunity pass me by. Beatrice wants me to kill Nico, and this will allow me to do that.

First things first though: I need to marry him, so I can’t do anything to ruin that.

Nico opens the passenger door of a black and orange sports car. “Get in.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the church. I’m still catholic after all. We have to make this official.”

“There’s no planning? We’re just getting married? Right now?” I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but I guess I figured ifNico chose me, I’d still have some time before we were actually married.

That’s not the case.

“Why wait? I want a wife. I like you. You’re suitable. And you came here knowing I would chose a wife. So, why the hesitation?”

Shoot. I can’t ruin this. “I just didn’t realize it would be today.”

Nico’s eyes soften slightly. “I understand, but I’m not a man for sentimentality. I’m a man who does. Who takes. There’s no point in waiting. We can get to know one another better after the wedding.”

Which is good. I don’t want Nico digging too deep into my life. Beatrice did a good job of hiding my real self and giving me a new identity, but Nico’s smart. If he, or anyone, looked hard enough, they could probably find out the truth.

Andrew stands in the doorway, staring at me. He’s going to be trouble. Andrew will try to find my real past—I know it.

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