Page 33 of Catch a King (Five Kings 1)

Avery is already there and smiles as I enter the room.

“Hey, Millie, the coffee’s hot in the pot.”

As I grab one and join her, she looks interested. “I heard you went to the mall with Marina, how was that?”

“Good thanks, she certainly knows how to spend money.”

“Yeah, poor Axel, no wonder he looks so worried all the time.”

“He doesn’t seem to care; they seem very happy.”

“I suppose.” She takes a sip of her coffee and I have a feeling she’s biting down on words she wants out in the open and I smile. “Tell me about Slade. Ruby said he likes you.”

Her eyes light up and yet she still looks guarded. “I suppose so, although, well, I’m trying to play it cool.”

She winks and I laugh softly. “Is there such a thing here? I thought you had to put out, or pair up, and from the sounds of it you haven’t paired up yet. Would you, if Slade stepped forward?”

“Who knows?” She shrugs and then lowers her voice. “Listen, Millie, I know how it looks. You probably pity me for the position I’m in, but between us, I’m biding my time. For the most part, I get left alone. The other guys know Slade likes to spend time with me and isn’t keen on sharing. So, when he’s not calling, I’m enjoying some alone time that is very rare in this place.”

I’m surprised, and she laughs. “You didn’t expect that.”

“No, I thought…”

“Word of advice, Millie, nothing is what it seems at the Dragon’s Ruin. Slade, well, don’t be put off by that bad boy act he has going on. As for the rest of them, well, they’re pussycats mainly that get a little carried away when they’ve hit the whiskey. You’re lucky, you found a good one in Sawyer, but ask yourself one thing.”

“What?”

“What happens when he leaves because he will. He never stays long and then where will that leave you? Make your escape plan now because as soon as he heads home, you’re not safe around here.”

“What do you mean I’m not safe, from the men?”

Suddenly, she looks worried and looks around her. “I didn’t say that.”

“But…”

“Forget I said anything but remember my warning. We all do what we must to survive and if you look around and open your eyes, you will see this family is about to break apart and what’s left won’t be worth sticking around for. I always keep my bags packed because when that happens, I know exactly where I’m heading.”

We are interrupted when Sawyer heads into the kitchen and just seeing him watching me with those dark, dangerous eyes, I feel the heat tearing me up inside. He doesn’t need to say a word because I’m up and moving his way and as he holds out his hand, I take it and we leave with no words spoken.

To my surprise, he heads straight outside and leads me to his bike. There are a couple of Dragons in the yard and he calls out to one, “If anyone asks, I’m heading out with Millie, if they need me just call.”

As I slide behind him on the bike, I can tell he’s worked up about something and to be honest, I hope he puts a lot of distance between us and the Castle because the more time I spend there, the more on edge I feel.

* * *

It must bethirty minutes later we stop outside a bar that appears a popular one, judging by the number of cars and bikes parked outside. I feel a little uncomfortable because I can tell those bikes belong to another club and wonder if there’s going to be trouble. Sawyer just slings his arm around my shoulder and says in a low voice, “Relax, darlin’, we’re safe here.”

As we head inside, many people call out and Sawyer greets them as friends and I wonder about this place. We reach the bar and a friendly smile is firmly on the face of an attractive woman who looks at me with curiosity.

“Good to see you, Sawyer, is this your lady?”

“Yeah, this is Millie.” He turns to me and I see a rare smile on his face that tells me he’s more at home here than the Castle. “This is Skye, she runs this bar with her family.”

“Hi.” I smile, feeling a little surprised by the whole thing because this was unexpected. Then again, Sawyer doesn’t give much away, so I’m not surprised he never mentioned this place.

“Are you here to see Rose?”

I listen carefully as he nods. “She in?”

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