Page 106 of A Girl and HER Prince
How had he ever landed this tough guy gig?
“Stasou! Our people have been silent too long,” he muttered.
Livvy got ready to kick him.
A shovel hit him in the back of the head instead. He went down like the rock he’d threatened them with.
“There’s nothing silent about you,” Deedee retorted over him. She set down the shovel, glaring down at his still form.
Livvy sagged in relief. She could barely believe what she’d seen… well, not any of this really. Deedee cried out and knelt next to her. Her arms slid around Livvy. “I’m so sorry! Bris’s bodyguard tried to make me go back, and I… uh… got away from him by saying I had to answer the call of nature!” Deedee giggled hysterically. “I had to! You’re my best friend! I’m the one who got you into this! Can you ever forgive me?”
“Can you forgive me?” Livvy asked.
Deedee’s head lifted from her shoulder. Black mascara ran down her face. “For what? Livvy? What am I possibly supposed to be forgivingyoufor?”
“For Venice,” she said, not that it mattered since anything between them was impossible, and still, their forbidden relationship wasn’t making a dent on her feelings. “I might uh… I might really,reallylike him.”
Deedee snorted and hugged her again. “Go ahead and like him. I was over him the second I started flirting with that guy from the Full Moon Festival.”
“Achilles?”
“No, Patrick, silly, you—you haven’t met him yet. Anyway, I’m not ready to settle down yet.” Deedee sniffed and turned to look over at her phone. She wiped the back of her hand against her running nose. “Are we seriously live right now?”
“Yeah…” It was hard to explain, to be quite honest.
“I’ve got like five chins from this angle,” Deedee said and then she hiccupped on a laugh. “I don’t care!” She squeezed Livvy to her.
Livvy’s gaze settled on Turner’s comatose form. She’d been tricked by that act before. “We need to hogtie that guy so he doesn’t rise up like a demon again.”
Deedee nodded. She swung around. The sound of churning helicopter blades ground through the air, seconds before two… three of the heavy aircrafts swooped down past the mountain.
Livvy’s stomach clenched in hope. “Is Atreus Mnon leaving?”
“No,” Deedee said. “I saw them moving out his people onto the landing pad just past those gold gates.” She let out a shudder. “Those other helicopters are ours. I think this is almost over—we just have to keep a low profile until they find a place to land.” She scooped up her phone with expert fingers. “Thanks, everybody, for being with us,” she told her audience. “I think we can take it from here.” She switched off the feed.
The wretched burden weighing down Livvy’s shoulders was finally lifting. They weren’t alone anymore, although letting down their guard for even a second when they were so close to deliverance would be unforgivable. “You think there’s a bungee cord in that shed or something we can use to tie Turner with?” she asked Deedee.
A heavy lock sealed the shed shut. Her friend shrugged. “Maybe we can use a garden hose?”
“This should work,” someone said behind them.
Livvy spun around.
An older lady held out a corded rope. She had dark hair the same color as Achilles’s. It swung over her delicate shoulders, hitting against the softness of a gray silk shirt. Livvy recognized his mother from her portrait in an instant.
“Clysta?” she asked.
The woman nodded. Her tragic gaze, the same expressive brows—they were her most defining features. She knelt next to them with the rope, not wasting a second to put Turner out of commission.
Clysta’s gaze flicked over to Deedee. “I watch your show,” she told her, “especially when you have my baby on there. And now?” She took a deep breath. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”
For once, Deedee was out of words.
“My husband thinks to reclaim Tirreoy,” Clysta said, “but surely, he must see it is impossible.” Her beautiful brown eyes darted to Livvy’s as soon as she got Turner’s hands tied behind him. “Atreus must see my son is correct—none shall let him rule now.” She stood quickly. “I must hurry back. He needs me.”
Achilles or Atreus Mnon?
“Venice’s father didn’t kill your husband.” Livvy didn’t know why she said it, didn’t even know if it was true, but if anyone murdered anyone it was Atreus Mnon.
