Page 53 of Wanted

“Your training is useless.”

Kamila’s face fell. I took a mental picture of that.

“To be a basketball player’s fiancée and later on his wife, you mustn’t be provocative. Know your place. It’s in the background, along with his trophies. You dress nicely. You speak eloquently. You don’t raise your voice, and you don’t show your skin. Sex is never spoken of, but you must look desirable. His fans must want to fuck you. They must envy him but not too much. You’re the white fiancée of a black man in a black business run by white men. You take the backseat on all matters, and you pray that you don’t cause a scandal that requires your man to defend your honor. We don’t need a black man defending a sexed-up white, rich woman in the media. That’s not the kind of attention we want. First and foremost, he’s a man who will be an idol for a bunch of little kids across the globe sometime very soon. But he doesn’t want to alienate his community, his identity. Is that understood?”

The Princess of Katantia’s eyes were wide. Her lower lip trembled, and I could sense the thoughts swirling around in that nasty head of hers. “What can I do?”

†

“Fylox?” Alex asked. He was still in his custom-tailored suit. He smelt like her, and she reeked of us, which confused the fuck out of me. She had hurried away the moment we returned to the mansion.

The charity event messed with her.

And I was there for it. I memorized every twitch, doubt, tear.

“What’s going on with her?” Alex asked. My friend had mutated into a lovesick puppy, worried and invested in the princess’ well-being.

“She can’t deal with her new role,” I told him. That was the truth.

“You call this a role?”

I nodded. “Your PR team made sure she knew the script.”

“I don’t want her to play a role. She’s good the way she is. This is insane. We said she’d be my fiancée. I thought she wanted it. She’s been with us for months, and I’ve never seen her this distraught…”

It was mean, but I had to do it. I used Alex’s care, and I twisted it for my own gain. “Then we should allow her to get her hair back in red. She’ll feel more comfortable.”

“Yes, for sure.” Alex rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ll be doing this a lot in the future. She needs to be herself. That’s all I want…”

Me, too, brother.When Kamila Ruby Wraith is herself, I can hate her freely.

A loud distant shriek made the world move fast.

For different reasons, Alex and I sprinted in the direction of the hysterical voice. Alex wanted to save the princess. I wanted to kill whoever dared to harm her. Only I had the right to hurt her.

This was a compound in a gated community. Our men stood outside. How had there been an intruder?

Alex must have ignited the alarm because it started blaring, numbing my ears. Climbing the stairs, we headed for Kamila’s space. Alex didn’t carry in public; he left it to us. I had already drawn my gun, and I was ready to extract blood, watch it flow. It would look nice on Kamila’s skin. I couldn’t wait.

The princess’ door was ajar, and I could hear her pathetic pants from all the way out here. I stepped ahead of Alex because it was my job to protect him. He was the athlete, the celebrity, the talent—the precious son.

Kicking the door open, I wished to find the intruder in an uncompromising position. I wanted him to choke Kamila. Perhaps he could threaten her life with a knife? Maybe he’d knocked her out upon her scream…

What we found wasn’t a he.

It was a she.

One of Alex’s ex-girlfriends. The hideous one from somewhere in New York, where he’d gone to college. He’d been on and off with her for years. I grew tired of her shy and timid nature after ten minutes of watching them from the shadows.

“I… I punched her the way you taught me,” Kamila stuttered, gesturing at the body on the floor. I noticed that the woman on the floor had cut her hair off, and her eyes were sunken. There was blood flowing out of the woman’s nose but not enough. Kamila hadn’t murdered. Hadn’t she learned anything in my presence? I sighed. “Who is she? What’s she doing in my room? She called me a whore, and that’s an insult here, so I… I’m sorry!”

“No, you did well,” Alex assured her. He stepped over the unconscious body of his ex, and he pulled Kamila into a hug. She shook so hard that I felt tempted to use a tranquilizer on her. “Holly and I stopped dating a while ago, but she hasn’t acknowledged it yet.”

“What?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“She’s been, let’s say, obsessed with me ever since I started playing for Indianapolis,” Alex revealed. I couldn’t see him blush, but he tilted his head, trying to sway us with his timid smile. I didn’t buy it. He had played with his safety. That wasn’t a joke.

“And that gives her the right to storm in here?” I asked. Kamila frowned at me while hugging Alex back on the floor next to Holly, panicking and overthinking. Of course, Alex had an ex. He’d told me about all of his previous relationships, the one-night-stands on the road. He was a single man in a business with a lot of whores involved. Groupies were everywhere. There was no limit for these men. “You told me you two were on and off.”