Page 54 of Savage Kingdom

Something had felt off since I stepped foot in Chicago. It felt like I was on a wild goose chase. The little information Daphne gave me only confirmed my suspicions. The crown I served was corrupt, cracked. Why bow to a kingdom that didn’t respect its subjects?

Daphne could run, but there was no place in her savage kingdom she could hide.

Death was patient, and so was I.

Goodbye

Sayinggoodbye is the easy part, for you can’t hold on to something that was never yours. It’s the torturous memories that hurt you every time you think of them. They creep on your mind, stab at your heart, confusing what’s right and what’s wrong.

—Daphne

Location: London

Leavingbehind everything I knew was easy. I wasn’t the same man I had been a few months ago. The invisible leash I had around my neck was broken. I no longer had to follow the rules, and there was something incredibly satisfying about that.

I had to watch my back now more than ever. Still, over the years, I had amassed a reputation, and now that I was lawless, nothing was stopping me from causing destruction.

Agents didn’t just get to quit. When you were terminated, a lot of the time you died. You became a liability, and governments couldn’t have them. One wrong word and an empire came crumbling down.

Before my departure, I gathered all the information I could that would break our crown and stashed them around the world with people I trusted. If they sent someone to kill me, those secrets would be unleashed, causing havoc.

I guess it made me a traitor, but I didn’t see it that way. Why do we blindly follow corrupt governments? I was just playing their game, but I was doing it better.

I tried to be more careful whenever I was in London, but my new job brought me here.

Xander Yates owned the house I was looking at. He wasn’t my target; one of his associates was. Every last Friday of the month, Yates threw parties where he let his host sample his goods.

Yates was a respectable businessman with a fascination for stolen virgins.

I was doing a perimeter search to figure out where to go in through. I needed an in; once inside, I could blend in.

“I wouldn’t go in through there if I were you.”

My body locked up at that voice. It was still soft with a raspiness that made me get hard in seconds. The last time I saw her, I betrayed her. Our game of lies came crashing down on us, but I think it was time for a new game.

“We could kill some time while we wait for an in. Wanna take a quick ride, Petal?” I turned around with a grin on my face, trying to hide the excitement I felt at seeing her again. She was still fucking gorgeous. She looked like a goddess under the moonlight. She was all in black, her hair in a braid that went to her side, with some kind of shiny headband that seemed rather odd on her head, but it didn’t take away from her beauty.

“I’m not in the mood to be disappointed,” she said before she turned around to walk away.

I watched her walk away, the sway of her hips while I bit my knuckles. I could stand here and pretend like every move I’d made after Chicago was all for me, but I wasn’t a fan of lying to myself.

It was all for her.

I ran up to catch up to her. Holding on to her elbow I turned her around to face me.

“Missed you, Petal.”

Her face stayed blank. “Funny, I didn’t know you could miss something that was never yours.”

I tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at me. “Baby, we both know I own you. Deadly attraction like this is not one-sided.”

“It will be after I kill you,” she said right before she raised her foot, hooked it behind my knee, and took me down.

She was on top of me, straddling me with fake disgust on her pretty face.

“It’s okay. I love tasting your lies, having them run down my chin.” I licked my lips, and her eyes followed the movement. Her eyes took me in; she was allowing herself to see me for the first time tonight.

Her head cocked when she looked at the tattoos on my neck, and then her gaze trailed down my body. I brought my hand to remove stray hair from her face when she took hold of my wrist before I could touch her. She inspected the broken crown and the wordmadthat was tattooed on my knuckles.

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