• twenty-seven •

“I was just another evil in her life.”

King

Shoving one hand into my hair in frustration, I held the phone to my ear with the other. This hadn’t been what Rumor needed to witness right now. She was convinced the Mafia was after her. I didn’t know who the fucker was that Thatcher had shot and tied up to take underground, but I knew the bastard wasn’t Mafia.

“King,” Blaise Hughes came over the line.

“Boss. Thatch said you wanted to talk to me,” I replied.

“Is she gonna bolt?” he asked me.

“Seems like it, but I’m going to watch her,” I assured him.

“Do more than that. She needs to stay put for a while, and I have other shit to deal with. Fuck her. Use that charm shit and charm her.”

My hand tightened on the phone. “Did you just say I was to fuck her?”

“Is there a problem? Thatcher seemed to think you were the one she’d want and that Sebastian would be the next choice. You rather I tell him to do it?”

Not what I’d expected to be told to do, and there was no way I was letting Sebastian do it. “I can do it, but is it necessary?”

“Are you questioning me?” he asked, his tone sounding as deadly as I knew he was.

“No, sir,” I replied.

“Good. Now, handle it.”

The call ended, and I stood there, staring back at the truck, making sure she wasn’t going to open the door and bolt.

How the hell had it gone from no one touch her to me being ordered to fuck her?

“You don’t look happy about it,” Thatcher drawled, and I turned my head to see him standing a few feet behind me with a cigarette in his mouth and a smirk on his face.

“He wants me to fuck her. To get her to stay.”

Thatcher chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”

This wasn’t funny. She had been abused. Emotionally and physically hurt. The thought of manipulating her with sex made my stomach knot up. She deserved more than that.

“It’s fucking. Jesus Christ, what is your problem? You look like you were just ordered to put a gun to her pretty head and shoot.”

I glared at him as he took a pull from his cigarette. “It’s not fair to her. It’s a lie.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You don’t want to fuck her? Because I could have sworn you’ve wanted to since day one. And everything we have told her has been a damn lie.”

He was right. Still, it didn’t make this easier. Sebastian would be the better match for her. He’d probably even be all in. Faithful and shit. Not lying. But, damn it, I couldn’t let him touch her. I’d end up killing him.

“I’m just supposed to make her think we have something? A relationship?” I wasn’t really asking him. I knew what Blaise wanted. I just couldn’t seem to make it okay in my head.

“You are the charmer. It’s what you do. Go do it. Stop making it hard.”

I glanced back at the truck and knew I had to get back to her. She was scared and alone. She trusted me. Her eyes had widened as she admitted it. The fact that she trusted me had surprised her. Dammit, I didn’t want to do this.

I would never be a real relationship for her. Or anyone. But especially someone like her. She was too sweet, fragile, broken for me. I wasn’t the guy to heal her, help her get through the hell she’d lived. I was just another evil in her life.

“Go handle the bastard who was trying to get onto the property. I’ll go do my job,” I told him, not looking back as I started toward the truck.

“If you change your mind, I’m sure Sebastian will happily step in,” he called out.

I didn’t bother responding. He was trying to piss me off. If I were a good man, I’d do just that. Let Sebastian do this. But I wasn’t good. I was selfish. I wouldn’t be able to stand any of the others having her even if it was fake and temporary. This was going to be one of the things I shouldn’t do, but did anyway. I had many of those in my life. This one would be different though. I might never forgive myself for it.

When I climbed into the truck, Rumor was sitting there, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. I didn’t need to see her eyes to know she was terrified. She thought this was all on her, and Blaise was right. She was going to run or try to. I had to give her a reason to stay.

“Everything is fine. Wasn’t the Mafia. Like I said,” I told her as I closed the door.

She turned her head to me, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Really?”

I nodded. “Swear.”

“Should we check on Maeme?” she asked, her voice quavering.

I shook my head. “No, she’s not home. She’s gone to my dad’s to stay with my little sister while my dad and stepmom go on a short trip.”

Her eyes widened. “I forgot you had a sister.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Birdie. She was in the kitchen at the family breakfast. You didn’t get to meet her.”

“You said she was five, right?”

I pulled out onto the road and drove the short distance to the ranch entrance. “Yep. Dad married Jupiter, her mom, seven years ago. She is wife number four and only two years older than me.”

“Wow,” she whispered.

Yeah, wow. My dad had shown me firsthand how relationships never worked. They always ended in tears, hate, and cost a lot of fucking money. I wanted nothing to do with that. Ever.

“We are still going to watch the race? Are the police not coming?” she asked warily.

I wasn’t going to be able to explain this to her. Yet another lie to add to the many I had told her. I knew it was time that I turned my conscience off. I was attracted to her. That was not an issue. If I hadn’t gotten to know her and…started to care about her, then I’d be able to do this without blinking an eye. But I cared. I wanted to protect her. Maybe one day, when this was over, she wouldn’t hate me completely. Perhaps I could give her some memories that she wanted to keep.

“It’s being handled,” I said as I parked beside the other vehicles outside the stables. “The ranch has its own security team. They will deal with things. We are going to go inside and enjoy the evening.”