Page 89 of Broken Crown

My apartment is relatively quiet now that my staff has left.Normally, I’d be the only one here at this hour, since I don’t feel the need to keep my staff around twenty-four / seven.

But as I promised Jameson, I asked Archie to set up a security presence in my apartment for the next few days.If he thought it an unusual request, he didn’t question it.

“Everything okay, ma’am?”Archie asks when he passes me in the hallway, probably on his way to do yet another exterior patrol.

I don’t know how these guys spend hours patrolling and watching their surroundings on the off chance there’s a threat.I’d be bored out of my mind.But as I’ve learned, being selected for the elite protection squad is an honor for most military men.One they take extremely seriously.

Which is why it was unfair of me to ask Creed to do something that could jeopardize his position and put a mark on his otherwise exemplary military record.But between the secret he kept and his growing distance, I needed to know he still wanted me.That he hadn’t changed his mind.That he still chose me.

Ineededhim to choose me.

“Everything’s fine.”I flash Archie a small smile.“I’m just going to make some tea.Would you like a cup?”

“I can do it,” he offers, but I wave him off.

“I’m perfectly capable of boiling water for tea.English Breakfast okay?”

He nods.“I could use some caffeine.”

“I figured.”

“I need to do another perimeter check.I won’t be more than a few minutes.”

“I’ll have a cup of caffeine ready for when you get back,” I say, then continue past him toward the kitchen.

I set the kettle on the stovetop and ignite the gas, the blue flame hissing to life.Finding a couple of infusers in one of the drawers, I scoop some leaves into them before placing them in a pair of tea cups.

As I wait for the water to boil, my thoughts go back and forth between my grandfather, Jameson Gates, and Creed.

EspeciallyCreed.

Did I throw away the best thing to ever happen to me because of my stubbornness?Creed was just trying to protect me.As for the distance I’ve felt, can I really blame him for putting space between us?I couldn’t have expected things to be like they were in the Hamptons when we were free to do whatever we wanted without fear of anyone seeing us.

We don’t have that same luxury here.

Not yet, anyway.

I grab my mobile from my pocket and navigate to my text conversation with Creed, fingers poised over the screen as I debate what to say.If I should even say anything.

But I need to.

So I start typing out a message apologizing for my behavior.Tell him I was wrong to put him in a position where he could potentially risk losing everything he’s worked toward since enlisting in the military.That I was selfish to ask that of him, considering all the sacrifices he’s repeatedly made, not just for me but also his country.

Before I have a chance to hit send, the kettle whistles, pulling me away from my thoughts.I place my phone on the island and turn off the burner, then pour steaming water into each cup just as I hear the front door open.

“Tea’s ready, Archie,” I call out.

I work on steeping the tea, expecting Archie to appear in the kitchen at any second.

But he doesn’t.

Figuring he may not have heard me, I walk into the living room.“Archie, your tea’s…”

“Sorry, princess.”Silas Archer curls his lips into that same sinister smile he always wears.His eyes are menacing in the low light, his voice unnerving.“Captain Walsh won’t be able to join you for tea.He’s…indisposed at the moment.”

A subtle ping sounds from somewhere in the distance, and all I can do is pray that sound isn’t what I think it is.But when I hear a thud behind me and whirl around as Kane Kingsley emerges from elsewhere in my apartment, hands covered with dark leather gloves, holding a gun with a silencer attached, I know I won’t get my wish.

Not when he drags Archie’s lifeless body behind him and tosses him into the corner.

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