Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
I sigh. “I don’t understand.”
“Ye will. Go back to the life he has given ye in Ireland. Ye will know when to leave. Yer king will do the rest.”
“He’s no king of mine,” I mutter to myself.
She chuckles. “Aye, love, he is. Ye will see.”
CHAPTER 34
New Land
Deja
Six months later …
My feet hit the pavement in soft taps as I make my way toward the house. I’ve been running in the mornings to clear my head. Every morning, I wake with anxiety.
Ye will know when to leave.
But I don’t. That’s the thing keeping me anxious and feeling crazy. How will I know?
What will it be? A sign or something. This is driving me mad.
I push harder, wanting my life to be normal again. Nothing feels normal anymore. I’m living in his house and running his pub. None of it belongs to me.
I shake my thoughts off as two figures appear on the front steps of the house. I pull my gun and rush up behind the two.
“What do ye want?”
They both turn slowly with their hands up. I cock my gun and keep it aimed. The one on the right pushes their hood back.
“We’ve been missing ye and this is how ye greet us after all this time?”
“Callum?”
“Aye, it’s us. Put the gun away,” Blair says as she tugs her hood off, revealing her dark blond, almost brown hair.
I place my gun on safety and nod my head at the black gift box she’s holding. “What’s that?”
I’m not sure why the two are here or how they knew how to find me, so I’m reluctant to embrace them. Old habits tend to die hard, especially once you’ve been burned. This is what Cole has left behind.
“They said ye would be like this. We come in peace. This is a gift from Gran,” Blair says.
“Aye, let’s go inside and we’ll explain,” Callum says.
“Is she all right?” I say as panic fills me.
“Aye, she’s fine. Well, enough to order everyone around,” Blairs says.
I move past them and head into the house. The two follow me inside. I go to the fridge and grab a bottle of water.
“Can I get ye anything?”
“No, we’re fine. Ye should open this. Gran said ye shouldn’t wait.”
I walk over to the island where she has placed the box. Placing the water down, I then reach to take the lid off. I gasp and step back once it’s open. Then I toss the lid aside and peek back into the box.
“Damn, that’s morbid,” Callum mutters.
“Gran said ye would know what it means.”
I knit my brows. In the box on a black velvet pillow sits a gold crown. On the pillow, in the center of the crown, is a black apple with worms crawling out of it. Beside the apple is a timepiece, and resting against the side of the box is a pistol with a suppressor.
“Well, what does it mean?”
“Um, I think the apple symbolizes New York. The Big Apple. However, it’s black and rotten and the worms are coming out. A sign of death.
“It’s black, so Black Death. The pistol and suppressor, that’s a symbol of silence. Hush,” I mumble to myself.
“If he’s my king, that makes me … It means it’s time. I’m finally going to New York,” I say with a smile.
“Ach, our bags are in the car. We’ll be waiting,” Callum says and turns to walk out.
“I’ll help ye,” Blair says excitedly.
I look between the two as Callum walks away. I think I’m still missing something. What are they doing here?
Brooklyn
“We’re boarding the plane,” Callum grumbles.
“Good, everything is taken care of. I’ll send you a text with where she needs to be for her interview. Someone will meet you when you land with a care package.”
“Fine. Thanks,” he says and hangs up.
I haven’t made up my mind about the kid yet. He has a bit of an attitude. Given who he is, I’ll give it a pass for now.
Only for now. I was surprised to get a call from Phoebe Romaine with instructions on what to do next. Everything was so detailed.
I followed her instructions right away. Ewan seemed to be waiting for my call. He informed me that the two trainees Phoebe had him raise beside DJ would be accompanying her to New York, Callum and Blair.
My head is still spinning. How long has this been going on? There is way more going on here than I know about. I still have more questions than answers.
Once I hung up with Ewan, I made my next call. I contacted my cousin Felix to have him call in a favor with Valentina Donati. I need her to hire DJ when she arrives.
This was a nonnegotiable for Phoebe. She said it had to be Valentina Donati. She also said it would all work out once the two met.