Page 157 of Bloom: Part 2

I turned the ceiling light on, squinting against the soft glow. He took something out—an envelope—and handed it to me.

“What’s this?”

“Joel gave it to me when I was at the clubhouse visiting Grimm today.”

“Oh.” I frowned. “But why does it have my name on it?”

“It’s from my father.”

I snapped my head up so fast I bumped into the ceiling. “Fuck.”

“Baby, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I don’t understand why your father’s sending me a letter.”

“I didn’t read it. To be honest, I didn’t plan to give it to you, but then I had a guilty conscience today. I had to make it right before marrying you tomorrow.”

“Do you want me to open it?” I asked softly. As curious as I was, Logan and his father had a terrible relationship. If he didn’t want me to have anything to do with his dad, then maybe I should throw out the letter.

“That’s your decision to make.”

“You won’t be upset?”

“Of course not. I can tell you want to open it, so do it.”

“Thanks, Logan.” I ripped the envelope open and removed a single piece of paper. It was a letter with a gold coin taped to it.

Logan’s body went rigid beneath me.

“What is it?” I asked.

He pried the coin from the paper and held it up. “It’s my father’s gold coin. There are only three of these. Well, two since I threw mine away.”

“What do you mean?”

“My father made three—one for each of us—his sons. I—I threw mine into the ocean when I left. My guess is that Emil still has his, which means this one belonged to…my deceased brother.”

“Oh. Is it worth a lot?” The coin looked like genuine gold.

“It is, but the true worth lies in what you can do with it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Once you have this gold coin, you have control of my father’s soldiers. They will do whatever you tell them.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Why would he give it to me instead of you?”

“Read the letter.”

I handed it to him. “Will you?”

“All right.” Logan unfolded the letter carefully, brushing his fingers over the edges of the paper. He took a deep breath, glanced at me, then read aloud. His voice was steady but filled with tension.

Dear Bloom,