Page 59 of King of Tides

I frown. He will pay for this when all is said and done. Twin ice titans who I have raised from their youth will benefit me more than this one will anyway.

Bardo sighs heavily. “If we are to be slaughtered, I would rather fight and go down like a man. Leave my nephews alone and I will follow you as you wish.”

“Good decision. I will be in touch. Be prepared for my call,” I say with a grin and turn to leave.

I have no intention of leaving his nephews alone, but he doesn’t need to know that. It looks as if by the time I need to put him in play he won’t know the difference anyway. He’s already losing his mind.

Soon he will be a mindless weapon. He won’t know or care who those boys are. They were always the end goal.

Just for You

“Ugh, shut up,” I groan and shut off the ringer to my phone.

It’s my day off. I had every intension of sleeping in. I stretch as I wake up fully to the scent of mint and coffee.

A smile comes to my face. Ardan has plans for us today. My curiosity from last night returns.

He wouldn’t tell me what exactly we’ll be doing. He has already used his magic to move my things here to the clubhouse. Each day I find a new room or area he has built to make me feel more at home. The room now has three levels.

I didn’t want him to change anything about the bedroom because I love it so much. However, it’s no longer the first thing you walk into when you enter the room. I’ll admit, I love the place.

Although a part of me wants to slow things down and go back to my apartment. Yet, I haven’t been able to bring myself to do so. I think it’s the bond thing holding me back. Besides, Ardan isn’t having it.

In all honesty, whenever I think I’m going to put my foot down and head to my apartment for the night, my heart aches and the thought feels wrong. I tried to leave and go home last night.

Ardan made sure I forgot all about that idea. That’s why I have such a big smile on my face this morning. I can still feel his mouth and hands everywhere on my body.

“You’re awake. Get dressed and come out for breakfast. I have a surprise for you,”Ardan says into my thoughts.

“Give me a sec,”I reply as my phone goes off again.

It’s Mack calling. I want to make sure everything is okay since I haven’t spoken to him in a minute. I’ve been skipping my weekly visits to the gym, not sure what to expect when I run into Carson.

There is also the fact that Ardan doesn’t allow me out of his sight. I sigh, knowing I need to deal with this sooner rather than later.

“Hey, Papi,” I say as I answer the call.

“Billy, thank God. I thought something happened to you. What’s going on? I haven’t seen you in a week and Carson growls like a beast each time I ask him about you.”

“I’m fine. I’ve just been busy. Carson and I are having a little disagreement. That’s all.”

“That’s fine, but I’ll feel better once I see you with my own eyes. I’m making chili tonight. You should come by.”

I palm my forehead and look up at the ceiling. I feel bad for blowing him off, but what am I supposed to do? This is all so complicated.

“Papi, I already have plans. Can I get a rain check?”

“As long as I see your face next week.”

I bite my lip. I’m going to have to figure this out. No matter how independent I’ve tried to be all my life. Mack has never let go.

Even once I became eighteen and thought for sure he would put me out, he didn’t. Mack was right there to help me figure out college and then the academy.

He was the one to find my apartment and gave me my deposit no matter how much I protested. He was so mad at me when I returned the money to his account.

He takes being my father to heart. However, I’ve never been able to accept that he’s not going to fail me next. I’d rather do things for myself and not have to feel the pain of someone I tried to trust letting me down.

“I’ll do my best,” I say after a few beats.

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