Page 75 of King of Lies

I need to find her and make this right. She doesn’t know all the facts and it doesn’t look good, but I love her and she loves me. I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t letting her go.

I signal to my driver that it’s time to go. I’m within driving distance but still an hour away. We need to hurry if I’m going to try and catch her before she grabs a flight to America. Once she leaves Leo’s protection, she’s not safe. Her uncles who aren’t her uncles are on another duty. There’s no one in Virginia to protect her.

I can’t protect her.

I climb in the backseat of the car and dial her number. It rings and I wonder if she’s going to answer it or not since she’s running from me.

“Hello?” she answers

“Where are you?”

“I’m leaving,” she says quietly.

“Why?”

“We had a deal.”

“We did,” I agree. I know what she’s talking about and it’s utter bullshit. “But I still want to know why.”

“I know,” she whispers. “I know it all.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” I bite out. I’m angry and I’m scared as fuck that she’s a happy little lamb prancing out for slaughter not knowing any better.

“I know it was all fake,” she says. “Every last bit of it.”

“Come back,” I say, changing the subject. I try to sound calmer than I am, but the fact of the matter is she’s not safe out there. “I’ll meet you at the castle.”

“I can’t do that.”

“I’ll come to you,” I offer. Christ, she doesn’t know that I’m already halfway there. “Just tell me where you are.”

“No,” she whispers again. “We had a deal.”

“Where are you? Hen, tell me.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Where are you?” I repeat.

“It doesn’t matter,” she whispers. “I’m already gone.”

“No.”

“Ma’am,” I hear Leo say in the background and my blood freezes in my veins. “I need you to put your seatbelt on.”

“What’s happening?” I demand.

And then I hear her blood curdling scream and the sounds of a crash.

I can’t protect her.

I can’t keep her safe.

Chapter 30

Nothing

Stella