I take a moment to glance at Kai. She’s standing reluctantly on the deck, looking at Clifton curiously like he might tell her Milo has come back from the dead and we are going to have to fight him. She’s always going to be looking over her shoulder, waiting for ghosts to attack her—her father, Milo, Justin, my father, even me. No man has ever treated her well.
That’s not true—Zeke was the only man who was truly kind to her and treated her like the queen she is. But he left us all too soon. He’s a guy like all the rest of us. He would have eventually failed her, just as all of us did.
At least she has one good man to hold onto. One good memory.
Clifton hangs up and stares at me. His nostrils are wide as he pants heavily, his face is white, and his eyes bulge.
“What is it, Clifton?” I ask, I try to keep my voice calm, but I’m in no mood to be patient. If he has something to tell me, he needs to say it.
“That was um…that was…”
“Spit it out,” I stomp over to him, getting in his face. I’m sure it won’t help him answer quicker, but I don’t care. I’m frustrated with my life. Every time I try to do right by Kai, I end up fucking everything up. And I would never take that anger out on her, but I can on Clifton.
“That was Phin, the captain of The Reverent, sir. He’s headed this way.”
“Why?”
He swallows down the lump in his throat. Please don’t let that be vomit. If he vomits on me, he’s a dead man.
“He said he wants to challenge you. That you haven’t been doing a good job of leading us lately. That he could do a better job.”
“He wants to challenge me,” I say slowly, a light air to my voice.
He nods. “To become the leader of the Black empire.”
I laugh. It’s a full belly laugh. I’m hysterical, because this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I’ve been fighting to be Mr. Black my entire life, and Phin thinks with one fight he could take that all away from me. He’s insane.
“He can’t do that though. That’s not how it works,” Kai says.
I stop laughing long enough to look at her. Her face is pale, but her voice is strong.
I raise an eyebrow as I turn back to Clifton. “Did you tell him that’s not how this works?”
“Yes, but he wouldn’t listen. He said he had to come here and fight you. It was time.”
I smirk. Of course, today is the day. Father. He orchestrated this. How many people did he plant or bribe into attacking me over the next month? How many people will I have to fight to protect what belongs to Kai and me?
“You can’t fight him,” Kai says, her tone would be unreadable to everyone else. The pulse in her neck beats faster. And her breath hitches at a more rapid pace. And her eyes pierce my heart as if the piece of my heart I gave her is guiding her actions now.
Maybe she has more feelings toward me than she realizes.
“Don’t worry, baby. No one can hurt me without my permission. You are the only one allowed to hurt me. You are the only one who can.”
8
KAI
MY HEART CLENCHES at the thought of Enzo fighting.
Why do I care?
He has nothing to do with me. I don’t love him. He’s hurt me so many times, and my baby relies on him not knowing about the pregnancy. I probably shouldn’t have even told Liesel, but I needed to tell someone. And now I have to live with the consequences.
I can’t love Enzo.
Loving him would make it easier for him to find out about the baby. And whether Enzo wanted my child brought into this dangerous world or not, he wouldn’t have a choice. He couldn’t protect the child from this life. These men and women would come for my child. They always have to have a leader. The strongest. My heir and Enzo’s facing off and continuing through generations.
I can’t love Enzo, even if I wanted to. I have no doubt these five people standing on the deck would put a stop to it. Milo told the story. The look in these five pairs of eyes confirms it. Archard has said as much when discussing the contract.