Page 43 of Catch a King (Five Kings 1)

“It surprised me a little.” She looks up at me.

“What did?”

“The whole thing, really. Back home, the Reapers would never allow something like that to happen. It’s all so, well, wrong. She told me even Marina joins in.”

Thinking about the look in Marina’s eyes as she looked at Slade, makes me wonder what’s going on there. It’s obvious she has feelings for him but could be after they were paired up originally.

“He uses her and Axel allows it but doesn’t seem happy about something. There’s a story there and one I need to get to the bottom of before I leave.”

“What will happen to us when this ends?”

Millie’s voice is laced with worry and I spin her onto her back and look into her eyes. “Darlin’, when this ends, we start afresh together. I don’t know how, or where, but we will make it work. It’s obvious we both need to make changes and we can’t live like this anymore. Do you trust me?”

Her lashes hit her cheeks as she blinks away the tears. “I do.”

“Then let me figure it out.”

As I look at my perfect woman lying beneath me, I feel such powerful emotions I can’t believe it’s happened. When I think of how she was used in the past, I feel the rage burning deep inside. As I stroke her face and stare at perfection, I hate to mention it but must know. “What happened to your stepfather and his son, I have a yearning for revenge.”

She smiles and I’m surprised to see a spark in her eyes as she whispers, “Strange thing happened there. It was a freak accident really, one in a million, but their boat capsized and they both drowned. Nobody could understand it because the sea wasn’t even rough that day.”

She giggles and I nod. “Yes, strange one that. I don’t suppose everyone has the training of a Navy SEAL when it comes to the sea, like your Reaper family.”

“No, they don’t.”

She grins and for the first time since meeting her, I thank God she was taken in by Reapers because if anyone is a master at the accidental death, it’s those guys. I’m also glad they took the bastards out because it’s saved me a job.

We don’t talk anymore, we don’t need words because it’s actions that count now and I’m going to spend the next few hours showing my woman just how much she means to me because after tonight, I’m keen to get this shit sorted and move on—with her right beside me.

Chapter 35

Millie

Avery was as good as her word and once Sawyer left with his family, we snuck out just before the party got going and like a couple of kids cutting class; we giggle as we drive out of the yard.

She has a nice car that must have cost a lot, and she sighs with relief as we head out onto the open road. “I don’t know why, but the air is cleaner out here. I always feel so dirty in there.”

She takes a deep breath and I laugh softly.

“I know what you mean, that place is a health hazard waiting to explode.”

“I expect Marina will be pissed that we’ve left?”

I stare at her in surprise. “Do you think so?”

“Probably. She will hate knowing we managed to dodge this one. I swear that woman likes to watch another woman’s pain, she’s a strange one.”

“She sure is.”

Thinking about the woman I first met when I arrived, I wonder how I never saw how broken she is. She may act the strong president’s wife, but she’s tied up with her own problems and appears to be searching for something to make her happy. Not for the first time I wonder about her and say with a slight hesitation. “How much do you know of, Marina, I mean where she’s from, her past?”

Avery laughs out loud. “That woman probably has secrets stashed in every closet in the Dragon’s Ruin. She says one thing and then contradicts herself in the next sentence. She will tell you one day how she had the perfect upbringing and the next day I hear her telling someone else she was abused. Slade told me she mentioned she’d been married once, and yet she’s never said a word about that to anyone else. One day she came from Seattle, the next from Pittsburgh. The woman’s a compulsive liar and thinks she’s found a home at the Castle. For now, anyway, because once Axel’s had enough, she’ll find her bags packed and waiting for her on the street because even I can see his patience is wearing thin.”

Something strikes me that I’m surprised I never considered until now, and I choose my words carefully. “Was Marina there the night Billy was shot, in fact, was anybody?”

I can’t believe I haven’t asked this question before because its obvious somebody must have been. The place wouldn’t be left empty because I know that even though we have the best security in the world at home, we always leave a guard behind when we head out.

Avery nods, “Yes, she was. Slade told me she never saw anything though because Billy always kept to himself when he was here. He was working in what is now Axel’s office, and Marina came running when she heard the shot. She told him she saw no one and tried to help Billy, and then they arrived almost at once.”

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