Arranged love

GRAVE

I’M SITTING AT my desk when my office phone rings. I pick it up. “Hello?”

“Sir,” Nigel speaks. “I’ve got a Natalie down here wanting to speak to you.”

“Send her up.” I order then hang up the phone. I close out the emails on my computer and stand from my desk. I walk over to my door and open it just as she storms in.

She’s got her head down and her hair covering her face. She’s dressed in a pair of shorts and overly large t-shirt with tennis shoes.

“Hey,” I run a hand through my hair. “I don’t have much time.” I’ve got a meeting with the Kings and Luca in twenty minutes. I can’t miss it. I can’t even afford to be a second late.

“I understand,” she sniffs. “I can go …”

She turns to leave, and I grab her upper arm, pulling her to a stop. “I’ve got time. Just not a lot of it. What is it?”

She looks up at me, her hair falling away from her face and I see her black eye. I sigh, running a hand down my face. “Did Randy do this to you?”

She wraps her arms around her chest and nods once. “He came over last night to pick up Brent. I had a man over. Things got heated.”

“And he still managed to touch you? With a man there?” The motherfucker didn’t try to stop him?

“Yeah, he told my company to get the fuck out and he ran.”

My jaw tightens. “Give me Randy’s address?”

Her eyes widen. “No, Grave. That’s not why I came here.”

“Then why …?”

“I was wondering if you could contact that judge?” She licks her busted lip. “See if he could help?”

I place my hands on either side of her face. “I’ll take care of it.”

Tears fill her eyes and she wraps her arms around me, hugging me. “Thank you.” She sniffs.

I rub her back gently and let out a long breath. If he doesn’t have any warrants, I’ll make sure he gets some. Ones that will lock him up for good. “Where’s Brent?” I ask. “Did he touch him too?”

She pulls away and wipes her eyes. “No. He’s at the daycare. Randy was so pissed last night that he didn’t even take him.

I nod. “I want you to hide out for a while.”

“Grave, I can’t afford to miss work.”

I walk over behind my desk, open up the drawer and pull out some cash. Closing it, I walk back over to her. “This is five thousand.”

Her eyes widen. “No …”

“Yes.” I remove the purse from her shoulder and throw the money in it. “I’m going to get you and Brent a room here. Go downstairs and Nigel will make sure you’re checked in.”

“He’ll find me,” she argues.

“No, he won’t. The room will be under a false name. There will be no reason for him to look for you here.”

Her shoulders fall. I know the look on her face and she’s about to argue with me.

“This isn’t about you. This is about Brent.” I remind her.

“But you’re going to take care of Randy?”

“I am.” I assure her. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t be looking for you tomorrow. Or the next. I can’t promise you that I’ll have it taken care of right away.”

She nods and chokes out. “You’re right. Thank you, Grave.”

“Call me if you need anything. Do you hear me?” Five thousand won’t last her long, but it’s a start.

She reaches up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine just as my door opens. “Meeting in five,” my brother calls out.

Nat pulls away quickly and averts her eyes to the floor before I even had a chance to kiss her back. But I had no plan to do so.

I glare up at him. “I can fucking read a clock,” I snap. His blue eyes drop to her legs and slowly look over the back of her as she presses her front into mine like a timid cat.

“Don’t be late,” he warns and then slams my door shut.

APRIL

I’m tired, and I’m starving. I haven’t eaten much. Don’t really have the appetite after all the unanswered calls and ignored texts I’ve sent Ethan. He didn’t even bother showing up at the shop today. Alexa sent me a text late last night inviting me out to the bar tonight, but I declined. I’m not in the mood to be around a crowd.

I stand in the cooler, searching on my phone. I can’t find anything about what the fuck a Queen is or what connection it has to do with Kingdom. I did, however, find out that four Kings own it. Titan, Bones, Cross, and Grave.

He fucking owns a quarter of the hotel and casino, and I’m having a hard time processing that information. The answer has been in front of me the entire time. That’s why Ethan asked if he had given me that card. He was talking about Grave. He knows who he is. Grave holds all the answers I need. I just need to get his cell number off his info that he left when he ordered the flowers for his mother.

I go back to the office and sit down at the desk. Going through the computer, I pull up his information and look at his number. What am I going to say to him? Why would I be calling? Making up my mind, I let out a deep breath before I type in his number on my cell.From NôvelDrama.Org.

It rings a couple of times before I hear his voice. “Hello?” The single word comes out rough. I look at the clock and silently curse myself. It’s still early. I haven’t even opened the shop yet. “Hello?” he asks, sounding irritated this time.

“Hi,” I say and flinch. Way too chipper.

“Who is this?” he growls, getting angrier by the second.

“It’s April. From Roses,” I clarify.

“Oh.” His voice changes to surprised.

“I’m sorry if I woke you,” I rush out.

“No, no. You’re fine. What’s up? Everything okay?”

I frown. That’s an odd question. But I guess so is this unexpected phone call. “Yes, of course. I was just checking in to see what your mother thought of the flowers.”

He’s silent for a long second. So long that I pull my cell away from my ear to make sure the connection isn’t lost. Finally, he speaks in a clipped voice. “Loved them.”

“Great.” I sigh in relief. “I’m glad to hear that.”

He clears his throat. “Is that really why you called, April?”

He’s caught me. I’m like a window, people can see right through my shit. I never was good at lying. Looking down at my black nails, I try a different approach. “I was actually wondering if you would like to grab a cup of coffee. There’s a little shop just a couple of doors down.” I bite my bottom lip to keep from rambling.

“Sure.” He sighs heavily. “I can meet you there in an hour.”

“Oh.” I was not expecting that answer. “I can do that.” I’ll just have to close the shop since I know Ethan won’t be showing up to help. “I’ll meet you there.”