Page 57 of My Queendom for a Horse

“Another cost?” I lift my eyebrows.

He shrugs. “That’s just the nature of healing, but I guess you could say that.”

I notice his arm isn’t crooked, and the swelling in his eye’s almost gone. It’s still purple, but much less angry than before. “Thank you.”

He bobs his head a bit, and disappears.

I shift my dad a little, then I use a rag to clean him off as well as I can on the sofa. I’m just finishing up when I hear an engine growling outside. My heart races, but it’s Aleks. In my dad’s car.

True to his word, he must have jogged the three miles back to collect it. That’s when it occurs to me. . .without me there, if the men had gone after him, he’d have been powerless.

I race to the door.

But he looks perfectly fine. And he’s carrying my purse. “I thought you’d want your phone and your other things. I can’t say I got every single item, but I got everything I could still find.”

It’s a miracle he could find anything at all, after the floors opened up and spewed dirt and bodies out all over. “Thank you.”

He doesn’t touch me—I’m careful to take the bag without even so much as our fingers brushing—but somehow, having him here makes me feel better.

Safer.

“I’ll head for the barn.”

He doesn’t even ask for my phone. I think that’s what does it. Ever since we saw my dad’s car, he’s been perfect. It’s been all about Aleks helping me. He hasn’t argued. He hasn’t complained. He hasn’t done anything but support and help and heal.

And almost kill eight men.

He probably did kill one.

But they were bad people. If the police come looking for us, I guess we’ll cross that road when we get there. I really hope it doesn’t come to that. “Can you stay?”

He freezes.

“In the house, I mean?” I ask. My voice sounds small to me, for some reason. Nervous, maybe? “Sean’s going out of town. I’m not sure when or if he’s even here, and I thought maybe—”

“I’ll stay.”

He doesn’t say anything else. He helps me move my dad to his room, and when I go, he follows me upstairs, but he doesn’t try to come into my room. “Your brother’s room is there, right?” He points.

I nod.

“I’ll be in there. Shout if you need me.”

Somehow, knowing he’s there, I’m able to shower and go right to sleep.

12

I was worried the police might show up. Or worse, an even bigger group of gangsters. No matter what powers Aleks has, at some point there’ll be too many people for him to handle.

Or he’ll be exposed.

I’m not sure which would be worse. Either way, I can’t have him killing people to protect my dad and me. That’s really, really not his problem. I told him not to destroy people, and then he had to do it to keep me safe.

One thing I completely did not expect was to have a man in black trousers and a white shirt with a delivery logo on his lapel appear first thing the next morning, brandishing a letter.

“You’ve been served.” He hands me a letter in a big brown envelope.

It’s a lawsuit, against my dad, for sixty thousand euros and a lot of interest. Apparently the thugs also know a few lawyers. I’m not entirely sure that Dad’s hastily scrawled IOU would be admissible in court, but it would cost money we don’t even have to try and fight it.

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