Page 144

The Dead Man

O nce we are all dressed, we sit in the living room, waiting for them to come and collect us to meet with Regina again.

Two explosions went off during the night and another one sounds now.

It comforts me, letting me know Dray is still out there, and by now I’m betting Regina is plenty annoyed.

She keeps us waiting and I am starting to get annoyed also when the door finally opens.

“She is waiting for you,” the guard announces, and I stand up slowly, checking over my golden holster before stretching, taking my time. She kept us waiting, so I will keep her waiting as well.

The guys fall in behind me as we are led to the elevator and back up to the meeting room we started in yesterday.

Regina is in there when we arrive. She takes me in, frowning when she realises I’m not in the dress, and when she sees the golden holster with a knife, her eyes flash in displeasure.

I grin and then almost laugh when I step in, revealing Jax behind me.

Her eyes go wide, looking from me to him, but she doesn’t call us out, since that would make her look weak and it’s not just her in here today.

All the other men are back, and there are a few more who she introduces as parliament as I head to the seat at the head of the table and sit again, watching while she glares as I take her chair once more.

“Have you come to an agreement?” I inquire straight away, cutting through the bullshit .

“Not yet, we are meeting to discuss that today. We had other matters which occupied us yesterday. Ones I thought you might like to be part of.” She stands then, smoothing out her skirt.

“We were investigating the bombs, if you would follow me,” she calls, and I stand as we all file out of the room.

She falls in next to me as she leads us to an open area of the office space.

“We found someone inciting the outers and brought him here. He was tortured for information and then killed of course.” She dabs her mouth then, like the thought is distasteful, but my heart freezes.

Strand? No, she would have known he was one of hers...Dray? No, it can’t be.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about it, would you?” she asks.

“Me? Don’t blame your mess on me,” I snap. Playing cool and calm when I am anything but, with my heart clawing at my insides and banging against my ribs to get out as my head screams at me, is the hardest thing I have ever done.

No, it can’t be him.

He’s indestructible.

No one can kill the Seeker King.

The ten steps it takes to get down to where her guards are blocking someone on the floor, only his feet visible, are the longest of my life.

My heart is in my throat and bile claws at me as I repeat his name in my head like a mantra, trying to tell myself I’m wrong, but I have a bad feeling. A really bad fucking feeling.

When we stand in front of the guards, I nearly throw up, but I hold it down as they step aside to show me the man face down on the floor in a puddle of his own blood, my own icy and frozen in my veins.

It’s not him.

I have never been so happy to see a dead body before, but I don’t let that relief show knowing she is scrutinising my face for any hints of recognition. When she doesn’t find what she wants, she almost snarls but holds it in. “We thought he might be one of yours.”

“Sorry to disappoint.” I shrug.

She steps closer then. “And how did you find your other man?” she questions, her voice low and not carrying.

“Secrets, Regina, are what the Cities runs on. You should know that. If you haven’t decided yet, maybe we should let you.

The clock is ticking after all. If I’m not back with my armies tomorrow, they will attack.

Tick tock,” I call, before turning and leaving, heading for the elevator.

She wanted time, she wanted to wound me, and she was getting too close to the truth.

Hopefully reminding her of what is waiting just outside her gates, and being left with no other options, she will agree to my terms .

“You will have your answer in the morning,” she retorts, and I ignore her as I step onto the elevator. When the doors close, a relieved breath hisses through my teeth. Fucking hell, I just saw ten years taken of my life right there.

Shit, another night in this snake’s den. At least I have my men to pass the time with.

We are escorted back to our rooms, and just when the door shuts an explosion rocks the building. I rush to the window to see the plume of smoke not two buildings down. Strand and Dray are getting daring. Hopefully, it will put more pressure on Regina and her government.

We are brought dinner and then locked up again. I start to get really frustrated. I’m not one to be locked away with nothing to do. Usually, I’m on the move all the time. Out on the open road of the Wastes, not locked in this gilded prison.

When they get bored with watching me pace, Thorn snags me around the waist and pulls me down on top of him on the sofa, forcing me to cuddle into him as the guys and him talk about everything and anything, including their life before they met me here in the Cities.

Having been to the outers, I can understand why they were getting out now.

“Do you have any family here?” I ask out of the blue, and they stop talking to look at me.

“Nope, they are all dead.” Drax shrugs. “Nothing left for us here. We have some old friends, but no one that would risk the wrath of Regina and her lackies.”

That makes me feel better, petty, but true.

I guess all we have is each other now. I force myself to relax into Thorn and join in their conversation.

My body is still sore from our reunion and Drax must notice me shifting with a wince, because he hops up and disappears.

I watch him go with a frown until I hear water running in the bathroom.

He comes back a couple of minutes later and offers me his hand.

“A hot bath will help,” he says sweetly.

I place my hand in his and let him lead me from the room.

Maxen kisses me on the way past and carries on talking to Jax about what he found out there.

I know they will let me know anything important, so I leave them to it and let Drax tug me into the bathroom where a bath is nearly half full.

I slip out of my clothes, leaving my remaining daggers on the sink, and slip into the warm water as it is still running.

He shuts the toilet lid and perches there, swirling his finger in the bathwater before adding some pearlescent liquid.

My eyes widen when the bath begins to froth up and he laughs.

I grin and lean back, unashamed to be naked.

He looks his fill, but keeps his hands to himself and lets us lapse into silence as I float in warm water.

He was right, it relaxes my muscles and I do feel better, but it also makes me think of Dray.

It was a close call today. I never knew I could feel fear like that, but Dray has always seemed so indestructible, yet faced with his death, I was a fucking mess and now sitting in the bath, the thing we always do together, I find myself aching for his arms just to know he is okay.

Drax must sense that, because he kneels next to the bath and grabs my leg, starting to massage in the soap all the way from toe to hip before doing the other, his arms getting wet as he leans over me.

The caring and soft way he is looking after me brings tears to my eyes, which I blink away and let him work me until I’m putty.

He even washes my hair and shaves my legs for me.

And when he’s done, I do feel better, refreshed and ready to take them on again.

He pulls me from the tub and drains it. While I dry off, he heads out into the room.

I finger comb my hair before throwing it back wet, and I’m just about to leave when he comes in with a shirt for me to wear.

“I’ll wash your clothes. Go and sit with my brother, won’t you?

” He kisses me on the cheek and I grin as I slip into his shirt, noting he’s now shirtless.

Cheeky bastard. I check out his muscles, but leave the bathroom when he spanks me with my jeans, making me laugh and go in search of his brother, who is sitting alone on the sofa, watching Thorn and Maxen arm wrestle over the coffee table.

When he sees me coming, his eyes light up and he moves over.

I recline next to him, cuddling into his side, and he draws me closer, so I throw my legs over his and curl into his side, leaning my head there as I watch Maxen and Thorn. Jax leans down and kisses my head softly, sighing in happiness, content to lapse into silence as long as I am with him.

Eventually, Drax joins us, cuddling into my other side and we take turns arm wrestling, they all beat me, not bothering to let me win.

We laugh, we talk, and I feel happy again.

Like a weight has been lifted with them by my side, but what I told Regina is true, the clock is ticking, and I can feel each move of the hand.

With the countdown on, it splits my attention and I realise that it’s always like this.

We are always waiting for something to happen or we are on the move, fighting something, making our snatched moments meaning so much more…

but I can’t wait to not have to snatch moments one day.

For the rest of my life to be like this, filled with my men, happiness, and family, but I can’t help but feel it would be better out in the sands instead of this pretty prison…

I never believed in fairy tale s, but these guys have me believing.

Too bad the fairy tales always turned sad before the characters live happy ever after.