Page 3 of Triumphant Kings (Boys Of Kingston Academy #3)

Preston breathes heavily, eyes darting between mine, but he doesn’t say anything. Good. I might have withheld this information because I believed that was best at the time, but I didn't run away from my problems. I was solving them. No matter how reckless it might've been.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Declan’s quiet voice pulls away any anger at Preston that started to boil up inside of me.

“Collin said not to. And I listened. Maybe it was the right thing to do, maybe it wasn’t, but in the moment, all I could think about was getting him out of a fucked up situation.”

“And what situation would that be?” Grayson asks. “Because we still don’t know why our girlfriend showed up married and with a new last name.”

I can see the hurt in his eyes, in all of their eyes. “I’m sorry,” my voice cracks as tears fill my eyes again. Looking around, I see people coming in and out of the bathroom. “Not here.” I grab Declan’s hand and tug him towards the exit.

Once we’re outside, I check to make sure we’re alone before continuing.

“A few days ago, Collin got a call from his bastard of a sperm donor.” That has everyone on alert. “He told Collin that he had to be married to the woman he chose on New Year’s Day. And if he didn’t, there would be hell to pay.”

“Fucking hell,” Preston growls, shaking his head. “So, what? He thought if he got married to you, then he wouldn’t have to marry her?”

“Not exactly. I mean, partly yes, but it wasn’t his idea. It was mine.”

His eyes widen. “So you're choosing him?” he asks, voice filled with hurt.

“No,” I shout, but quickly lower my voice again. “No, I'm not choosing him. I’m with all of you; none of you mean more to me than the other. This marriage is in name only, I promise."

Preston scoffs. “Not to him. I bet he’s just fucking over the moon about it, ready to rub our faces in it.”

“He’s not going to,” I insist.

This time it’s Grayson who laughs. “Have you met Collin?”

“Someone looking for me?” Collin asks, making his way over to our little group.

One second, the guys are standing there talking to me, then the next, Preston is throwing a punch, hitting Collin right in the jaw.

“Oh my god,” I gasp, hand flying to my mouth as I gape in horror.

Preston curses, shaking out his hand. I expect Collin to lose his shit and hit his brother back, but he doesn’t. He closes his eyes, sucking in a sharp breath as he cups his jaw. “I deserved that.” He surprises me by saying that.

“You deserve a hell of a lot more. What the fuck, man?” Grayson growls. “She’s not just yours!”

“I know that,” Collin grunts, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

I continue to watch in shock.

“I didn’t do this as some ploy to get Sadie all to myself.

I did what needed to be done. Did it get me out of marrying that woman he had picked out for me?

Sure, because there’s no way in hell I ever wanted to be put in that situation.

But that’s not just it. Sadie has the Killian last name.

As do I now. That means power in our world, and you know it.

I should have changed my name a long time ago, but I didn’t really have any plans on playing the fucked up games from this world.

I had no other choice. That bastard can’t touch her now.

Not without losing everything he has. I did this to protect her.

And none of you can tell me that if you could have protected her by doing the same thing, you wouldn’t have. ”

None of them say anything, and I hope that's a good thing.

“So this was just for Sadie’s protection? Nothing more?” Declan asks.

“Yes,” I answer this time, stepping closer.

I want to reach out and touch him, to kiss him, but I don’t know where we go from here when we’re in public.

That's not something I even thought about yet. “I love you. I want to be with all of you. I’m not choosing. This is for legal purposes only. I promise.”

“You hear that, fucker?” Preston shoves a finger in Collin’s face. “Not just yours. Remember that.”

A phone starts ringing, and we all freeze.

Collin pulls out his cell and curses. “Time to deal with the repercussions,” he grumbles, pocketing it.

“I think we’re done here for tonight. I say you lot go back to Grayson’s for the night, and I’m going to head home to make some calls.

I feel like my week is going to be a very busy one. ”

“What about New Year’s?” Declan asks.

Just as soon as he asks the question, fireworks explode in the sky behind us.

For a moment, we’re all captivated by the show, watching the colors pop and fizzle before I realize that must mean it’s midnight.

Smiling, I turn to face Declan and wrap my arms around his neck. “Happy New Year’s,” I murmur before leaning up on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips.

He sighs against my mouth, wrapping me up in his arms as he kisses me back, slow and deep.

“Happy New Year’s, Sweetheart,” he says, placing his forehead against mine.

“Stop hogging her,” Grayson grumbles, pulling me from his arms to plant a hard, sloppy kiss to my lips. I giggle as we break apart, head spinning.

“Happy New Year's, wife.” Collin winks, earning a glare from me, but he kisses me deeply before stepping back. “I’ll call you later. I love you.” He turns around and heads out, leaving me with the guys.

Turning to face Preston, we stand there for a moment, just looking at one another. He looks like he wants to kiss me, but can’t bring himself to do it.

I’m not making this move. Yes, I want to prove to him that I’m not going anywhere. But after the distance he’s forced between us for days now, I’m not sure where we stand.

Just as I think nothing is going to happen, Preston lets out a low growl and wraps one arm around my waist, pulling me flush to his chest and tangling the fingers of his other hand into the hair at the back of my head before pressing his lips to mine.

This kiss isn’t like the others; it’s anger and passion flooding into every movement of his lips.

“Happy New Year’s,” he growls against my lips.

Panting heavily, I stare into his stormy eyes before looking at Grayson and Declan. They're watching with small smiles on their lips, and for the first time all day, I believe that everything just might be okay.

I just hope tomorrow will have the same outcome.