Cruel War (The Gilded Sovereign 1)

“We’re waiting on your order,” Tarian informs me.

“Okay.” Giving them a mock salute, I make my way around the car to the driver’s side and slip in. The moment the engine purrs to life, I’m peeling out of the parking spot and down to the road out of town. It’s the second time today that I’ll be leaving the place I grew up in.

Once my mother was murdered, I closed myself off to everything. Nothing could make me leave here. I waited for Milton to return; instead, his daughter came for me. To free me from the shitshow my life had become.

I didn’t notice it at first, but she lit a fire that burned in my gut. I hated her, I was angry for what her father had done, but then the video opened my eyes. Lies twisted in my chest, every word my father had told me was nothing more than fabricated bullshit.

Lights in the distance flicker and I know we’re almost out of Tynewood, which will get us closer to our destination without Abner finding us. Being a Sovereign, I can make it seem as if I’ve disappeared for however long I need. Etienne and Tarian will be the only people who know where I am.

The problem is, Dahlia needs to go to school. She can’t disappear. She has a life, and because she has her gran, her friend, Rukaiya, and her friend’s father, Fergus, who’s a cop—one who won’t stop until he’s uncovered the truth, which can’t happen. Ever.

And for the first time since my plan came to fruition in my mind, I feel guilty stealing the pretty little flower.

My phone beeps as I near Billy’s house. A message from Tarian.

All set. Her gran thinks she’s staying with Fergus and his daughter for a couple of days since it’s a long weekend. You have forty-eight hours, man, don’t fuck this up.

I don’t respond because I know the moment I do, my phone will be tracked, so I turn off the signal. The drive here was the most torturous one I would ever make. The phone ringing drags me from my thoughts as I tap the green button.

“Yeah?”

“Where are you?”

“Almost there,” I tell him quickly. I didn’t have a choice, and I hope she’ll forgive me. I don’t know what’s happened to the anger I felt toward her, perhaps it’s learning who my father truly is.

“We’re waiting.”

I hang up and focus on the road. I need a fucking drink, but getting to the house is my main priority right now. The car swerves through the dark streets, and I can’t help but glance at the passenger seat. Dahlia has been out of it for an hour. I have ten missed calls from Abner Lancaster, but I ignore the niggling in my gut that tells me the moment he finds us, we’ll be dead.

I should’ve been at the lake house an hour ago.

He knows.

Of course, he knows. But the more I can put him off, the better. Each time lights appear in the rearview mirror, my heart thuds against my ribs. Before us, the estate comes into view, and I realize this wasn’t what I should’ve done, but I had no other choice.

The ornate gates appear as we inch closer to the mansion that sits on a vast plane of land. I should’ve taken her to the city, where she can disappear, but instead, I called one man I know my father won’t fuck with.

When I come to a stop outside the door, he’s already outside waiting for me. Even though he runs a gym in town where I tend to spend most of my nights fighting, Billy has a mansion from family money.

“She still passed out?” He asks, gesturing to the passenger seat.

“Yeah, I think she’ll be out for another thirty minutes or so,” I inform him as I pull open the door and scoop her into my arms. She’s definitely out because she’s leaning into me as if I’m her savior. “He’s been calling me non-stop.”

“You sure you want to cross your old man?”

Pinning Billy with a glare, I nod. “He lied to me. Killed my mother.”

“But you don’t know the circumst—”

“Fuck the circumstances! He had a choice, now I’m making mine.” I follow the old man into the house, and he leads us up the staircase and down a long, dimly lit hallway. Billy pushes open a bedroom door, and when I step inside, I can’t help but breathe easy.

The space is beautifully furnished. It’s spacious with a large four poster bed. A window overlooks what I’m guessing to be the garden. Opposite the entrance is another door, which looks like it leads into a bathroom.

“She’ll be comfortable. You and I need to talk.”

I nod, setting Dahlia on the mattress, before pulling a blanket over her. Once she’s settled, I watch as Billy locks her in.