by Nana Malone
"Thanks."
I ended the call with Ryan and started to pace. I still had a massive pile of work I needed to do for Toshino, but I couldn't focus. And even as I thought it through, it occurred to me that this might have nothing to do with Abbie's past, but rather my own.
He wouldn't do this, would he? It didn't matter whether I believed he would or not. The fact that Jean Claude sought to keep my and Xander's skills fresh by staging faux kidnappings meant he should have been my first call. But something like this was out of order. Even for him.
I was putting on my coat to head down to his office even as I rang him. He answered on the third ring. "Alexi, to what do I owe the honor? Usually, I'm calling you trying to set a meeting."
"If you fucking lay a hand on her, I will kill you."
There was a beat of silence. "Is there a reason you think I’d lay a hand on someone?"
"My girlfriend, she's gone."
Jean Claude's voice was firm. "I haven't laid a hand on Gemma. Why would I? She and her connections are basically the golden goose. She gives you legitimacy."
I frowned. "No, not Gemma. I’m talking about Abbie."
There was a beat of silence. "Might I remind you that the only girl anyone is aware of is Gemma? So, whoever this Abbie person is, I didn't touch her either."
"Don't be daft. I know you follow us."
"Look, yes, I may have men follow you, for your own protection, mind you, but if you have a dalliance, rest assured, she's not worth kidnapping. Not on my radar."
"I'm coming to see you. If I find her locked up in your fucking basement like the goddamn psycho you are, I swear to God, I will—"
Jean Claude’s voice went icy. "You'll what? You'll kill me? Might I remind you, Your Highness, that you need to watch those words considering your past? And you're welcome to come here, but I haven't got anyone locked up in any basement. I was aware, yes, of your dalliance with the photographer. I'm also aware of your brother's obsession with her. But I haven’t laid a hand on her."
I don't know why, but something told me to believe him. "Are you sure?"
He sighed, clearly exasperated. "No, I mistakenly kidnapped someone. It slipped my mind. We don't do this for fun and games, Alexi. We do this to keep you safe. Because when you finally sit on the throne, far be it from me to have you unprepared. That wasn't the oath I made to your grandfather."
I ran my hands through my hair, tugging as I went. "I swear to God, if you did something to her—"
"For all that is holy, Alexi. I wouldn't. Because she doesn't matter to me. The only thing that matters is your future. And Gemma, need I remind you, is your future. Not this African girl. Honestly, couldn’t you at least find one more worthy? Or let Xander have this one? He’ll never be your mother’s successor.”
That knot in my belly turned to an ugly, oily thing that threatened to drown me. "When I know she’s safe, you and I are going to have a conversation about you saying bigoted things about her. Do you understand?"
"If you say so. She's not my concern. You are. You and Xander."
"Fuck."
"Might I suggest the police if she's gone missing?"
"They won't help. She hasn't been gone long enough."
Even Jean Claude seemed to agree with the police. "It's entirely possible, Your Highness, that she is merely busy or stuck on the tube, for the love of Christ."
"I have a bad feeling about this, Jean Claude."
"Alexi, may I speak freely?"
"So your previous bullshit was you holding back?" I snarked.
"Maybe this woman, this girl, really, perhaps she's not good for you, because I've never seen you act this way. You're acting desperate. Out of control. You're being reckless. If this woman can push you to this point, she can't possibly be good for you."
"I'll decide what's good for me.” I hung up without waiting for a response.
I had one other avenue an ocean away. But calling in my Uncle Cassius would cause an international incident. My uncle might be king of a different nation, but he had power. And power moved the needle in my favor.
Is she worth setting off a proverbial nuke for? That answer was easy. Hell, yes.
My gut twisted into a knot. What the fuck was wrong with me?
Maybe everyone was right and she was fine. Maybe she’d simply left her phone somewhere, or she was in the tube with no signal.
Then why did I have a terrible feeling something was horribly wrong?
Chapter Three
Abbie
I was exhausted. But luckily, I hadn't been human trafficked, so yay. And despite my initial hesitation, the day and night with the Daylighters had been fantastic.
They’d known all the nooks and crannies of the city that I would never have been able to explore on my own. So it was kind of fun and all okay in the end.
But I was tired. And hungry. And I knew Faith was probably worried.
And Alexi. What was I going to tell Alexi? My phone was dead, and I needed to charge it before I could call him and explain. I hoped he hadn't been too worried.
When I put my key in the lock and shoved open the door, I found my living room full of people. Sophie, Max, Faith, Alexi, a couple of official-looking people, and Nick. I blinked rapidly. "I didn't know we were having a party."
The two official-looking men in suits cast glances at each other. One of them finally nodded his head in my direction. "Ms. Nartey, I assume?"
Christ. Just how much trouble was I in? I nodded slowly. "Yes.”
"You're alive and well?" The other one asked.
I frowned. "Yes. Obviously.” My gaze swung to Alexi's. "I hope this isn't for me."
I saw the muscle in his jaw tick. But his gaze swung over me repeatedly up and down, over and over, as if trying to catalogue my injuries or something.
"You're okay?" His voice was tight and more of a growl than actual words.
"Yeah. My phone died. I'm so sorry. There is an explanation for this. I hope all of you weren't too worried. The Daylighters sort of grabbed me. And—"
His brows furrowed. "Daylighters?"
I glanced around. "I'm not sure I'm supposed to say, but it's some photography secret society of Xander's former students. It's silly really, but we were just all over the city shooting during the day, and we did night shoots too.” I swung my gaze to the official-looking men and assumed they were police. "I'm safe and sound."
The men in suits nodded at each other and put away their notepads. “Since Miss Nartey is back safe, it seems we’re not needed.”
Alexi nodded and thanked them. Faith showed them out.
Nick nodded at me. "It's good to see you Abbie. You gave us all a right scare."
I flushed. "I'm sorry. I didn’t realize everyone would be so worried."
Alexi’s voice was still tight. “Of course, we were worried. We care about you.”
"Look, I didn't know they were going to take me, and they took my phone, and then it died and I couldn't call, and I didn't actually even have your number memorized to call on someone else’s phone. There was nowhere to charge it and—"
He took my hand and squeezed it. "You're okay though?"
"I'm fine."
Faith strode back in and gave me a tight hug. "Well, I'm glad you're fine. Alexi was a little worried. And then he got me worried. And then I got Sophie worried."
Max and Sophie gave me hugs as well, and the two of them, along with Nick and Faith, made a hasty exit.
When it was just the two of us left, Alexi leaned against the fireplace and let go of my hand. "I was worried.”
I shook my head. "You didn't need to be. I'm sorry I didn’t call, but did you actually call the police?"
That muscle ticked in his jaw again. "Yeah, I did. I was up all night. We’ve called every friend you might have. I knew you didn't have class. I was worried that Easton had hurt you."
I flinched then forced myself to search his gaze. His normally soft silver eyes had gone hard and flint-like. "You thought E
aston had me?"
"I did. I was scared for you."
"Okay. I get that. But the police? I mean, that was going a little overboard.”
“Maybe, but I had to find you.”
My heart started to flutter and not in a good way. Despite there only being the two of us in the room and the window being open to let in the early fall air, I couldn't breathe. My head started to pound, and the living room seemed to have shrunk.
Everything was too tight. Too constricting. I tried to take a step back, but my feet were frozen from the panic seizing me. “I’m not yours to worry about.”
“Are you mad? I care about you, and you tell me you’re not mine to worry about. After what we’ve already been through?”
I shook my head. “Alexi. I—” I swallowed hard. “I can't believe you called the police though."
"What was I supposed to do? You were gone. Faith didn't know where you were, and neither did Sophie. You have an abusive ex. He could have done something to you. And fuck, I don't know what I would have done if he had. I was already this close to breaking all the rules.” He held up his thumb and forefinger. “I had someone investigate him."
I staggered back. "Alexi, this is... thank you for worrying about me. I've never had anyone this concerned about my well-being before, but I have to admit that it scares me a little."
He shut his eyes tight and took a deep breath, then another. And then one more. When his eyes opened, his gaze was softer, but I could tell he was still vibrating with anger. "I'm not mad at you, Abbie. I'm furious at him. I'm just furious. I don't know where to put all this tension and anger right now."
I took a deliberate step back and crossed my arms.
He frowned. "You think I would hurt you?"
I lifted my chin up. "No. But I don't do well with anger."
His hands gripped the edge of the sofa. "Abbie, I'm angry because of the way I feel about you. I was going to break every rule I've ever had to find you. To make sure you were safe."
"I don't know what to do with that, Alexi. It terrifies me."
He frowned. "I’m not like him. I won’t hurt you. How can you even compare me to him?”
I folded my arms. “He was possessive too.”
Alexi ran his hands through is hair. “Okay. Fair enough. But all I want is your safety. I’m not trying to own you. Right now, what my heart is telling me is that you're mine to protect and that someone tried to hurt you. So, I'm having to calm myself down, bring it down several notches so that I don't hold on to this anger instead of holding you tight the way I want to."
The sweet sentiment wasn’t lost on me. But I’d heard this kind of love before. Right before Eason would hurt me. He always couched the abuse as being because he loved me so much. I wasn’t going to go through that again.
“Alexi, look. I’m sorry you were worried. But this? The police? It’s too much. Too soon. It’s stifling. And it scares me."
"Abbie, has anyone ever cared about you? Anyone ever worried about you? Worried about you not coming home? Worried about the bruises on your skin? Worried that something had happened to you?"
I bit my lip. A wash of embarrassment hit me hard. My voice was soft when I answered. "No."
"This is what it feels like when someone worries about you. I'm not being a possessive twat."
He was right. No one had ever worried about me before. Or cared that someone might hurt me. Not one person. No one in my family. "I know that’s not your intention. But it feels like that."
"You’re going to compare me to him? He hurt you."
"I'm sorry. I can’t help it.” My voice was small.
He nodded. "I've never felt like this about anyone before. And I don't know what to do with it."
Though his words gripped my heart and stuck their hooks in, they wrapped around it and claimed it in a way that I didn't want it claimed, in a way that I was afraid of what it meant. "You're turning me inside out, Alexi. I want to go slow, but how I feel about you, it scares me.”
“Abbie, I would never do anything to hurt you. And I recognize that you need time to understand that.”
I wanted nothing more than to believe him, to let myself freefall into those feelings. But I couldn’t. “I do. Maybe we need to put the brakes on things for a minute.”
His brows furrowed. “What?”
I could feel the fissures in my heart forming. But the fear won out. “I’m sorry.”
His gaze searched mine for a long moment, and I braced myself, waiting for the anger to spill over. I waited for him to turn into a man I didn’t know. But nothing happened. Instead, he merely nodded. “Fair enough. You know where to find me when you realize I’m not him.”
The soft click of the door as he walked out was somehow more devastating than if he’d slammed it.
I should have felt relief. I should have felt safe. Instead. I just felt hollow.
Alexi…
I hadn’t slept all fucking night.
Abbie’s words were in a constant loop in my head. Too much too soon. She’d equated how the hell I felt about her to her bleeding ex.
I’d been worried about her, and she’d compared me to that psychopath. Ryan had come back with all kinds of information about her ex.
Oh, right. And you semi-stalking her isn’t a reason for her to be worried.
That piece of logic didn’t sit well, so I was going to leave it alone for a bit. For now, I was going to deal with my brother and his fucking Daylighters.
Stalker much?
After this, I was done until she decided she was ready. It might physically kill me, but I could do it. She was gun shy, which was more than understandable. But I knew I wanted her, and I could feel that this was real.
She felt it too. I could tell. Hell, she’d as much as said so herself. She just needed some time to get over her fear. I didn't really have much choice but to be patient. In the meantime, Xander and I needed to have a fucking conversation.
Unfortunately, at dinner I wouldn't be able to throttle him like I wanted to. But there might be time for that later.
When he finally showed up at the restaurant twenty minutes late, he threw his hands up. "Mate, I'm sorry. I was shooting, and you know how it is."
I scowled at him. "So, you're just going to show up late, not even wondering why I've been trying to reach you all damn day."
I’d picked a Puerto Rican restaurant just off Kensington High Street. It was small and tucked away. I knew the owner, and they served some killer Mofongo. So at least I’d be full and happy before I killed my brother.
He scowled as he signaled to the bartender. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Who took a piss in your Weetabix?"
"You don't know what the fuck could be wrong with me?"
He shook his head. "No. Why are you in such a stroppy mood?"
Like he had no fucking clue. "I'm in a stroppy mood because some of your little disciples kidnapped my girlfriend."
His brows snapped down. "What the fuck are you on about?"
My gaze searched his face. "You really don't know."
Xander shook his head. "I don't know what the hell you are talking about. Is Abbie okay?"
I frowned at him. His shoulders were tense. His brows were furrowed, and his lips were pressed into a thin line. He was angry.
He hadn't known. But his tension brought up a whole other point of concern. He wanted her. He wanted what was mine. I already knew it, but to see it on his face like that made me bristle. He couldn't have her. I didn’t care what I had to do. She was mine, and she was staying that way.
Have you told her that yet? So much for patience.
"You don't know about your Daylighters, or whatever the fuck they call themselves?"
"What about the fucking Daylighters?"
I sat back and crossed my arms. "Well, apparently, they grabbed her off the street and practically forced her to join their little club."
His ears went red first. I knew for a fact that was his first anger response before the
fists started to fly. "They fucking did what?"
"They nicked her off the street, in broad daylight."
"I'm going to fucking kill them."
"Aren’t they your group?"
"They're my fucking former students and teaching assistants, but I don't control them."
"I spent nearly twenty-four hours worried something had happened to her. Called the police and everything."
Xander blew a long whistle. "Fuck."
"And all along, your people had her."
“What the fuck are you talking about Lex? They're not my people. They're students. They have this secret society. It has nothing to do with me."
"I spent the whole fucking night looking for her, worried something had happened. I almost called Uncle Cassius."
His eyes went wide. "You almost called our uncle for help? The bloody King of the Winston Isles an ocean away. Why didn't you call me?"
And therein lay the rub. I'd called the police. I'd called Jean Claude. I'd had Faith on speed dial. I’d almost pulled in my family. But I hadn’t called the only person I knew would be as concerned as I was. Jealousy was a jealous mad bitch with an attitude. “I texted you when I couldn’t find her.”
His brow furrowed deeper. "My student vanishes, and it doesn't occur to you to call me?"
I frowned. "No. She's my responsibility."
His brows rose then. "Does she know that?"
"She does now."
Xander scowled at me. "She's not good for you. Look at you, the way you're acting around her."
The sting of his words echoed both Jean Claude’s and Abbie’s, that all of this was too much. "What? And you think you’d be better for her?"
He didn't really have any recourse. He knew he was bad for her. "Whether I'm good for her or not isn't the point. You called the fucking police? You were about to have the whole London underground network searching for her, putting her on their radar? I don't like what she's doing to you, Lex."
I shook my head. "I might have overreacted."
Xander laughed and sat back. "You think so?"
"I was worried. You don't know why." I wondered just how close they were.
