Page 146 of Kings & Queen

We Make Our Move Soon

Konstantin and I hadsomeone in place and watching. She’d been easy to find, really. All we had to do was follow the diplomat’s sons. One, if not more, of them stopped by the compound each night and sometimes during the day. Even their close friends seemed to stop by regularly to see her.

Logan, the driver they’d recently hired, had a bad gambling problem, so it was easy to procure his assistance. Konstantin and I had talked over a variety of scenarios to accomplish our goal of getting her. In my gut, I knew it would need to be a quiet operation.

No storming the gates, no unnecessary deaths to raise questions, and no body to clean up this time. The mess from my first attempt hadn’t gone well. I was dying to know what happened between the man who was hired and my granddaughter.

No, this time, we would take them by surprise and negotiate for her. Their sons’ lives for her. It would be cleaner this way. They would release her to me, I was sure of it. I steeled my jaw as I thought about how many mistakes were made. How many years had I been denied her and the joy she would bring? Nothing else mattered more to me than having her.

She would come around. It would take some time, but time was all I had to give. Her life was about to be changed once more. I could only hope that in time, she’d understand everything that took place. There would be an adjustment period, and she’d be granted an opportunity to acclimate before being introduced into our world.

“We make our move soon, Son. We need to know when the King brothers will be returning,” I said as we watched Mischa and the King family exit the car.

It seemed they were finally loosening some of the restraints they’d placed on her. She was dining out with the diplomat and his wife this evening. Logan hadinformed us of the plan earlier in the day. Seconds after he closed the car door, my phone rang.

“Thank you for letting us know about tonight in advance. Were you able to gather the additional information I requested?”

“Yes, Andrew Marcel is her therapist. He comes around every couple of days, and they usually meet in the library. She also keeps a journal in her nightstand drawer.”

“I see. Did you read this journal?”

“No, only the initial page that said Andrew had asked her to start and keep one to document her progress. I could check out more to see if she has written about the relationships she is having with the men.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you already know before we go that route?”

“Well, Mr. Romanov, I believe Mr. Lenkov is only a dance partner. I’ve not seen him anywhere near her room. Dr. Marcel is counseling her, and Sebastian Caruso, I’m unclear on. But I’m positive she’s in a relationship with the three King brothers.”

“Back up, young man. You’re positive she’s in a relationship with allthreeKing brothers? What makes you believe this?” Konstantin asked as I tried to channel my rage.

Anger burned through me, building to levels I hadn’t reached in years.

“Yes. Now, before you get too upset, I did place an audio listening device in her room. She doesn’t go anywhere or speak to anyone other than the men. I’m not close enough with the staff to try to get one of the maids to listen in and report back. I think once I tell you everything, you’ll see it was for the best.”

“Go on, then.” I shifted, uncomfortable with the avenue he’d taken. We’d deal with that later.

“The night they left, something happened in the drawing room before. She was crying in her room, and then Dr. Marcel coached her through the incident. It involved…well, Sir, it involved anal play.”

“Excuse me?” I said.

“Yes, and then, after several minutes, Dr. Marcel left her alone with Nikolai. Ivan’s and Alek’s voices joined in, and there was quite a bit of sexual discussion between the four of them. I do believe smacks could be heard at one point.”

I’d give it to the kid. He sounded nervous as he spoke. I wondered what he worried about the most—him bugging her room without our permission or the information he was sharing. His voice definitely showed his hesitance.

“Smacks?”

“Yes, like in smacking what I’m assuming was her ass, as she doesn’t have any marks on her face. She seemed, I don’t know. There was quite a bit of moaning on her part. I can tell you the King brothers, as well as Andrew Marcel and Sebastian Caruso, are heavily into the BDSM lifestyle.”

“We’re aware of that.”

Rage once more filled me. I wanted to kill them for even daring to lay a finger on her in any way, but in that way, it was inexcusable. They had no right.

“Yes, and she mentioned how Ivan’s fingers felt on her body. I think, Mr. Romanov, that they, um, well…shareher.”

I looked over at Konstantin, and his face mirrored my shock, then the anger seeped into his expression. The vein in his head twitched as his eyes grew cold.

“Well, again, as I said, she obviously seemed into whatever it was they were doing.”

The self-hatred for allowing her to slip through my fingers overrode rational thoughts. I had no one to blame but myself, adding this to my ever-growing regret. Nevertheless, I thanked him for the information and asked him to keep us updated on any movement on her part.