Kingdom Fall: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance (Kingdom Come Book 2)

by Terri E. Laine

  “But you trust me?”

  She had no idea how much rode on her answer.

  “I want to trust you… I do trust you in many ways.”

  It wasn’t exactly the answer I wanted, but close. We could build up from there. “I can’t believe I’m asking this, but what did Hans do for you that you liked?” I wouldn’t bring up the other excuse of a human being.

  “He was really sweet. The quintessential nice guy. Everybody loved him. And I loved him to,” she said.

  I tried not to grimace hearing her say she loved him. “Did he buy you flowers and stuff like that?”

  She grinned. “You should know by now I’m not a hearts and flowers type of girl. Don’t get me wrong. I like flowers. They’re pretty. But I think that’s why Hans and I didn’t work. He’s too sweet. I think I stayed so long because he was the safe option.”

  I raised a brow. “But you said you loved him?”

  “As a friend.” Inwardly I sighed, relieved she hadn’t. “It’s not like I want a douche bag. I think what I liked most about my relationship with Hans was having someone to chill with, hang out with, hold hands with.”

  “I knew you liked that,” I teased.

  “I don’t like holding your hand when you piss me off.”

  Chuckling, I said, “Duly noted.”

  “I do like it when you touch me.”

  I tugged her from her seat to sit on my lap, a place she’d made clear she liked to be.

  “Yeah, I like this,” she said as I stroked her thigh. “But also just cuddling.”

  Clearly, she’d felt my reaction to her on my lap. “I can’t help my response whenever you’re this close.”

  She pressed her lips to mine but didn’t linger. I could take things further, but I went with her cuddling and talking option.

  “What else do you like to do with your boyfriends?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Like maybe go to parties—”

  “My mother liked to do that,” he said with disdain.

  “I doubt the kind I’m talking about. Not the stuffy ones where you’re judged on the karat weight of diamonds you’re wearing. That was the thing about Hans. He took me to industry parties with a mix of down-to-earth people who didn’t care about that.”

  “I’m not a party guy,” I said.

  “Seriously?” she asked. “The club?”

  “That’s different.” And it was.

  “Okay, I guess that’s true. I like to watch movies. By the way, what’s your favorite?”

  “Star Wars,” I said without thinking.

  “No hesitation there.”

  I lifted my shoulders. “It’s a great movie. And you would make a great Princess Leia.”

  “She’s kickass,” she said.

  “Exactly. Beautiful, feisty, just like you.”

  “That makes you Hans Solo.”

  I ignored the fact that her former boyfriend shared that name. “I always saw myself as Luke Skywalker.”

  “Yeah, that can’t work. He’s her brother, right?” I nodded. “Besides, you’re more the brooding hero.”

  “I’m no hero.”

  She spread her arms. “And what’s this. You’re taking me all over the world to keep me safe.” I was and afraid of the reasons why. She mattered. Before I could tell her, she said, “If I’m Princess Leia. You’re Hans Solo and Kalen can be Chewbacca. He’s all big and growly.”

  I tossed my head back and laughed. “Don’t tell him that.”

  “Believe me, I won’t,” she said, grinning ear to ear. “I also won’t mention that’s a total nerd’s favorite movie.”

  “Call me a nerd,” I said, accepting the term.

  She rubbed a hand over my head. “No, you really aren’t.”

  “What do you call someone who didn’t do sports in school, didn’t have any friends and was a loner who enjoyed spending time in front of a computer?”

  Though I wondered how different my life would have been if I hadn’t gone to boarding school. Would I have had friends, played sports? It was a question I would never have an answer to.

  “A gamer? Is that what you were?” she asked.

  “No. I preferred testing my wits against NASA or the pentagon security to see if I could hack my way in.”

  Her eyes widened. “Did you?”

  Some secrets were better left hidden. “I’ll never tell.” I grinned. “What about you? Cheerleader?”

  “You would say that. But no, I was the captain of the volleyball team.”

  “I can see that. I still would love to see you in a cheerleading outfit.”

  “That is such a guy thing to say.”

  “Why? You have fantastic legs. Would you wear one for me if I asked?”

  “Play your cards right and I might. But honestly, I wasn’t the rah-rah type.”

  “Yeah, pool halls are your thing,” I said, remembering the first time we met.

  She laughed. “Actually, that was my brother’s spot. But yes. Though technically, I’m the older twin, I followed him around. He wasn’t much into doing anything with the crowd we went to school with. He preferred playing basketball or going to a skate park in Brooklyn or Long Island rather than hanging with the people at our school. And I followed him a lot of times, much to his annoyance.”

  “Is he the one that taught you how to play pool?”

  “He did, and I’m going to have to give him shit since he didn’t teach me well enough to beat you.”

  “Another time.” I winked.

  Her stomach growled, ending our conversation at the moment.

  “You watch the wheel and I’ll make us something to eat,” I said.

  “Why are you always trying to feed me?” She pointed a finger at me before I could answer. “And don’t say something like I look like I could use a sandwich.”

  I held my hands up in surrender. “I promise I wasn’t about to say that.”

  Truth was, I needed to take care of her.

  “Well, boyfriend. I’ll make us something. Can’t be too hard to make a sandwich.” She winked back.

  I couldn’t bring myself to stop her. I had no idea if her plan would work, but with her, I was willing to try.

  We ate, we fucked. We talked about stupid shit, we talked about real shit. Eventually, she fell asleep and I laid her down on the sofa. I couldn’t take her downstairs to one of the beds. That dominant side of me needed to see that she was okay.

  My life had been a bunch of scattered pieces, but she was the missing one that brought them all together. But even knowing she trusted me again didn’t stop my demons from chasing me in sleep.

  Thirteen

  Past

  Winning wasn’t noble, especially against one of the people who’d tormented you for so long. You never knew what you were capable of when put to the test.

  It hadn’t mattered that I was old enough to have a private room. Payne had access to them all. Thus, his bullies had it too.

  Though Payne was gone, the fight club continued. I hadn’t known that until today. I’d let my guard down and I’d been taken in the middle of the night to face the six of them. As rage colored my vision black, I wasn’t sure I could come back from whatever happened that night.

  Only one came at me at first. The first punch snapped my head back and I was fully awake. I fought back, punch for punch, knuckles busting from the force of it. There had been an unspoken rule not to hit where bruises could be seen. But Payne was gone and none of the former rules applied.

  I wasn’t the six-year-boy they’d ruined all those years ago. Half my life had been spent at that school, and I’d used my free time preparing for the reckoning. I hadn’t been able to save Lonnie, but I fed on my fury over his needless death.

  Punching, kicking, biting, none of it was off the table. I used it all until my opponent was on the ground. The other five just watching.

  We didn’t have an audience. Silence cheered my win as they glanced at the boy on the ground, at me and then themselves as if t
o decide what to do next.

  There was no one but me to inflict pain. They’d never foreseen an outcome that would leave me the victor.

  Though the rules had changed with Payne’s exit from the school, they gave me the spoils of war. They stepped back, expanding the circle around us as the boy I’d beaten whimpered.

  I was filled with so much hate, I heard Payne’s “finish him” in my head.

  In that moment, I could have given that boy all the pain he’d inflicted on me over the years. Instead, I saw a broken boy filled with tears and curled in a ball, waiting for my worst. Was he a victim too? One who’d chosen the dark side as a way to survive the next night?

  I ended up in my room, dry heaving after everything I’d eaten for dinner had spewed out of me. Could I live with my choice? Could I survive another six years, or would I end up like Lonnie?

  A warm hand on my shoulder jerked me out of my head. But it wasn’t the six I saw.

  Fourteen

  Lizzy

  When he nearly levitated out of the chair, I had to rethink how I would wake him from his bad dreams.

  “It’s just me,” I whispered.

  He blinked several times before nodding.

  “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll watch the wheel.”

  “I’m fine,” he said.

  “You’re not. You need sleep, and you’ve shown me enough of these instruments. If trouble happens, I can handle it until you make the twelve feet back over.” When he didn’t look convinced, I added, “I know about nightmares. In my experience, the more exhausted I was, the more vivid they were. Go get some rest.”

  Finally, he bobbed his head and got to his feet. Before he left, he pressed his lips to mine in a quick kiss.

  “I can get used to that,” I warned, bringing something of a smile to his face.

  He looked far too pale, and I couldn’t wait for us to be back in the States. Though if Griffin understood my message, we would be heading to Ireland and that flat Bailey had stayed in. From our video chats, I thought it would be relaxing for me and the big guy too.

  Everything was fine—boring but fine—until heavy clouds rolled in as if they were chasing us.

  “Striker,” I called, still finding a hard time calling him Connor.

  Within thirty seconds, he was next to me. I moved over to the other seat, giving him the captain’s chair, and pointed to the clouds coming in from the east which may have indicated the hurricane had arrived.

  “Can you make me another sandwich?” he asked. “I think we should eat.”

  I knew he wanted to get rid of me. He didn’t want me to panic. Too late for that. If the hurricane had caught us, it might be our last meal. The water was choppy, but I managed to cut up cooked chicken breast for the both of us.

  In the quiet, I heard him speaking softly. “This is the SS Elizabeth. We’re about ninety miles from the coast.”

  Was that really the boat’s name or had he made it up, using mine?

  The radio crackled. “What’s your—”

  He turned it down and I looked away before he caught me paying attention. I was pretty sure they were asking for our position, especially when he gave out longitude and latitude coordinates. I could also guess he was talking to the Coast Guard, or whatever authority ruled the waters we were in.

  I managed a smile when I brought over the sandwiches. “Are we okay?”

  “I hope so. Just in case, I let the Coast Guard know where we are.”

  The fact that he hadn’t lied had me launching over and kissing him.

  “What was that for?”

  “For being you,” I said before kissing him again. “Now eat.”

  For the next twenty minutes, we were fine. Then lightning lit up the continually darkening sky.

  Striker said, “Check the lower deck in the bedroom closets. See if you can find scuba gear.”

  There were three levels. The top was an exterior level we’d used when we went to the island. The main lounge and galley area were on the main level. Then there was a lower deck I hadn’t yet explored.

  “You think we might end up in the water?” I said.

  “I think we should be prepared.”

  I raced downstairs against an invisible clock. I didn’t know if he really believed there would be wetsuits or he was giving me busy work to keep the fear at bay. Still, I opened closets, not really paying attention to the amazing décor. None of that mattered if we ended up at the bottom of the ocean.

  When I raced back upstairs with the only wetsuit I could find, I said, “I found one, and before you say it, we are not having a Rose and Jack situation.”

  My reference to the iconic Titanic apparently went over his head. He looked confused.

  “Rose was on the Titanic. They didn’t make it in a lifeboat. Jack told her to lie on floating debris, which was a door, while he stayed in the cold water. The bitch should have shared. That will not be us.”

  He shook his head. “It won’t. That’s a wetsuit, not a door, and it can only fit one.”

  I held it out to him. I would not live with that guilt.

  “You don’t have to. That can’t fit me.”

  I looked down and noticed the sizing. “The tighter the better,” I said, from the little knowledge I had. Wetsuits kept you warm by trapping water inside and not allowing cold water to circulate.

  “If I tried to put that on, I’d likely die from lack of circulation. Now you put it on.”

  “You are not going to do that hero shit with me. I will go down with the ship.”

  He got up even though the boat had started to rock with more force. He placed a big hand on my shoulders and one of the chairs to steady us. “Look at me.”

  I did, feeling all girly with misty eyes.

  “You have given me the greatest gift.”

  “What’s that?” I rolled my lip between my teeth.

  “You’ve accepted me, all of me, without judgment. You’ve given me a second chance. And if this feeling I have is love, I’ll die happy.”

  I shoved him back. “You will not die on me. I will not fall in love and lose it in the same day.”

  “If you think you love me, put on the suit, Lizzy. Please.”

  The boat lifted on one side and we went tumbling.

  He scrambled to his feet. “Do it.”

  I couldn’t see through blurred vision as I put on the damn suit and he worked to keep us from capsizing. But I didn’t give up. I raced back downstairs and looked through every corner of the damn luxury boat until I found a life raft according to the case it was stored in. I’d found it in a cabinet that doubled as a bench. It wasn’t crazy heavy, but it wasn’t light either. I left it near the door. It was probably better outside, but I feared with the rough surf, it could get swept away.

  “Look what I found,” I said, heaving the damn thing behind me.

  “Good, leave it there for now. If we start taking on water, we’ll move it out.”

  I nodded and sat by him. I wanted to hold his hand like some schoolgirl, but he needed both of them as the little yacht fought the raging waves.

  Time rolled forward like the waves. Day turned into night, leaving us half blind to face whatever was ahead.

  Faced with death, you come to terms with life. I accepted mine. I’d faced tragedy and conquered it the best I could. I’d gone to school and become what I wanted to be. I hadn’t accomplished all my goals, but I was happy with my life. What was killing my business wasn’t my ability to spot talent, but the ambitious place where I hung my shingle.

  If I survived, maybe I could open a gallery in Soho. The rent had to be better than Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Even with the free rent now, if I couldn’t have a showing because of the building repairs, I wouldn’t make much money.

  More than that, I’d found a man I could truly be happy with. The only question was if I could make him completely happy.

  “Lights,” I said, seeing them off in the distance.

  “It appears the ocean he
lped us.”

  The choppy waters had carried us farther than our engines would have. The rain began, coming down in sheets.

  “Get our bags,” he said. “I’m not sure how much time we’ll have when we dock.”

  The wind howled and the radio came in and out. We got bits and pieces about the weather as I put our bags close to the door. The boat hit the pier with bone-rattling force.

  “You’re going to have to steer,” Striker said. “Just hold steady while I go tie the lines.”

  “Are you crazy?” I said more than asked.

  “Just hold it as straight as you can. If we go to the left, bring us back right.”

  “I can’t,” I said.

  “Do you want to tie the lines? Because I can’t do both and there’s no one here to help.”

  I shook my head and switched places with him. The water was rough, and each time a wave came in, we were pushed against the pier. I worried. What if the boat pulled away and he fell in? And if the boat slammed back to the pier…

  “Not today,” I said out loud.

  Time passed as if seconds were minutes as he worked to dock us. When he came back, he was soaked through to the bone and shivered as the air conditioning hit him.

  “Let’s go, princess.” He turned the key and the engine stopped. “Go to the door.”

  I hurried to do as he asked. Then the lights went out. We left the cover of the galley and stood for a second under the overhang before I took his offered hand and ran with him from the boat to the pier to the parking lot. A lone car was still there.

  “Get in,” Striker called over the roar of the storm.

  I didn’t question it. I opened the passenger door, which was surprisingly unlocked. He reached down on the floorboard and came up with keys.

  “Griffin?” I asked.

  He nodded. When he turned on the car, warm air came through the vents, quickly turning frigid. When the car was left, it must have been hot outside. Our hands collided as we both went to fumble with the controls. I pulled back and let him take control, and it didn’t bother me.

  Then he pulled out his phone.

  “It’ll work?” I said, forgetting for a second that we were back Stateside.