“Bring Ogun with you. You know what we’ll expect. It’s where you belong.” His gravelly voice echoed through the line. “Both of you.”
“Okay,” I agreed. Not that it would be hard to convince Ogun. He’d only joined to watch out for me. He hadn’t really had any desire to be a soldier, despite being a good one.
It was I that had wanted to escape. I hadn’t ever intended to come back to Ankeny, Iowa after leaving for basic training. At least not for longer than it took to get my mother and sister away from there.
I’d been saving, but it wasn’t easy. My mother tried to send me money, but I’d told her to keep it so she could leave. She didn’t have much despite our big home and fancy cars. My father had kept her on a minimal allowance and then gambled the rest away. No one knew they were on the verge of losing everything.
I assumed that’s what my father wanted from me. Money.
My grandparents had died within weeks of each other after I graduated from AIT. My grandfather had been so proud of me. I’d trained to be a medic because what better way to put my gift to use. Right?
Except, too late I realized I never should’ve left.
The call ended.
While becoming a Royal Bastard wasn’t what I’d had planned for my life, upon being faced with the surety of my future, I couldn’t find any regret in my decision. Now that I’d committed, it seemed right. Like something in my life clicked into place, settling a restlessness within me.
Jasmine would not be my father’s next victim. The Bastards would ensure her safety.
With my elbow resting on the door and my fist over my mouth, I contemplated my life—the losses, the everyday events, the turmoil, the hate—all of it.
The woman I’d seen at the funeral may have been a figment of my imagination. She also could’ve been a random stranger. Regardless, she’d brought to mind the one who forever held a piece of me—never allowing me to be whole or move on.
Korrie. My mind drifted to another time, and my chest ached.
“I’m going to marry you one day,” I said as I held her head to my beating heart. Her naked body was snuggled up to my side and had me feeling like the king of the world.
We’d gone further than we’d ever gone without going all the way. She rose up to rest her chin on her folded hands as she held my gaze. Her silky dark hair fell and tickled my chest.
“You promise?” Her perfect lips twitched at the corner.
“Cross my heart,” I replied with a smirk.
Despite only being sixteen, I knew there would never be anyone who would hold my heart like she did. Some things you simply knew.
“My mother won’t like that,” she said with a saucy grin.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what your mother wants. She doesn’t own you” was my vehement reply.
“Jude?” Her voice went soft and hesitant.
“Yeah?”
“I love you more than is wise.”
“And I love you more than is safe.”
She climbed up to straddle my body and pressed her lips to mine. Like I was consuming her, I took. My hands cradled her face as she poured her emotions into me.
In that treehouse that we’d played in since we were seven and eight, she gave me the greatest gift I’d ever been given. That night, under a blanket of stars, I stole what shouldn’t have been mine, but I did it without remorse.
She was my everything.
Until three weeks later, when she disappeared without a word.
I’d never found her, but I’d been young. I didn’t have a clue as to where I should start at the time, and it didn’t occur to me to seek the assistance of the Royal Bastards. Mostly because I’d been a little afraid of them. Besides, everything with them came with a price.
Just like this time. My gift would be what they wanted.