Page 47 of A King So Savage

“Yes. But you haven’t any shoes and the path is made of crushed Bahamian stone. Might be rough on your feet.”

Ava glanced down at her feet, frowning. “I wonder how long he intends for me to walk around barefoot? He knows I won’t run from him again. Not after…” She broke off, remembering Jack was also in the conference room that night. He knew what Kingston had made her do. What he promised would happen if she attempted to escape again.

“I’m sorry, Miss Blue,” Jack said apologetically. He apparently knew where her mind had wandered.

Ava’s face flamed hot with mortification.

The man was embarrassed for her. For what she’d done. And because he’d been there to hear it.

Ava did not respond to the apology. When Antony arrived with the iced peach tea, she thanked him and then turned her attention back to the birds flitting back and forth between the garden hedges and rose bushes.

She didn’t realize she’d dozed off in the sunshine, warm and drowsy until the scraping of a chair on the terrace stones startled her awake.

“Sorry.” Oliver grinned as he dragged the chair closer and positioned it almost in front of the bench where she sat. He plopped down and sprawled across the seat as though it were a throne.

Ava did not respond but quickly cast a glance over her shoulder, ensuring herself that Jack was still on duty.

Her guard still lounged in his chair in the deep shade of the terrace. The two-finger salute he gave let Ava know his watch had not ended. His gaze fixated on Oliver, a frown creasing his brow.

A little sigh of relief escaped Ava, even as Oliver mockingly laughed.

“Don’t worry. Your watchdog is still there. I suppose King will have you guarded twenty-four-seven now that he’s let you loose from that cell.” Oliver’s tone turned bitter. “Isn’t that so fucking generous of him? Gives you just enough freedom to make you forget the shackle still clamped about your neck.”

“What do you want?” Of everyone she’d come across so far in The Den, Oliver was the one she thought the most unpredictable.

“Loaded question, Miss Blue.” Oliver smirked. Picking up her glass of tea, he took a sip and made a hum of approval deep in his throat. “Mmm. Fucking delicious. I love peaches. I bet you taste even better than this, though.”

“Does Kingston know you are here?” Ava ignored the greedy hunger in his tone and his hot gaze as it traced her features.

She wanted to hide away from it but did not dare show a hint of weakness.

Oliver’s light blue eyes glinted. “This is my home, Miss Blue. I go where I please, regardless if you are occupying the same space or not.”

Oliver wanted to antagonize her. Goad her into saying or doing something reckless. Maybe he wanted to see her punished again. He seemed the type to enjoy that sort of thing. To relish the pain and humiliation of a woman.

He shifted closer and Ava stiffened, ready to cry out for aid if need be. Jack’s hands were big enough to snap Oliver’s neck with just a twist. Would he do that if necessary to his employer’s own brother?

“We can be friends, Ava. You and I.” Oliver’s voice was low, reminding Ava of a serpent, iridescent and starkly beautiful but so, so dangerous. Reaching out, he stroked a finger along her knee, fully aware Jack could not see his action. When he smiled, Ava did not return it as he continued. “If you let me get close enough, I can help you.”

“I’ve no need for friends. Not in this place, anyway.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” Oliver’s brow furrowed. He squeezed her knee. “I’ve spoken with your brother, and we’ve devised a solution. One which does not involve you being sold to Kingston’s highest bidder. We could avoid that bit of unpleasantness. Handle matters ourselves. Keep it just between the two of us.”

Ava stared stonily ahead. “Carson’s debt won’t be erased unless Kingston agrees. Has he come up with the money then?”

“In a way, yes.”

Ava shifted so Oliver could not continue caressing her knee. “What’s in it for you, Oliver?”

The cruelty of his smile chilled Ava’s blood. “Ample compensation. But you should only concern yourself with this. Kingston would be unable to sell you, your brother’s debt would be paid, and you would no longer be a prisoner here.”

There was some unknown element missing from Oliver’s promises. Everything he stated was too good to be true. Ava knew this, but still, hope flared wildly inside her. The two things working in her favor were Carson’s greedy desperation and Oliver’s obvious lust. Perhaps it was possible to play one against the other. And use both men against Kingston.

She must be careful though. Oliver was dangerous. And Carson, too, now that he was backed into a corner.

“Kingston would find out.”

Oliver’s blue eyes regarded her so intently, Ava wondered if he could see her intent to somehow trick him. “Yes, he would. Eventually. But it would be too late to do anything about it. You would no longer be his prisoner. Let’s just say we would both be free of him.”

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