Broken Reign: Enemies-To-Lovers Romance

Really, Skye? Is that the best you can come up with?

“Is that so?” he leads as if I will say more. I don’t. Instead, I lift my free hand and bang it against my head. How in the world am I supposed to do this? I hate this plan. The worst part . . . it’s my plan.

“Yes. Sorry,” I mutter back.

The line goes silent, and I look down to see if the call was dropped. It hasn’t been. Holding my breath, I wait for him to speak.

“Ms. Matthews, what can I do for you?”

He sounds unamused by my call, and I wonder if maybe this isn’t a good plan. Maybe he’s on to me? It’s a risk I’m not sure I should be taking. Inhaling, I push down my doubts.

“I found the loophole you were looking for.” I hope to lure him in by not saying too much.

“Really?” He sounds unconvinced, and I wonder if this has all been a farce. Did he send me on a wild goose chase, and now he’s stumped about how I solved the problem?

“Yep. Took me a while, but I cracked it,” I say lightly, hoping he buys it.

“Extraordinary.”

Here it goes. “Can you meet me at my office—”

“No.” His blatant dismissal doesn’t bode well for me.

Now what?

“Would you like me to come to you?” I offer up, knowing this isn’t the plan. Tobias will never go for it. It will be awful when I have to tell him. Inside Felix’s fortress would be the last thing Tobias wants. But what Tobias doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

“That would be perfect.” After Felix tells me when and where to go, I hang up the phone, and then I dial again, this time to call Jaxson Price.

“Skye,” Jax answers.

“Jax. I need you to help me with a few things . . .” I trail off before biting my lower lip and waiting for him to answer.

“Why does this sound like a bad idea?”

“It’s the only idea. The only one that will work.”

And then I tell him my plan.

This is the sketchiest thing I have ever done. Getting out of the cab one block from the destination screams red flag, but according to Jaxson, this is what needs to be done.

I had heard Jax was odd, but this is next level.

My steps are hesitant as I walk down the abandoned cobblestone street. The area doesn’t look like the kind of place where a billionaire would keep his office, but I guess in his line of work, it makes sense.

This isn’t a normal building; this is a superhero lair. Like Batman minus the bats. Rats, however, might be a part of this equation. A shiver runs up my spine at the thought.

The street is dilapidated. The building as well. I’m only a few steps from the address when I hear a creaking sound, and a door that blends in perfectly to the façade of the building opens. Tentatively, I pop my head in. No one is there.

“In here,” Jax hollers from somewhere deep inside the building.

The door is electronic, I realize. What can’t this man do? Taking a step inside, I glance around at my surroundings. It’s exactly what I would imagine for a lair.

Dark concrete floors, high ceilings, and state-of-the-art electronics. All he needs is an older British butler to complete the picture.

“Let me show you what you need to bring Felix down.”

Something tells me whatever he has to tell me will be above my pay grade. I’m nervous to find out.

48

Tobias

“Was that Jax?” I ask Cyrus, who is sitting across from me in my library having a glass of cognac with me.

“It was.” His voice is flat, but I can tell by the way the right side of his lip is tilted, he is amused by the turn of events.

“So . . . she didn’t listen?” I’m not at all surprised.

“Nope.” Now he’s fully grinning. Not something he normally does, so he must really be enjoying this. I can’t help but shake my head. Skye Matthews is unbelievable.

When she came to me with the plan, I said no. A full stop—no. The thing is, I always knew she wouldn’t listen; it’s one of the things I love about her. How could I have thought she would? She’s the girl who stepped in front of a bullet for a boy she didn’t even know. Also, the woman who ran into a war to save my life.

“Well, I guess we proceed with the plan,” I say to Cyrus, lifting my glass to my mouth and taking a swig. After I place my drink down, I pull up my phone, dial, and place it on speaker so Cyrus can hear.

“Good thing we made a plan.” Jaxson laughs through the phone line.

“I don’t care what you have to do. Jax, you make sure Skye is safe. You hear me?” My voice is firm and final.