Page 39 of Catch a King (Five Kings 1)

“You think I’m in danger?” She speaks slowly and stares at me long and hard and I know she’s not happy and I hate that I’ve ruined the atmosphere.

Reaching for her hand, I kneel in front of her and say firmly, “Things are getting heated, and the answer appears to lie with Slade, possibly Axel, who can tell? If anyone can discover what they know, it’s me. The trouble is, when we return to the Dragon’s Ruin, they will see how much you mean to me and that was never supposed to happen.”

“What was… supposed to happen?”

She looks afraid of my answer and I stroke her cheek carefully and whisper, “You were supposed to get close to Slade, you know that. The Reapers wanted you to discover what’s inside his head and he wanted you as a honey trap.”

She looks at me with a hard expression. “A honey trap, for the Reapers?”

“Yes, darlin’. Axel used Billy’s death to raise questions and asked Ryder for help. He pretended he heard whispers about his involvement and needed help to flush the killer out, knowing it was all a set up. Slade believes Ryder is responsible for Billy’s death and is set on revenge. They wanted to set a trap that would have the entire Reaper chain of command come calling, and they would set a trap they couldn’t escape. We both know they’re deluded and I can’t sit around and wait for this all to blow up in our faces. You could be killed, the Reapers could be killed and sure as hell Axel, Slade and myselfwillbe killed if their plan backfires. No, this must end and it needs to come from me. Let me deal with my family shit and go back and tell Ryder it was a false alarm.”

”But what about Billy? You’re no further forward in finding his killer, it doesn’t make sense.”

I lean my head on hers and whisper, “I’ll find who killed my father, but not at the cost of you. That scares me more than anything and if it does end up being Ryder King, I’m walking away because Billy wouldn’t want this; you heard Rose, he idolized the Reapers. If anything, maybe Ryder can do some digging and discover the killer without more bloodshed.”

“And Slade, how will you deal with him? You said yourself he’s unpredictable. What if he tries something else?”

“Leave Slade to me, I can deal with my brother’s shit, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

She shakes her head and fixes me with a determined look that makes my heart sink. “No, I’m not going until I finish the job. We agreed that I would get close to Avery and find out what’s going on with Slade. You are to do the same and see if you can find out what’s going on inside your family. I was sent here to do a job and I am not heading home until it’s finished and if that places me in danger, then so what. If you risk nothing, you risk everything. I heard that saying once and wondered what the hell it meant. Now I know, and if we are going to end this, we must take a risk because until we have ended this,wecan’t begin.”

Her words shoot straight to my soul and remind me why I have fallen completely in love with this woman. How can I argue with someone who thinks the same way I do? It would be like arguing with myself and risk losing. How would I look then? The thought makes me smile and Millie says tightly, “Is something funny?”

“Not really. I just see a lot of myself in you and know I should give up now before you hand me my balls.”

She laughs softly, “It takes a fighter to know when to admit defeat in order to win the war.”

“I’ve won already.” I capture her smart mouth in mine and taste the purest pleasure. Happiness and fulfillment should be this woman’s middle names. With her I get the whole package and who can fight against that? It just means I have to be better, more cunning and one step ahead if I’m to walk away with the prize.

* * *

After we’ve eaten,I dine on a different dish and prove to Millie just how much I love her. I don’t offer it in words because words are meaningless without action and so I spend the entire night showing Millie how deep my love is. The candles burn out long before we do and as I lie with her on the fur throw, on the rug by the fire and in the deep tub that I filled with oils, I show Millie over and over what it feels like to be worth everything to the person you were always meant to find.

Chapter 33

Millie

“Do we have to go back?”

I groan as Sawyer starts the bike and then take one last sweeping look at the cabin that we set back in place after we messed it up so badly. I’m pretty sure the air reeks of sex because I’ve never had so much in my life in one night. We never stopped, and I’m guessing it’s going to take me a few days to recover. A small shiver runs through me as I test my heart. I fell in love in this cabin. We fell in love because even though we never uttered the words, I felt it. Sawyer is everything I ever wanted in a man, and I can’t believe he wants me. Millie Raymond, the broken girl with a shocking past. People like me don’t meet their Prince. They don’t get to have a happily ever after and disappear off into the sunset. Well, I’ve got news for you. Everyone has that somewhere and its lucky I found mine in the most unexpected place.

It feels painful to ride home behind Sawyer because every part of my body is sore and overused. Inside and out, I feel his mark and far from being uncomfortable about that, I love it. As we pull into the yard, I see Slade pressed against Avery and I take a good look. For all his words, he does seem to have a liking for the girl, and I wonder how she deals with the shit he levels at her on a daily basis.

They look up as we stop and Slade sneers. “Remembered you have a home, brother.”

“I don’t have to explain my whereabouts to you, but if you’re wondering, I took Millie to the cabin.”

A look passes between them and I know what Slade is thinking because Sawyer told me he’s going to use the fact they asked him to get close to me, to feed them some information to test what they know.”

Slade whispers something to Avery, who looks at me with interest. “Fancy grabbing a coffee, honey, it looks as if the guys need to talk business.”

Sawyer heads off with his brother without a look my way because we decided to play it cool around the Castle. Nobody must suspect how close we are and just assume he’s doing what he was asked to do.

Avery smiles sympathetically as we watch the brothers head inside. “Bastards, both of them. Don’t let it upset you, honey, I’m sure they don’t mean to be so rude.”

“I guess.” I try to look worried and she slips her arm in mine and smiles sweetly. “I doubt they would know a feeling if it had wheels and handlebars and smelled of grease. Come on, let’s go and have a sane conversation. God knows I need it.”

We head inside and I take my chance. “How are things going with Slade? He seems quite keen on you still.”

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