Page 115 of Reign of the Queen
“It’s too risky to try. If Vincent gets his hands on another one of us, he’ll use it to torture Theo. He knows that we are Theo’s only weaknesses. Nothing else matters to him but us. We have to get the fuck out of Casbury. Somehow get word to Theo where we are, so if he can get out, he heads there too.” Carter runs his hands through his thick hair, yanking hard on the stands. I watch him sway slightly on his feet, he looks like at any moment his legs will give out on him.
“Carter, please sit the fuck down before you fall down!” Raegan yells before I can get the words out of my own mouth.
He stares at her then back at me, nods and heads toward her vacated seat next to Jessie. Defeat and agitation across his beautiful features.
“Ok, let me go talk to Tom, get us organized and out of here. I have to call my grandmother and tell her what the hell is happening here and to expect us to arrive under cover of night. She has to get our defenses ready in Manhattan. If Vincent is as dangerous as you all think, putting a few states between us won’t be enough.”
I walk out of the room. My fists clenched so tight I feel my nails biting into my palm. My heart feels heavy, like it wants to shatter with the thought of leaving Theo Saint-Lambert behind. He was never supposed to mean anything to me. None of them were. I came here to ruin the four kings of Casbury, not to have feelings for them.
It looks like once again I’m running from Casbury. Just this time I’m taking three out of the four kings of Casbury with me and leaving my heart in tatters as I leave the fourth behind to an unimaginable fate.
My mind is a reeling mess of chaotic thoughts with the news that Finn and Mateo brought back to Mia’s. She’s agreed to leave with us back to her grandmother in Manhattan. Right now, she’s sequestered with Tom and a few of the others from the security team in the office, speaking to her grandmother and making plans for us all to leave. This decision doesn’t sit well with me, but I know I’m outvoted.
Finn and Mateo left to grab some items from Finn’s house and talk to his parents. Unlike the rest of us, Finn has decent parents that give a shit about him. I know Jack’s going to want to protect him from Vincent, but I also know he’s smart enough to realize the best way to do that is to have Finn head to the Stratford’s in Manhattan.
Me, I ain’t got shit besides my fellow kings and now Mia. No parents that give a crap whether I live or die. My dad’s only emotion will be rage when he realizes he won’t be able to kill me with his bare hands. My mom’s a cunt who couldn’t even be bothered to come rushing back when her oldest child was effectively dying. Foster, my baby brother, hates my guts because I bargained to have him sent to a boarding school far away from our parents. What that cost me, he can’t even imagine—the sacrifice I made so he wouldn’t have to be subjected to Mack Pemberton and his rages.
I was sincere when I said my only family are the three kings and now Mia. I would do anything for them, and I will do anything to protect them. If I thought my life would be enough to protect them, I would gladly forfeit it over to my father and that psychopath Vincent. But it’s not enough; I’m never enough. I wouldn’t even be that large of a speed bump on their way to taking Mia. That’s why Theo had me make that promise; he knew it too.
Theo sacrificing himself to protect and buy us time is breaking me inside. My heart is squeezing so tight in my chest that I’m not getting enough air inside my lungs. I’m panting and sweating through the shirt I put on earlier. I’m hiding away from nurse Mary on the back patio just in case she decides to take my vitals. I’m pretty sure my heart rate is through the roof, and my head has been spinning for the last hour, making my vision blur in and out. I can’t appear weak right now. I can’t give my fellow kings and Mia anything more to worry about. I watched her face when Finn told her that despite all the danger and the fact that Theo knew he was walking into a situation that would likely involve him being tortured, he went anyways to protect the family he loves and made each of us fucking promise to protect the others. He ensured each of us knew his wishes and not to come for him.
He went knowing he’s probably going to die at the hands of his father. I know he loves us. He’s shown that over the years, always trying to lead, be the one who protects us at the cost of his own hide. I know he’s starting to fall in love with Mia, just like I am. Probably just like the other two are. The thought jars me. Am I starting to fall in love with Mia? Maybe I’m falling in lust with her?Naw, I can’t even convince myself of that. I have strong feelings for that girl, more than lust, more than any feeling I have ever felt for a female.Love, well shit, I’m doomed.
It would kill all of us if something happened to her, so right now, she’s our priority to protect. Even if that means leaving my fellow king and brother behind to the mercy of crazed psychopaths.
I watch as Raegan paces in the living room through the window. She’s terrified for Mia and worried about her mom. I never really gave Raegan any thought before Mia came here. She was just one of the scholarship kids, nerdy and minding her own business. Who knew there was a fire breathing dragon under that curly haired good girl exterior. The love she has for Mia is amazing and it should have registered before that they had a much deeper past then what we were seeing.
Her words come back to me from earlier. She said that Mia wasn’t a stranger to us, that she only just got her back. Mia came to Casbury with full intentions of hurting us. I don’t know how I feel about that. On the one hand, I think I might be falling in love with this chick and am willing to do anything to protect her. On the other hand, I have to take into consideration that she came here prepared to do battle and destroy us.
Why I don’t know. She’s obviously someone from our past. Who I can’t imagine. Maybe she’s related to someone we fucked over? Various people come to mind. We haven’t exactly always been the good guys.Hmm, are we even the good guys now?Probably not, but I know we aren’t the worst guys.Questionably morally gray fuckers, maybe.
I want answers about Mia; I know she said they don’t matter anymore. That why she came and why she’s still here in Casbury has changed. It’s evident that she cares about us, well, at least I think it’s obvious. She’s put herself in so much harm to save us, to save me. She’s willing to head back to Manhattan and take us with her to protect all of us.
I still need them though, those answers. I can’t allow my brothers to walk into a trap and further harm. I can’t let Theo’s sacrifice be in vain.
I walk back into the room, and Raegan looks up. She must see the line of my thoughts because she immediately puts her hands up in the air.
“No Carter, fuck right off. You want answers; direct your questions to Mia.” She blows out a deep breath. Her hands are shaking a bit. I know she’s terrified of this whole situation. I think without her begging Mia to leave and without her coming with us, we wouldn’t have stood a chance of getting Mia to agree to leave Casbury.
“Rae, I caught that little slip you made earlier. It’s not the first time you made it either. You weren’t going to call her Mia. There was another name on the tip of your tongue. Something that started with an “A.” What was it?” I move toward her smoothly, like a predator stalking its prey. Little Raegan doesn’t even realize how much danger she might be in with me in the room. I will do whatever is necessary to protect my brothers. If I have to wrap my hands around her neck and risk Mia’s wrath later, so fucking be it. I will not let us walk into another trap.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There was no slip...I don’t have shit to tell you, Carter Pemberton, so get lost.” She goes to walk past me, but I’m not done talking to her. I grab on to her arm and swing her back to face me. Wrenching her arm behind her back, I pull her hard into my body, the impact jarring both of us.
“You know who she is and why she came here, Raegan. I will not have my brothers walk into any more traps. She came here to hurt us. If that’s still her intent, we are going from one dangerous situation to another, and we sacrificed Theo for nothing.” I pant out a stuttered breath and release my hold on her.
“I’m starting to fall in love with her...Raegan, and I don’t even know if that’s the real her. One of my brothers just sacrificed his life to protect us, to protect her. We don’t know if the Mia we are seeing is real.”
She stares back at me, her emotions crossing her face in rapid concession, anger, fear, surprise, and lastly, pity. She pities me because I’m falling in love with Mia. Is that because she knows Mia can never love me back? Fuck is that even a possibility?Will she never love me back?My heart thuds hard in my chest, I feel like I’m going to pass out. My vision is blurring, and my breath is coming in raggedly.
“Carter, Jesus are you ok?” She grabs my arm and helps direct me to the sofa, running around the back of it to grab a bottle of water from the tray that was brought in earlier by the staff.
I take the cap off the bottle and take a large swallow of water; my hand shakes around the bottle, causing the water to slosh down my chin.Breath motherfucker. You are not weak; act like it. Get your shit together,I scream inside my head.
“No, Rae, I’m really not. I almost died not even ten days ago. My dad’s trying to kill me. Theo just went and sacrificed himself to his psychotic father to save us. I’m starting to fall in love with a stranger that came here to do me and those I love harm. I am not fucking ok.”
Raegan sits on the sofa beside me, and I turn my body to face her. “Please, I need to know who she is or was. Please, Rae.”
“Carter...I can’t, it’s not my story to tell, and I won’t betray Mia. So please don’t bother to beg me. Just like the other three are your family, she’s mine. She’s the sister of my heart. I fucking mean that. What I will tell you is that she came here to hurt you, and you fuckers deserved every last thing she was going to serve you.” She lets out a deep sigh. “But regardless of why she came, she’s right. Somewhere along the way, things changed. That’s no longer her priority, and whether she’s realized it or not, she wouldn’t be able to follow through with it anyway now.”
