“Favorite book?”
“I don’t read.”
“Why?”
“I don’t have time, Coby. Anything else?”
“But you’re here with me now,” I argued. “You’ve been here all morning showing me around.”
“I made time.”
“Okaaaay,” I drawled, starting to feel like a bitch. “What’s your favorite memory?”
“The day I saw you.”
“Okay, Mr. Smooth. Be for real.”
“I am,mo aingeal.” His phone started going off, but he paid it no mind as he waited for me to interrogate him some. “Anything else you want to know?”
“Just one…why can’t I go home with you?”
“Because my father will kill you, and even though he needs to die, I’m not willing to use you as bait.”
Ocean’s phone started going off again, so he ripped his phone out of his pocket and checked the screen. When his gaze lifted, they were so cold and dark, I knew…
Someone was about to die.
I didn’t think for one second that it was me, but when he took my arm and led me out of his room, his touch was far less gentle than before. Abel was in the hall, armed to the teeth and waiting for him when we stepped out. He trailed us at a distance as Ocean and I made our way back up to the third floor.
“Ocean?” I whispered once we reached my cage and he deposited me inside. The muscle in his jaw was beating a steady rhythm. “Is everything okay?”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. You’ll be safe here,” he said. The assurance only made me feel less so—not because I didn’t believe it, but because he felt compelled to give it.
“Do I have a choice?” I snapped as I yanked my arm away from him. “You’re locking me in.Again.”
Ocean hesitated before turning away to leave and tossing over his shoulder. “The door’s not locked, wife.”
He made a swift retreat, and I was left alone trying to answer one question.
What the hell was going on?
OCEAN
“Ocean! My baby,” my mother greeted warmly as she hurried to me on the tarmac of the private airfield. Euphemia Kilpatrick wastiny, instantly reminding me of Coby, who was only a couple of inches taller. Dutifully, I leaned down so my mother could kiss my cheek and then wipe away the lipstick she left behind before gifting me with a warm smile. While I knew she was genuinely happy to see me, the tightness around her eyes told me the real truth.
My father was a few paces behind, shaking hands with the pilot and the crew. Appearances were all that mattered to him next to power. I didn’t realize I was clenching my teeth until my mother caressed my jaw with her thumb. A silent but gentle reminder of how dangerous it was to show Malcolm Kilpatrick what I was thinking.
“How are you, son? Have you been sleeping? Eating?”
“A little,” I lied as I smiled down at her. “How was your vacation?”
“It was nice,” she lied. “You didn’t have to come, you know.” Another lie. “Your father and I could have seen ourselves home.”
Behind me was Abel and the rest of my personal guard, and further behind them was a motorcade of armored cars waiting to escort my parents back to Glamis. They had gone to Santorini to celebrate their anniversary and were supposed to be gone for a month, but my father had cut their vacation short, and no one knew why. He hadn’t even bothered to warn me until they’d already landed. I had to scramble my men and haul ass tothe airfield to ensure my mom was protected from my father’s enemies. And mine.
“Then I would have had to wait a day to see my second favorite girl.”
My mom looked confused, and I hid my smile until she caught my meaning. Her expression brightened. “Oh, yoursecond, huh? I know she must be special. When do I get to meet her?”
