Page 17 of Dirty Crown
“Equally?” he asked. “How does that work?”
“I’m not even sure,” I said. “It just does.”
“Do you have to give them chore charts and keep track of that?” he asked with a laugh. “I can imagine it’s hard to get four of them helping out around the house, it’s so hard with just one at home.”
I joined him in laughter and nodded vigorously. “Oh god, sometimes it is. It’s bad enough picking up after one guy, let alone four of them. But I’m pretty mean so I keep them in line.”
“You definitely got that from my side of your genetics,” he said with a proud look on his face. “Being mean is definitely an asset when you’re managing a group of people.”
We talked for a little bit until he began to look sleepy. He asked me more questions about the Kings, and seemed to give his approval as long as they treated me well and protected me.
After I left, I got a text from my mom saying she was hoping to see me at Nat’s dance recital next week, and if I could let her know how many of my guys were planning on showing up.
It was strange to have something so normal set in the middle of the bizarre circumstances that kept cropping up.
Life would return to normal eventually, but I had a nagging suspicion that this was it. This level of uncertainty was my new normal.
And I didn’t know if I was cut out for it.
CHAPTER7
“The house looks okay,”I said as we drove up the driveway of our Oakville mansion. It felt strange to be back in the US and on American soil after being away for over a month.
I’d contacted all of my professors and had called my lawyer to let him know I had returned. He was going to facilitate my negotiations with the police at my college, to help us all work out a deal so I could return to school if my professors would let me.
“The staff I hired could run it on their own for a decade at least before the money runs out,” Ivan said with smug pride. “I hire capable people and pay them well from an account that can keep up.”
“Not all of us have those abilities,” I said, wondering what our house near the college looked like by now. “Maybe I should borrow some for them to keep our place running smoothly.”
“Not on your life,” he laughed. “I like the way things work for me here. Besides, if I have to admit it, Amara’s the one who hired everybody. Now that she’s gone for a short time, I need everyone I can get. It takes twenty people to make up for her alone.”
“Then I’ll steal Amara away from you and you can keep the rest of them,” I laughed.
He said no way, and we devolved into a fake fight over who got to keep Amara. If she was there with us, it would have both flattered and annoyed her.
The truth was that we both missed her but were unable to talk about it. We wanted to contact her, but also understood that she needed her space.
I was Ivan’s daughter through and through when it came to handling my emotions, so at least we were on the same page with that. Feel them, but deny them, and make jokes with each other to gloss them over.
We stopped in front of the mansion, where the wide marble steps swept down to the paved driveway, and I looked up at it.
I still couldn’t believe I owned it. Or more to the point, Ivan bought it for me. It’s not like I did anything to deserve it, but it had saved my life and my mental state.
It felt strange, too, to park in front where I’d once climbed in for the prom or where I’d seen my Kings fighting off The Organization to save me. So much had happened here, and yet it still amazed me every time I saw it. It always felt like the first time again, over and over.
I didn’t think I’d ever reconcile the two worlds I’d lived in Oakville, between Reg and Mom’s place and this one. From my former school to Covington. What a strange life I’d had, from one extreme to another.
And thankfully, despite all the trials and tribulations I’d gone through, I had found my Kings. I would do it all again, even the worst parts, to have the life I led now. With them by my side. I couldn’t imagine a world where they didn’t rule my heart.
“How does this work, being back?” Archer asked as we stepped out. “Aren’t you still wanted for Seymour’s disappearance?”
“Our lawyer is on that,” I replied. “I don’t know if Seymour was ever found, though, we need to look into it.”
“I guess we’ve been a little distracted by staying alive,” Kingston said.
“And keeping our prisoners,” Ryker said. “Maybe we didn’t do so well on that part. How is Maksim these days, I wonder?”
“Probably a little sore,” Valen replied. “At least I hope he is, the fucking piece of shit. He has to know he got off easy.”
