by Bea Paige
He’s back and he’s brought a shit load of misery with him.
“Hello, Malakai,” Ma Silva says as she enters the living room. I’ve been back on the island almost two weeks, and this is the first time we’ve laid eyes on each other since that morning when I returned Connie to her last summer.
“Ma,” I grind out, gritting my teeth in an effort not to ask her about Connie.
She hands her coat and bag to Grant who takes them and leaves us to talk in peace. The man’s a true gent, and he’s proved his worth and his loyalty over and over these past few years. Settling on the sofa opposite me, she gives me a gentle smile. “You look tired,” she states.
“Not sleeping much these days,” I shrug.
What does she expect? I spend all night scoping out the Palace and all day trying to sleep only to be kept awake with thoughts of Connie. Knowing she’s so close by and not being able to see her, speak to her, fucking touch her; it’s killing me inside.
“Have you gathered any more information that I can pass onto Grim?” she asks me, fully aware of the situation we’ve both got caught up in. I’m also fully aware of the part I’m playing and the very dangerous tightrope I’m walking on. One wrong step and I’m dead. Which is precisely why I’m keeping well away from Connie and why tonight I’m going to demand that Ma Silva gets her off this fucking island and as far away from the King as possible.
“Yes. As Grim suspected he had a few guests with him. A girl with pink hair and a dark-skinned woman. Both appear to be being held prisoner. I spotted the girl in the east wing. The woman appears to have more freedom to move about the place. Though the Palace is heavily guarded.”
“The girl you speak of must be the one who’s missing from Oceanside Academy, the reform school for kids who’ve been in trouble with the law. She’s Asia’s friend.”
“Asia, as in the King’s illegitimate child?” I ask, knowing the answer already but wanting confirmation, nonetheless. That would make her my second cousin.
“Yes,” Ma Silva confirms.
No one was more surprised than me to hear the King had another child. I knew about Monk, heard about his birth and his rise to fame in the criminal world. By all accounts the little shit is a carbon copy of his father. But this Asia kid? She’s news to me. Seventeen and attending a reform school in Hastings, this feisty, young girl has a rap list as long as my arm. The second I found out about her I did my research. Fortunately for me, this time the dark web coughed up enough information for me to get a good picture of her, another Bennett, albeit an illegitimate one. Asia grew up in Hackney in a rundown council estate and has been in and out of foster care for most of her life. Her mother is dead, killed by her heroin addiction. She has two younger brothers, neither of which are the King’s, thank fuck. Asia’s a graffiti artist, and spunky, according to Grim who met her a few weeks back. She was sent to Oceanside Academy last September and caught the eye of the King who, up until this point, had no interest in her. Then again, if I know him as well as I think I do, he would’ve kept his eye on the poor kid, biding his time for the moment to act on whatever despicable scheme he had in mind. Grim told me she’s gathered her own little crew, four boys, two girls, one of whom is imprisoned by the King.
“The King has kidnapped Asia’s friend to get her in line… He’s up to something,” Ma Silva says, stating the obvious. I watch as she pulls at a piece of loose cotton on her skirt.
“No shit.”
“The man is irredeemable. It’s time he was dealt with once and for all.”
“Like I’ve always said, the King’s an evil bastard. No one’s safe.” I give her an intense look. “You need to get Connie off this island, and you need to do it now before shit goes down. I can’t believe she’s still fucking here, Ma. If I didn’t have to stay in goddamn hiding, I’d take her to the mainland my damn self.”
“I know…”
“So what’s your excuse, huh? Because last time I was here, you were warning me off of her because of my connection to the King, and now that he’s here on the damn island you haven’t gotten her somewhere safe?”
“Warning you away wasn’t just about the King, Malakai…”
“What then?”
“That’s not important right now. The truth of the matter is, I’ve not been well of late and it appears that Connie has just as much of a protective streak as I do. She won’t go.”
“Goddamn it! I don’t care if you’ve got a damn cold, Ma. Get her off the island!”
“I will. I promise.” Ma folds her hands in her lap and it’s only then I notice how much they’re shaking. When I allow the anger to subside and really look at her, I see the dark circles under her eyes, and the tightness around her mouth as though she’s in pain.
“You’re sick,” I state matter-of-factly. It’s more than a cold. Much more. My stomach curdles.
“Yes.”
“Bad?” I grunt.
“Bad enough.”
“Are you receiving treatment, medicine?” I press.
“There is no cure for a broken heart, Malakai,” she sighs heavily.
Fuck, I know that only too well. “You should talk to someone about it…”
“The only person I want to talk to is dead.” She gives me a wavering smile, then straightens up a little, nodding tightly. “This feeling will pass, eventually. It has happened before, and I lived through it. Grief has a funny way of creeping up on you. Even after all this time.”
“I see.” I blow out a long, steady breath. I’m not exactly therapist material. I can’t even deal with my own damn emotions, let alone anyone else’s. “Just get Connie to leave, okay. Just until this is over.”
She nods. “Just until it’s over.”
Silence stretches between us as I try to figure out how to broach the fact that there was something else I spotted at the Palace. I consider not telling Ma, given she already seems to have so much weighing her down. In the end though, I need her opinion on what to do.
“There was another child…”
“Sorry?” Ma looks up at me, the heavy loud of our predicament weighing her down.
“I saw another child,” I repeat.
“Monk. Yes, you said.”
“No, not him. A child. A little girl. She’s no more than four or five if I had to guess.”
Ma’s mouth drops open in shock. “Oh, dear God. You’re not telling me he’s kidnapped a small child as well?”
I shake my head. “I don’t believe so. I saw him with her last night just before sunset, she’d run out of the house, laughing and smiling as though she were the happiest kid in the world. The King followed her out, picked her up and took her back inside. She kissed his cheek. He smiled. He was… affectionate.”
“Do you think…?”
“Yes, I believe she’s his too.”
“Does anyone else know? Have you told Grim?”
I shake my head. “No. But it does complicate matters. If we’re to help Asia retrieve her friend then things are going to get messy. People are going to get hurt.” Ma Silva knows as well as I that people will die, likely both of us included.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Ma asks, studying me carefully.
“Yes. We get her out too.”
“Promise me, Malakai. I cannot see another child ruined by that family.”
I nod. “I promise.”
A loud knock at the door has Ma nearly jumping out of her skin and cutting our conversation short. She’s not usually so easily spooked, but given everything that’s going on, I really don’t blame her. I raise my finger to my mouth, urging Ma to remain quiet. Standing, I reach for the gun that I’ve tucked down the side of the sofa cushion I’m sitting on and crack open the door so I can see into the hallway. Grant passes me, indicating for me to stay put. He knows what’s going down, and he’s fully aware that life on the island has become very dangerous for everyone, including himself.
When he opens the door, my stomach drops out. There standing before
Fuck.
“Get out of my way, Grant!” she yells, shoving him aside.
“What the hell is she doing here?” I hiss at Ma Silva.
“I’ve no idea!” she stutters, her face draining of colour.
“Well it looks like we’re about to find out.”
Connie storms past Grant who has the good sense not to try and stop her. If the cat’s out of the proverbial bag, then facing up to it is better than trying to make a steaming pile of shit smell like roses. She’s obviously found out something and is pissed. Schooling my features into a blank mask to hide the fact that my insides are churning up like the sea in a squall, I step away from the door just in time.
Like a whirlwind, Connie steps into the room, her rage only tempered slightly by seeing me.
“You’re back!” she shouts in a mixture of relief and anger.
“Looks that way,” I respond, easing my gun into the back of my jeans and making sure I cover the bulge with my jumper. Outwardly I’m calm, but inside I’m not calm, far from it in fact. I’m fucking quaking with my need to reach out and hold Connie tightly against me. Her cheeks flush a deep, furious red. She turns to Ma Silva, pointing at her.
“You knew Malakai had come back and you didn’t say anything? Why, Grandma? Why?”
“Connie, please. There are things going on that we didn’t want to concern you with,” Ma Silva says, trying to reason with her.
“To do with the King you mean, are those the things you’re talking about?”
“How did you…” I begin, but she holds her hand up, instantly silencing me. My skin prickles at her gumption and at my need to fucking kiss her angry little mouth.
“I had a nice conversation with someone called Grim just now. Turns out she sent Malakai here to cash in on a debt. To spy on the King who happens to be staying at the Palace right now, and you have kept that from me. That’s why you’ve been trying to get me to leave!” she rages, her face beautiful in its fierceness.
“Grim had no right to tell you a damn thing!” Ma Silva retorts.
“She thought I was you. Turns out we sound very similar over the phone, especially when the reception is as piss poor as it is right now. You left your mobile phone at the house. Next time you want to keep secrets from me, Grandma, I suggest you cover your goddamn back!”
“You need to calm down, Connie. Ma didn’t tell you about what’s going on to keep you safe. This isn’t a game we’re playing.”
“I know damn well that this isn’t a game, Malakai! I know how dangerous the King is, after all, that fact has been hammered into me repeatedly over the past eighteen months since meeting you!” She’s panting now, her body trembling with emotion.
“Connie…” Ma Silva reaches for her arm, but she shakes her off.
“No. Don’t you dare try and make this better. You lied to me, Grandma. I’m part of this family too and I deserve to know whatever it is that you’ve got yourself embroiled in.”
“She’s keeping you safe,” I snap. She really doesn’t fucking get it.
“Safe? Like you did when you murdered Abel for me? Is that why you’re here, Malakai? Is that the debt you’re paying back, because if it is, then that’s my debt too! You wouldn’t have had to kill the bastard if it wasn’t for me. Tell me what’s going on. TELL ME!”
She’s right of course, that is the debt I’m paying back. Grim helped me, so now I help her. Tears well in her eyes and I so desperately want to brush them away as they fall over her lashes and run in silvery tracks over her cheeks. Instead, I push all emotion aside and paint on the mask I’m so used to wearing.
“Fine. You want to know, then I’ll tell you. I’ll fucking tell you!”
“No,” Ma Silva exclaims. “I don’t want her involved, Malakai.”
I turn to her, shaking my head. “It’s too late for that now. You should’ve got Connie off the island the minute he arrived here. That’s on you, Ma.”
Resigned, I sit down heavily and tell Connie everything I know. Everything except the mysterious little girl and the fact the King had love in his eyes when he’d looked at her.
Thirty-One
Connie
It’s taken me two days to get my head around everything Malakai told me and to make sense of the tumultuous emotions that have erupted since I found out about his return. He might not have returned for me, but knowing he’s here is a balm to my soul. When he left last summer, the same morning he handed me over to Grandma, there weren’t any goodbyes. I didn’t send him any text messages in the intervening months either. I needed the time and the space to recover.
Besides, how could I reach out to a man who I’d forced to murder? Despite the almost offhand way he had admitted to killing Abel, as though it didn’t affect him, I knew it had. I also knew that I was partly responsible for that and that’s quite a burden to carry. One I’m still struggling with. In the end, I gave him the space I believed he needed, even though, deep down, I’d known that’s what I needed too.
Grandma keeps telling me to leave the island, that I’m not safe and honestly, I believe her. But how can I leave Grandma knowing how unwell she is? How can I leave the man I love to face his biggest enemy alone? What kind of person would that make me?
Knocking on Grant’s front door, I wait for an answer. Just like the other night, Grant is the one to let me in. Of course, I expected as much, given Malakai’s still hiding out and can’t be seen. Lola has no idea he’s staying here and this time I’ve agreed to keep that fact a secret, understanding more clearly now just what’s at stake. The less she knows, the better. Ironic really, given how strongly I’d fought to be informed about their plans.
Grant greets me with a smile. “Evening, Connie. Here to see my guest?”
“I am.”
“You’d better come in then.” He keeps the door open behind me and grabs his coat off the hook by the front door.
“You’re not staying?”
“As much as I enjoy watching that brute squirm, I think you need privacy, don’t you?” He chuckles as my cheeks flame. I’d rather he’d stayed, actually. I’m not sure I can trust myself around Malakai right now. We’re like two combustible stars just waiting for the moment to collide. It might be a beautiful thing to witness but destructive, nonetheless.
“Where…?”
“Upstairs in the shower. Make yourself at home. Don’t worry, I won’t be back for hours.” He winks, then slips outside, closing the door behind him.
Upstairs in the shower…
I shake my head free of the thought that upstairs Malakai is naked. As much as I want him, first and foremost, I’m here to talk. It’s time to face whatever this is between us, head on. The fact of the matter is, I’m not prepared to let Malakai act without him knowing how I truly feel about him. It’s time.
Ten minutes later, I hear Malakai coming down the stairs and try to calm the erratic beat of my heart. Smoothing my hands over my jeans, I wait for him to enter the living room, only he walks straight past, heading towards the kitchen.
“Grant, I’m going to be heading out in an hour or so. One last recon. I need to find a good spot to enter the Palace when the time’s right... Grant?”
“He’s gone out,” I say gently, stepping out into the hallway.
Malakai stills, his body tensing. Water slides from his still wet hair down his back, wetting the top of his white t-shirt. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turns to face me.
“Why are you here? You should be on the mainland,” he says, lifting his gaze to meet mine.
“I’m not going.”
“The hell you are!” he snaps back.
I sigh, knowing that this would be his reaction. “I’m not a child. You can’t tell me what to do, Malakai. I want to help.”
“Well, you’re barely an adult, Connie!”
“You didn’t seem to think so when you had your face and fingers between my legs,” I counter, folding my arms across my chest. He growls, his fists clenching and unclenching. “Look, we’ve got past that now, our age difference. Jesus, Malakai, that was forgotten the second you touched me and made me feel like a woman, so don’t throw that back in my face now just to serve your own purpose.”
“No. Just fucking no!” he shakes his head, fuming.
“Just listen to what I have to say…”
“I should’ve taken you to the mainland myself!”
He spins on his feet and storms into the kitchen. I watch him as he opens and shuts several cupboards before he finds what he’s looking for. Pulling out a tumbler glass and a bottle of Bourbon, he pours himself a generous shot, knocking it back in one go. I watch him pour another, knocking that back too.
“So you’re just going to get drunk now, is that it?” I ask, stepping into the kitchen, frustrated with his need to obliterate all and any sense with alcohol. “We need to talk. There are things I need to say.”
“No! The only thing that needs to be said,” he shouts, stabbing the air between us with his pointed finger, “Is that you need to get your damn arse to the mainland, Connie.”
“Well that’s just tough shit, Malakai. You can’t always get what you want.” Although I say the words softly there’s enough strength behind them to make Malakai flinch from the sting. “You don’t need to remind me about what I can’t have, Connie. I know only too well about that!” He slams the glass onto the table between us, nostrils flaring.
I blink at his fury, my own anger only tempered by the fact that I’ve missed him. God, how I’ve missed him. Missed this, this energy between us.
It’s potent and charged and electric. It zings between us both, an invisible link that binds us together even when time and distance keep us apart. The moon might be millions and millions of miles away from the ocean, but that’s never stopped the attraction between the two forces. The ocean would just be a millpond with no life and no purpose without the moon, and the moon would just be a beautiful, untouchable orb with no justification for existing without the ocean’s tides to remind it that life isn’t desolate and lonely but vast and teeming.
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