“Life is indeed short. It is going to end. But what you do with the years you’re given is the true measure of the man. Do well and live your life in service.” Then the archbishop looks directly at me, and Lennon sucks in a quiet breath beside me, knowing what comes next.
“Long live the king.”
BELLAMY
What a fucking year this week has been.
—Bellamy’s Secret Thoughts
Caitlin
I watched the funeral on TV and didn’t see you. It’s been days, B. Are you really in Mornea or have you been taken prisoner by a band of pirates and they’re faking these texts so I don’t alert the police? Or even worse – my dad! Has Maddox left yet? I’m going to need better proof of life than a text this time, or I’ll send him to the authorities to find you. Lennon loves me. She’ll help.
I’m not sure why I’m surprised my best friend is unhinged. She’s been that way since the day we literally ran into each other at college. Books fell, papers flew, and my iPhone screen cracked, and what did Cait do?
She quotedStepbrothers.
She looked at me with a goofy smile as we both picked up our phones. “Did we just become best friends?”
Unhinged, but I love her.
Looks like it’s time to bite the Caitlin-Beneventi-Sinclair-sized bullet.
Lucky for me, she’s tiny.
One quick swipe of my finger, and the FaceTime barely has time to ring before she appears. A cup of tea in hand and a menacing look in her eye. “Quick. Which of your brothers is your favorite?”
“What?” Like I said—unhinged. “I don’t have a favorite. I love both pains in my ass equally.”
“Huh.” She scrunches her face up. “I always thought it was Ares.”
“What are you talking about?” I curl up in what’s quickly become my favorite chair and wrap a blanket around my shoulders. “He might beyourfavorite.”
“Listen, I can’t help it if Ares is hotter than Cross. Anyway... If you’d been kidnapped, they wouldn’t have told you to answer that way. So... are you ready to tell me why you’re hiding out in Mornea?”
“Who’s hiding?” Her husband asks from what sounds like a room away.
Guess he missed the hot brother comment.
“Nobody, babe. Just catching up with Bellamy. I’m going to soak in the tub. You’re on baby duty, kay? Love you.” She steps inside her bathroom and closes the door before she turns on the water and sits on the edge of the tub. “Okay, I’ve got maybe fifteen minutes before he comes in here hoping for a boob shot. Now explain to me how you haven’t gotten fired from the hospital yet. And why your overprotective brothers haven’t putout an APB. And please tell me Rhys Windsor looks as good out of his clothes as he does in them.”
“I love you, you crazy bitch.” She beams like I just told her she’s the most beautiful woman in the room. Which she always is. “Stop worrying. You asked for proof of life, and I’ve given it to you. No need to send in any calvary.”
“B... you’ve been blowing me off for over a week. That’s not like you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. Things are just...complicated. I need some space to figure a few things out. I know you get that.” My heart hurts because I’m about to be a really bad friend. “That’s what you needed when you were going through all the Callen stuff last year. And I gave it to you.”
Bringing up when she and Callen broke up is a low blow, but there’s no way to admit I have no clue what I’m doing or what I’m going to do. Not when I’ve had my life planned out since I was stuck in a hospital, praying I’d get a chance to live to my eighteenth birthday.
“I guess I did. But just remember you only gave me a little time before you refused to leave me alone. This is your last warning, Bellamy. Next time, I really am calling your brothers, and then we’re all hopping on a plane.”
“I get it.”
There’s a knock on the door behind Cait, and she laughs. “Okay, I guess I underestimated his desire for boobs.”
“Not just any boobs, Cait. Your boobs. Go flash your husband and get a good orgasm out of it.” Footsteps alert me to someone in the other room before Rhys appears with a sexy smirk on his face.
Of course he heard that.
