Page 47 of Furever Loyal
“Nor I,” Kaelyn agreed. “This smacks of revenge, and now we know why. Though we are still lackingwho.”
“Could it be the Canis still?” Haley asked as the room fell into silence.
“It could be. We need to figure out how it ties together. The idea of any of the Canim working with magic users is…”
“Unsettling,” the Queen finished. “You must go find out more. Unravel the mystery, the two of you. Together. Before it tears us apart even more.”
Kincaid looked at Haley, but she was staring at the Queen.
“It’s going to be difficult. We’re trapped in prison cells after all.”
The Queen shrugged, and as she did, something clattered to the ground and bounced into his cell.
A key.
Kincaid stared. Kaelyn was taking amajorrisk with this, one he wasn’t entirely sure she could afford. If it was discovered that she’d aided them in their escape, he doubted that even the most ruthless of her tactics could keep her in power. Her enemies would see her ousted for conspiring with known traitors.
He almost asked her if she was sure about this move. Almost. But Kincaid knew his Queen, and he knew how she would respond to having her judgment questioned. This was her decision, and her decision alone to make. He would not do her injustice by hesitating.
Getting up, he reluctantly let go of Haley’s hand. Kincaid had been holding it, assuming he was helping keep her calm, that she would need his support. Now though, he couldn’t help but realize that he’d taken comfort from it as well. A lot of comfort.
There would be time for that later though. For now, he had to do as his Queen ordered, and free himself from the jail. It was time to track down whoever was after him and expose their plot so that proper justice could be done.
“Even if the prisoners did escape,” the Queen said as he took the key. “It wouldn’t be long before someone noticed. I would assume the Assassin of the House would be on their trail before long. Perhaps twenty-four hours at most.”
He nodded, inserting the key into the lock.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go yell at one of my guards for leaving his SUV parked in the northeast of the manor. The silly man got out and decided to test the perimeter security but left the vehicle with the keys in it on the other side of the fence. I just can’t believe he would be so careless and not return it.”
Kincaid exchanged smiles with his Queen, dipping his head low in thanks. He wasn’t going to fail her. Or himself. Not this time. She departed, leaving the two of them to effect their escape. He pushed the key in all the way and turned it. With a click, the bolts unlocked and he was a free man.
But for how long?
24
Getting to her feet, she met Kincaid at the cell door as he slipped out from his own. Coming over to her, he flashed a smile and went to put the key in the lock.
Haley’s hand beat him to it, her palm pressing against the smooth steel, blocking the keyhole.
“What are you doing?” Kincaid asked with a frown. “We need to go.”
“They’ll come after you if you do this,” she protested. “They won’t be as nice next time. You’re already hurt.”
Shaking his head, he motioned for her to move her hand, but she didn’t.
“I have to go, Haley. Can’t you see that? I need to clear my name. To prove to everyone that I’m not a traitor.” His voice dropped. “To prove to you.”
“Kincaid…”
He shook his head, cutting her off. “I know you might not understand. After everything my House has gone through though, they’re hurting. They need to know they can trust me. That I am loyal. More betrayals. The House will fracture if it keeps this up. I can’t let that happen. I justcan’t.”
Haley sighed. She could hear the pain in his voice, but beneath that, also theneed, the drive that kept him going. It was a powerful thing, and she felt bad fighting him on it, but they couldn’t keep breaking the rules. Not if they ever expected to come out clean from this whole thing.
The more you broke them, the easier it became in the future. Then, before you knew it, you’d be on the wrong side of everything, and youarethe criminal, without even knowing it. She couldn’t let that happen. Not to her, and not to him. She didn’t want to see him hurt. Not again.
Kincaid seemed to slump as she still didn’t move her hand. “I…I understand. I won’t ask you to come with me. That’s fair. But you should still go. Don’t stay here. They’ll never let you go. Your life could be in danger. Go back home. You’ll lose your job, but you’ll still have your freedom. Your life. Let me take you back to the city at least, then we can go our separate ways.”
She thought about it. What he was saying did make some sense. Leaving probablywouldbe her best bet, but the concept of breaking the law to escape was so fundamentallyagainstwho she was, that she didn’t think she could bring herself to do it.
