Page 104 of Shattered Throne
"Of course I came back." I scooped her up, holding her tight. "I told you I'd always come back, didn't I?"
"You were sad before. At the big house." She pulled back to study my face with those perceptive dark eyes. "Are you still sad?"
"A little. But seeing you makes me feel better."
She considered this with the gravity of a five-year-old solving a very important problem. Then nodded seriously. “Mommy's hugs make me feel better when I'm sad. Maybe Mommy should hug you, too.”
Something cracked in my chest. This kid. This perfect, ridiculous kid.
“That's an excellent idea.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You're very smart, you know that?”
“I know.” She grinned, and I could almost believe yesterday hadn't happened. Kids were resilient that way. "Can we watch cartoons together?"
"In a bit. I need to talk to your mom first, okay? Grown-up stuff."
"Okay." She wiggled until I set her down, then immediately returned to her blanket nest on the couch. "But come back soon!"
Kim was waiting in the hallway, arms crossed, watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"Your room?" I asked.
She nodded and led the way.
Her bedroom was small and simple—a double bed with a worn quilt, a dresser with a mirror, and a single windowoverlooking the street. It smelled like her. Vanilla and something warm.
I closed the door behind us and pulled her into my arms.
The kiss was urgent. Desperate. I poured everything into it—my fear, my determination, my absolute certainty that I would fix this or die trying. She responded in kind, her hands fisting in my shirt, her body pressing against mine.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
"I have a plan," I said. "It's crazy. It might not work. But it's all I've got."
"Tell me."
"Tomorrow's the board meeting. Cole will be there, expecting to waltz in and take control. But I'm going to get him talking first. Get him to brag about what he did, how he manipulated me, all of it." I held her gaze. "If I can get him to admit it on record, the contract becomes void. Fraud. Deliberate manipulation. Gerald says it's our only shot."
Kim's eyes widened. "You're going to trick him into confessing."
"I'm going to give him the rope. He'll hang himself."
She was quiet for a moment, processing. "What do you need from me?"
"I need you there. At the company. Before the meeting." I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Your presence will rattle him. Make him smug. He thinks he's already won—won the company, won you, won everything. If he sees you standing with me, supporting me, it'll eat at him. Make him want to prove how clever he is."
"You want me to be bait."
"I want you to be exactly what you are—the woman who chose me over him. That alone will drive him crazy."
Kim studied my face. Whatever she saw there must have convinced her, because she nodded.
"Done."
The relief that flooded through me was staggering. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. Thank me when it works." She reached up, cupping my face in her hands. "You can do this, Xavier. I believe in you."
I kissed her again. Slower this time. Savoring her.
