Page 114 of Reign of the Queen
“Mia...why you came here, you said the reason has now changed?” Finn asks.
“Yes.” I let out the breath I was holding.
“Mia, do you honestly care what happens to Theo? To us?” Finn stares at me, worry and hope crossing his features.
“Of course I do. Fuck, I hadn’t planned on caring about...any of you, but I do. I care what happens to all of you.”
“Mia, I made a promise to Theo. He made me promise to get you, Mateo, and Carter out of Casbury. He’s convinced that his dad is going to come for you, and he won’t be able to stop him. When he does, Mack will take Carter. All of his thoughts were on you and us before he headed back to that horror house.” Finn stands up and comes toward me, kneeling in front of my chair. He takes my other hand from my lap and presses my fingertips against his warm lips. Raegan releases me and stands behind me, her silent strength at my back.
“You are in so much danger right now. We put you in so much danger by coming here, by going after you,” he mumbles from behind my fingertips.
“Take her out of Casbury? Where do you think it’s safe for her to be? If he comes for her, nowhere will be safe. He’ll keep coming until she’s dead or his. You fuckers know that. Theo knows that too!” Carter shouts, moving back and forth between the chair and sofa, agitation and worry radiating from his body. He’s going to cause himself to have another seizure or something if he doesn’t calm down.
I don’t know what to think. Are they being truthful? Is Vincent Saint-Lambert even more deranged than I thought?
If he comes for me, he will start a war with my grandmother that will have the world burning beneath their feet.Would he risk that to go after one teenage girl?
Do I believe he abducted and abused that girl, almost killing her?Yeah. Yeah, I do. He’s a monster walking around with a nice exterior. A demon in disguise who enjoys causing pain and suffering everywhere he goes. Do I honestly believe he’ll come for me? He would be deranged if he did, but from everything I’ve witnessed and what I’m hearing the guys say, it’s likely that he will. Fucking psychopath wants a bloodbath. He’ll get one if he tries to take Carter from here or comes for me.
Fear for Theo rushes through me. He returned there after rescuing that girl, knowing full well how dangerous and unhinged his dad is. Why did he do that? Why didn’t he come here with the guys? I could have protected him.
“I can handle Vincent Saint-Lambert. If he wants a bloodbath; us Stratford’s will give him one. I’m more worried about Theo right now. You say he’s in danger, but he went back there anyway. Why the fuck did you let him go?” I demand in anger.
“Who was going to stop him? You know very well that when he’s determined, nothing and no one can sway him. He believes that he’s protecting us by going back there and sacrificing himself. Protecting you, Mia,” Mateo retorts.
“We have to get him out of there.” I pull my hand away from Finn’s grip.
“No. We have to get you and us out of here. That’s what I promised Theo I would do. That’s what’s going to happen, Mia.” Finn stands up to his imposing height, staring down at me. If I wasn’t so filled with rage and worry, I might actually be intimidated or at least turned on by his show of power. Right now, though, I have bigger things to worry about than one of the kings flexing.
“Mia, maybe you should listen to them. Theo’s dad sounds unhinged at best. If he almost killed that girl and has a hard-on for you, you should get out of Casbury.” Jessie leans forward in his seat, sweat beading on his forehead. He looks terrified at what he’s hearing. He didn’t realize that he was living his privileged life surrounded by villains. I’m sure he thought the kings were the only monsters in his storybook, yet he’s been amongst the vilest monsters dressed up as wealthy men this whole time. The Vincent Saint-Lamberts and Mack Pemberton’s of the world.
“I’m not afraid of Vincent Saint-Lambert,” I stubbornly state.
“You should be. You have no idea what he’s capable of. What lengths he will go to feed the monster inside of him,” Carter replies.
“You are in just as much danger as I am, Carter. Your dad is a fucking psychopath who is determined to end you. Will you leave Theo behind to run with me? Leave him to a fate worse than death?” The rage inside of me is eating me alive, making my hands tremble. My whole body feels like it’s vibrating from it. How did this go from me coming here seeking vengeance on the four kings of Casbury, to me now running for my life from Vincent Saint-Lambert?
“He made me promise too, Mia. To protect you no matter what happened to him. I promised him, and it’s killing me inside. I can’t break that promise to him. I know it’s what’s keeping him sane. It’s why he was willing to sacrifice himself to protect us. Theo is my family. Finn and Mateo are my family. You are now my family, and I won’t let anyone fucking hurt you, even if it means my last breath leaves my body.”
The emotion pouring off of Carter has my heart tightening painfully in my chest. I can’t breathe, this is all too much. My heart is breaking silently inside my chest, I can see the same emotion reflected in each of the king's faces.Theo what have you done?
“Mia girl, please listen to them. If you are in danger, you need to get the hell out of Casbury and back to your grandmother. You will be protected there. Please, Mia. I love you; you’re the sister of my heart. I only just got you back. I need you to stay safe. Please run with them.” Raegan approaches me, tears cascading down her face. My heart breaks seeing how distraught she is. She’s terrified something is going to happen to me. I wrap my arms tightly around her slender frame, taking what strength I can from her.
Pulling back from her, I look from one face to the other. Even Jessie seems to be begging me with his eyes to leave—to run from Casbury and back to my grandmother. They all believe the threat to be imminent and deadly. Vincent Saint-fucking-Lambert is coming for me. For what purpose, I don’t know, but with his sick, sadist, and twisted mind, I certainly don’t want to find out.
I ran from Casbury once before; a Saint-Lambert had me running then too. I’ll be fucking damned if another one has me running now. What am I going to do? I can’t protect myself from all the various threats here. I can’t demand my grandmother send an army to Casbury either. I have to go back to where I am the safest, and I have to take these three with me.
The thought enters my brain that the kings knew Raegan was my weakness, I have no doubt Vincent would use her to lure me back here if he’s as devious as his son. There is no way that she can remain in Casbury when we leave, she would be a tool used against me, a weakness that would bring me to my knees.
I let out my strangled breath. “Okay, we head to Manhattan. The Stratford’s are the strongest there. My grandmother will have an army at her doorstep protecting us from Vincent.” I turn back to Raegan with sadness. “Rae, I can’t leave you behind, love. You’re a link to me, a weakness. If Vincent Saint-Lambert has been watching me, he’ll know that. You will have to go with us for now, at least.”
Raegan’s eyes go wide with fear. “Oh, my lord Am...Mia. Is my mom safe?”
“No one’s safe from Vincent Saint-Lambert, but your mom is of no interest to him. It’s you for sure he would use to bring Mia back to Casbury.” Finn sighs.
“She’s right, Rae; he would use you as bait to bring Mia back. You’ll have to go with us,” Mateo replies in a despondent voice.
“Is there a way we can get Theo out of there and take him with us?” I question.
