Page 43 of Steal a King (Five Kings 2)

“I went to the hospital, and it was chaos. There had been a multi-vehicle pileup, and they were caught in it. A tanker had crashed on the interstate and twenty other vehicles were affected. I was helpless, there was nothing I could do, and I had to wait with the rest of them who were as anxious as I was. It felt like days before the doctor came to find me. As soon as he directed me to a private room, something told me it wasn’t looking good. It wasn’t. Mom hadn’t made it. Her injuries were too severe, and strangely my first thought was that she would have wanted it that way. Mom was a fighter, but she wouldn’t have coped well living in a wheelchair. She was larger than life and would have hated to be a burden to anyone and not in control of her own life. It hit me hard, and the shock got me through the next 24 hours. Dad was conscious, and the doctor told me I could see him. They hadn’t told him about mom and asked if I wanted to be the one to break the news.”

Reaching out, I grab the coffee that Ella made and take a long gulp of it. The caffeine helps steady my beating heart as a toxic memory burns inside as if fanned by fate.

“It was hard seeing my powerful father looking so vulnerable. He was broken in spirit and in body and I think somehow he sensed mom was gone because his first words to me were to that effect. ‘She’s gone.’ I just nodded and the tears that were contained by shock found their way to freedom and for the next hour we held hands and cried together for the woman we loved more than life itself.”

Ella is crying, I can feel her tears wet against my neck and I lean down and kiss the top of her head. She feels so good in my arms, so familiar, and our connection is strong. I have always known it was because something shifted inside me when she walked into the room, and I wonder if somehow fate delivered her to me for a reason.

“The nurse came in and told me I should leave my father to rest, he still wasn’t safe and yet as I stood to leave, he grabbed my hand and whispered, ‘I need to tell you something.’ The nurse gave us five minutes and left and he asked me to find his wallet. There was something he had to give me. His fingers shook as he brought out the gold coin. The one you copied so exactly.”

She stiffens and I can tell she’s surprised, but she has to know the implications of why she’s here.

“He gave me the coin and told me it was up to me now. He didn’t think he’d survive, and just in case, I needed to know. I was to take his place as one of the five kings. An organization that I can never tell you the details of but know that I am one of five members who hold this coin. My father was one, and membership was bestowed rather than applied for. I was to take his place and after his death I would be contacted and all would be explained. It came soon enough. He never survived the night.”

“I’m so sorry, Lucas.”

Ella’s voice is filled with emotion and yet I keep mine locked away. There is no place for it here, so I say in a hard voice. “Both my parents died hours apart, and I was crowned the Casino King by default. Everything I have is down to them and everything I do is because of them. I want to make them proud, make them never doubt their decision to take me in, and so, I need to stay focused. To live in a gilded cage to protect their biggest secret. My life isn’t my own, and I am part of a machine that you can only quit in death. That’s why you must walk away, Ella, because I don’t want this for you. The security, the enemies and the pain. The fact everyone wants a piece of you and any decisions you make have consequences attached. Take Damian Reed as an example. He will think of every way possible to get back at me. Hurt those closest to me, stage an accident, remove me from life and everyone associated with me. I don’t have a life, Ella, I have a duty and I don’t want that for you. It’s why I fuck faceless whores and work every hour I can. It’s why I lock myself away with only two people allowed to step inside my world. I trust them, but I don’t love them. I treat them well and I treat them just as bad. I don’t want that for you, you deserve more than that, so please understand why as soon as Ryder gives us the all clear, I’m setting you free.”

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