Riled (The Invincibles 4)

I’d seen her only once before, when she was a child. She was no longer anything of the sort.

“No wonder Konstantine was intrigued.”

“Given he no longer has royal connections and Kensington very much does, he’s in over his head. Not to mention, with the death of her grandmother, she inherited a significant amount of money.”

“Do you think he kidnapped her?”

“What I think is irrelevant. Her Majesty the Queen, whom we both serve, believes it to be true; therefore, we will act accordingly.”

“What if we locate her and she’s unwilling to come with us?”

“I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that.”

We slept for a few hours while we waited for further word on whether Kensington or Konstantine had been spotted again. It was late in the evening by the time we did.

“Decker said she was seen by the same person who spotted her previously,” said Grinder, reading something on his mobile. “She’s in the seventh district.”

I groaned inwardly, familiar with the area known for a perpetual party atmosphere. I rubbed my chest against the feeling that overcame me—Kensington was not there of her own free will. “Let’s go.”

Kensington

Budapest

I would’ve left hours ago if two things hadn’t happened. First, Konstantine was drunk. While I normally wouldn’t care, I’d recently witnessed him become unreasonably angry when inebriated. Rather than risk his ire, it was easier for me to stick around and remain bored out of my wits.

Second, I’d noticed a hulking figure hovering at random times tonight. We’d been to three different clubs, and I saw him at each. At first, I thought perhaps he was a bodyguard I hadn’t yet met. That still may be the case, but I wasn’t about to go off on my own and be wrong.

I rested my elbow on the table and propped my head on my hand. Konstantine looked over his shoulder at me. When his eyes scrunched, I did my best to perk up.

The only reason I’d agreed to accompany him to Budapest in the first place, was because I was bored. Ironic that now I was more so.

I wanted to roll my eyes when he approached and sat beside me.

“You do not like my friends, Kenzie?”

I gave him my best fake smile. “Of course I do. I’m a bit tired is all.” We had been drinking for several hours; not something I made a habit of.

“Perhaps you think you are better than we are?”

Uh oh. I’d been witness to the ugliness that started with statements just like that. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to deflect his anger.

“I was hoping we could spend some time on our own, Konstantine.”

As I’d hoped, his eyes pricked up. “Yeah?”

I nodded. To this point, I’d avoided having sex with him. I hope he bought my sudden change of heart.

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“Let’s go,” he said, grabbing my hand and swaying as much as he slurred his words. He led me to the waiting car, stumbled as we got in, and fell on top of me. The smell of alcohol on his breath coupled with his behavior made me want to wretch.

I let him kiss me, but pulled away and motioned to the car’s driver.

“He doesn’t care. Do you, Boris?”

The man shook his head. “I do not, but the lady might.”

When Konstantine surprised me and backed off, I wanted to climb into the front seat and kiss the driver.