Angel transported us back to Mallorca via helicopter. Only her, Casper, Kensington, and I traveled together. I’d sent Smoke and Siren ahead of us shortly after Konstantine’s arrest, so when we arrived at the airfield, they’d already be there. Ink and Crash were on their way from the States.
Kensington was as subdued as I’d expected her to be. I had no intention of pressing her to be anything but. She had a lot of questions, not all that I’d have answers to, and that would leave her unsettled.
Her comfort was my main reason for returning to Mallorca. A security team could be put in place anywhere, including my uncle’s compound. However, I knew she’d be able to relax more being in my home than anywhere else.
We drove straight to the house upon our arrival at the airfield. Once there, Kensington informed me she was going for a swim. I gave her a few minutes and then joined her in the indoor pool. The pace at which she was swimming told me more about her level of stress than I could intuit. When she stopped at the end where I stood, she was out of breath. She was also angry.
I sat down on the pool’s edge and dangled my feet in the water; she removed her goggles.
“Tell me who you’re most angry with.”
“Myself,” she responded without hesitation. “If I hadn’t gone to Budapest in the first place, this would not have happened.”
“I’m not certain that is the case.”
“It was as though the minute I agreed, he decided we’d marry. He even said it.”
“When?”
“While he was trying to rape me.”
“Tell me his exact words. Or as best as you can remember.”
“He had me pinned against the wall, and I was trying to get away from him. That’s when he said, ‘By tomorrow evening, you’ll be my wife and mine to do with as I please.’”
“Remind me, you’d been in Budapest less than a week?”
“That’s right.”
“How long was it between the time you agreed and your departure?”
“A couple of hours.”
“Which meant he’d planned to marry you prior to you agreeing to go with him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Hungarian law requires a ten-day waiting period between license issuance and marriage.”
“Why would he want to marry me? He doesn’t even know me. The only thing that makes sense is that it would be for my money.”
“That is certainly a possibility.”
“Even if we wed, he’d never get his hands on it. It’s managed by a trust, and any marriage I enter into would require an ironclad prenup.”
“Have you spoken with your mother since your abrupt departure?”
She smiled when I did. “Ironclad prenup and Kiki go hand in hand. And in answer to your question, no, I haven’t, and she’s fit to be tied. The last I heard from her, she was preparing to disown me.” Her eyes opened wide. “You want me to contact her, don’t you?”
“She seemed anxious for an alliance between him and you. I’ve wondered about her motivation.”
“Her only motivation is that she’s anxious for me to marry. I doubt she cares to whom, just that I get on with it.”
&nbs
p; “Why is that?”
Kensington shrugged. “I’ve never understood it apart from the fact that if I married, I’d be someone else’s problem. That in itself makes no sense, given I’ve never relied on her for much of anything. She certainly doesn’t support me.”