Page 36 of Reign of the Queen
“So you said, but what makes you think I would be interested in anything you have to offer?” I fold my arms across my chest, raising an eyebrow.
“Blondie, if you weren’t interested, you wouldn’t have shown up.” Carter leers in my direction.
“Let’s call it mild curiosity, shall we? What are you offering?” My gaze turns to Theo; after all, he is the ringleader. If they’ve come up with a plan on how to deal with me, it’s more than likely his fucked-up plan.
“Before we go into that, let me ask you a question, Mia. Why are you here?” Theo studies my profile intently, like my secrets will unfold before him through the sheer force of his will.
“You asked me to come here, or have you forgotten?” I know he’s not asking about tonight, but I’ll play along.
“Not here in this café; why are you here in Casbury? What’s the endgame, Mia?” Finn leans in, hands folded on the tabletop, observing me from across the table. I can tell he is cataloging my features up close, the look of desire and frustration evident on his face. To his credit, he doesn’t even attempt to hide it. I give him a dismissive look back, but I admire how handsome he’s become inside my head.He is not the same boy Amelia, he is a monster now, and you had better remember that.
“To finish my senior year before heading off to an ivy league, same as you, I would imagine.” Interlacing my fingers and placing my hands on the tabletop leaning in Finn’s direction. Outwardly I’m portraying indifference and strength. Inside, my stomach is tight and filled with anxiety.
“I call bullshit; if you wanted a chance at an ivy league, you could have stayed at your prestigious Manhattan school. You didn’t need to come to North Carolina or to Casbury to get your education, never mind that no one would dare deny a Stratford entry wherever they want to go,” Mateo spews from next to me, turning his body in my direction in the booth.
“Do you have some personal vendetta against one of us or all of us?” Finn inquires in my periphery; his chin cradled in his hand, lips pursed.
Pressing my fingers to my lips. “Now, Finn, why would I have a vendetta against any of you? I just met you a few weeks ago?”
“So, it’s all a power play then? You want to rule Casbury?” Carter rubs his temple, his lips in a tight line. Anger and agitation fill his features, he keeps running his hands through that gorgeous hair. He’s so ramped up that I would bet good money he’s on something.
“I didn’t come here with that intention, no,” I answer him but don’t elaborate.
“Why the big power move with Maria?” Mateo questions.
“You know why.” I lean back into the booth, giving him a dirty look.
“No, we fucking don’t! You came out of nowhere, and you’ve made it clear that you want our crowns. Well that’s not going to happen, blondie. I will rip your whole world apart, regardless of who your family is, before I let you take my crown,” Carter roars so full of rage that spit comes out of his mouth, he starts to rise from his seat. He’s so incensed right now that he looks a bit deranged.
Theo stretches out his arm, grabbing Carter’s hoodie and roughly pulling him back into the seat. “This is not helpful right now. Shut your mouth, Carter.”
“You can, of course, try, Carter, but let me ask you a quick question?” I smirk in his direction. I’m about to light a match to this exciting meeting.Fuck these assholes.
“What’s that?” His storm-filled grayish blue eyes glare back at me.
“How’s your uncle Jet? Did he have any words of wisdom for you?” I let out a condescending laugh.
Carter lunges across the table to grab me, and it takes all of Theo’s weight to hold him back and confine him to his seat. The other two move as well. Finn drapes himself across the table to help Theo hold Carter back with his broad shoulder, and Mateo places his sizable upper body in front of mine as a shield. I melt my back into the fabric of the banquet seat and away from Mateo’s body as much as possible, his scent assailing my senses.
Carter continues to shove and grunt against Theo and Finn’s restraining forms, trying to get at me across the table. After a few more shoves and growls directed at me, his frame deflates, and he stops trying to pull out of Theo’s hold.
‘How do you know my uncle?” Carter pants.
I move away from Mateo’s frame and exotic scent and place my palms firmly on the table, ready to move out of the booth at the slightest indication that Carter will try to lunge across the table again.
“Simple, really; I know everything there is to know about all the families here in Casbury. I did my research in advance.” I relax my body with a deep sigh, watching Theo from the corner of my eye. Carter might be incensed and physical with me, but Theo is the real danger.
“So, you knew who we were before you came to Casbury?” Theo questions with a raised aristocratic eyebrow. His blue eyes are frigid like a winter’s morning.
“You wouldn’t have come in here blind either, Theo. Of course, I did my research before allowing my mother to move me across the country to this backward hole of a town.” I grit my teeth in restraint. This meeting is getting us nowhere, and I’m just about ready to collect Raegan and get the hell out of here.
An amused chuckle escapes him and he tilts his head in acknowledgment, “Yes, I would have.”
Raegan comes toward the booth, two lattes and a couple of pastries on a wooden tray. Her face is filled with concern. I’m guessing she witnessed Carter’s dramatic outburst. After placing the tray on the table, she grabs a chair from a nearby table, brings it over, and sits down. The whole table is pensive. Aggression and curiosity pours off the kings.
“What I’d miss?” She looks at me musingly, trying to determine if I am alright.
No one acknowledges her question with a direct response, the boys communicating silently with each other using only their facial features.
