Page 17 of Daddy's Reluctant Queen

“Luka is asleep in his room,” she says. “He tried to wait up for you again.”

That makes me smile. “Of course he did. Couldn’t quite make it, hmm?”

She shakes her head and with a smile that brings color to her rounded cheeks, she says, “He’s a fine, beautiful boy, sir. As fine as one I’ve ever known.”

“I wholeheartedly agree. Are you headed to bed?”

“I will in a while. I have an errand to run that I couldn’t get to during the day. We’re out of milk for the morning. I want to get to the convenience store before it closes.”

“I can have one of my Sixes do that,” I say. “No need for you to go walking around alone in the city this late.”

She waves me off. “I grew up in the roughest part of this city. I can handle myself, Mr. Malkin.”

I don’t doubt that. I stand up and say, “Let me at least walk you to the door.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

I escort her out of the meeting room and down the halls toward the house’s center and the front door. It’s deathly quiet in the house now that everyone is gone. As she walks next to me, she says, “I was thinking of taking Luka to the pool tomorrow.”

I frown. “We have a pool.”

She laughs at that. “Mr. Malkin, Luka is seven years old now and he doesn’t have any friends. The boy needs community outside of… well, outside of this. It would help him socially.”

And so this same age old problem rears its head again, and I’m not unsympathetic to it. I know she’s right and I’ve known that this day would come. I guess I just wasn’t ready for it.

“I hear you,” I tell her as we walk into the foyer. “Ask me tomorrow. I’ll sleep on it and give you an answer then.”

Her jolly smile tightens slightly, but she nods in acceptance. “All right. We will revisit this then.”

I walk her to the door and she pauses right before it, turning to me. “Incidentally, he would love it if it were you who took him instead.” I start to respond and she puts a hand on my chest. “I know. But you’re a man who can move mountains if you want. Just think of a way. That’s all I ask.”

“I can accept that, Natalie. Good night.”

She opens the door and says, “Good nigh?—”

A shot rings out. Warm blood splatters my face as her head jerks back. She falls backward into my arms as blood spurts from her throat.

Shit… we’re under attack.

7

SOFIA

Getting here without being seen was trickier than I thought it would be. A few nights back, I had the brilliant idea to shadow a car or truck going up the hillside as far as we could, then hike it the rest of the way on foot. Adam, of course, hated that idea, especially since if we didn’t get close enough, we might have a hard time escaping.

Looking at the house’s exterior online, however, I couldn’t see a way to get close enough unless we had some cover. Then, a day and a half ago, Adam came up with a plan to reserve a moving truck. There were other houses in those hills. It wasn’t out of the realm of imagination to spot a moving truck coming through.

So, renting a truck it was. Once we had the truck, the attire was all that was left. That was also a fight. Adam thought we should be in overalls just in case we were stopped, but I vetoed that. It was going to be more important not to be seen once we got there. So skintight, long-sleeved, all-black outfits.

A few hours ago, we were standing in our hotel room and I was looking myself over in the bathroom mirror. The soft blackmaterial of my yoga pants left very little to the imagination. I ended up going back and forth as to whether or not I was going to wear underwear before opting to go without. I need as much freedom of movement as I can get.

A black tank top and jacket and my long hair tied up in a bun and we were set. Adam’s outfit is similar, but he opted for long sleeves and black jeans. At the time that I saw him in the hotel room, I didn’t have the bandwidth to explain why tight fitting clothes are better when traipsing through wooded areas stealthily.

And so, we drove the truck up the hillside, passing by million-dollar houses of all different shapes and sizes, a warm glow coming from their windows. People who lived in worlds different from ours. Worlds where it’s reasonable not to ever worry about being attacked by men with guns at any given moment. They’re like parallel universes where people can trust their delivery person or mailman not to shoot them in the face when you open your front door.

It’s a world that I thought we lived in up until I was around ten. Then I understood how different we are. Tonight is a reflection of that. This role that we’re playing is truly the only logical course of action. Above all else, Adam and I must avenge our father.

We parked the moving truck about a half mile away and in front of another home. Far enough away to stay inconspicuous and close enough to make it back with a good sprint if need be. We traveled through the short span of woods between properties in virtual silence, keeping an eye out for any patrols that might be present. There were none. I guess somehow, the Archangels haven’t gotten wind of our plan to attack them. Good. We need this to be a surprise.