Page 13 of Wedlock

‘Unless I really am shooting blanks…’

I shake my head to dispel this unwelcome thought. Fuck Angie for ever putting this doubt in my mind.

“Ah, yes,” he murmurs as he hands me my glass. “Now I remember, this is the woman you intended to replace Angelina with. Although, as I said before, I never understood why you’d bother. Both women betrayed you, this Sophie woman with Spider and your current wife with Jag.”

“Sophie,” I nod, reminded of the promise I’d given to free her, “only ever wanted security and power. That’s something I understand.”

‘And my heart’s safe with her because she never wanted any part of that, unlike Angie who fooled me into thinking she did, then took it and played with it like a hacky sack.’

“You’re right. I need to free Sophie.”

“I never said that,” he says sharply. “But that is one option — if you’re sure the child is yours; you’d have the heir the Queen wants.”

“Mmmm,” I frown as I think over my last interaction with Sophie. She’d placed her hand deliberately on her stomach and called me ‘Fal.’ I had the impression she was trying to tell me the baby was mine.

“I’ll determine her state before I act.”

I scowl as I realise I’d been so blinded by rage after Jag and Angelina’s confession, so sideswiped and surprised by the fall-out and Mother’s later assertion that the baby was mine, that although I’d briefly articulated my plans to supplant Angie in three years, I hadn’t thought through the logistics. If I’m right, Sophie is potentially carrying my heir.

“You do that,” Wolf nods. “I can’t help but think that perhaps your time,ourtime if need be, might be better spent securing that option before the Queen finds out about the total abortion your life has become — or Spider finds out the kid isn’t his.”

“Thanks for the pep talk,” I roll my eyes as I consider what he’s just said. “And you’re right — I don’t have time to wallow or grieve. I’ve made my bed, I need to lie in it. As bloodied and full of enemies as it may be.”

He nods. “The only question is, do you want me to accompany you on your quest?”

I shake my head and place my drink down near his map. I know how hard it is for him to offer to aid me when he’s itching to leave on his next search.

‘That’s Wolf. Always amiable, always ready to make a joke of everything and suggest the absurd. But always loyal. Something in very short supply these days. He’s right. I need to go home and seek out information about Sophie. Then,regardless of whether the child is mine, I need to secure her safety and that of my brother’s, since Jag’s determined Viper is responsible for all my woes.’

IshakemyheadtooustmymorbidthoughtsaboutJaguarandthetextI’d received from him this evening before permanently blocking his number.

“I have important information for you regarding Viper. If you won’t take him in hand, I will.”

I may need to kill my former best friend sooner rather than later. My reasons are piling up.

“Wolf, I need to go home, and you need to start here,” I point to a desolated area in the mountains near Bulgaria. “We haven’t searched there yet, and it’s out of the way enough to be intriguing.”

“True,” he frowns as he considers the spot. “I’ve searched all around the villages there but never hit the mountains themselves. Why not? Perhaps I’ll also take up yodelling.”

He offers me his hand and I shake it firmly, clapping him on the shoulder.

“I appreciate you, Wolf,” I say quietly as I meet his eyes.

“And I appreciate fine wine, women, and song,” he says quietly, “all of which will be waiting for you upon your return — hopefully with fewer shadows on your mind and cares on your shoulders.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I nod, turning to leave.

“Oh, and Falcon,” he says to my retreating back.

I spin, the smile on my face slipping as I see his dark expression.

“Don’t kill Jag.”

11

“I thought you should know that Jaguar agreed to visit your brother,” Eleanor says as an aside as she sits sipping her tea and smiling down at the baby in his basket between us.

“Oh.”