“Why was he even there?” I ask, taking another bite of my cereal.
“That’s a good question I’m working on answering,” he says.
“Can I help you work on it?” I ask. “I’d really like to get more involved, Kayden. I can’t hang out in the castle every day.”
“According to Adriel, you don’t intend to.”
“He told you I want the store.”
“Of course he told me,” he confirms dryly. “He wants to go back to hunting, and he’s all but packed Giada’s bags.”
“I have some ideas on how to make that happen. But, most important, are you going to let Adriel hunt again?”
“Once we decide how to deal with Giada, yes. I am. He’s ready.”
“What does that mean? He’s ready?”
“Adriel was a renegade, trying to end up like Enzo for the six months after his father died. He fucked everything that moved and took every job he knew might get him killed. Giada going off the deep end gave me an excuse to ground his ass, so she’s pissed me off, but she saved Adriel. For that, I’ve been patient, but I’m out of space to give her.” He holds up a hand. “But I really fucking do not want to talk about that woman tonight.”
“Can we go back to the store, then? Is it mine? I’m learning Italian, and I can use the store to get to know the neighborhood crowd. And I could hunt for things for the store, and who knows how I might be able to help you in the process.”
“You aren’t hunting.”
“But—”
“No.”
“Kayden—”
He turns our chairs to face each other, his hands settling on my legs, surprising me when he doesn’t repeat the word no but says, “Give me time.”
I am instantly softened, reminded that he has stepped into my circle of demons tonight, but his still exists. They’re still breathing fire on him and me. “Yes,” I say. “The store only, right now.”
My understanding is rewarded with the warmth that fills his expression. “I brought you in here to show you something, remember?”
“I thought that was just your way of trying to find out if I would cook for you,” I tease, while I’m really starting to wonder if he’s changed his mind about showing me at all.
“Since you opted for cereal, I’m assuming that’s never going to happen.”
“Marabella would be offended.”
“We can’t have that,” he jokes, lifting his jacket from the next chair and removing a white, rather worn, envelope from the pocket. The moment his hands touch it, I swear his energy shifts and darkens.
“What is it?” I ask, suddenly nervous.
He offers it to me, and I take it. “That’s the letter Kevin left in the lockbox with the bracelet. I think it pretty much sums up why I chose to give it to you.”
Stunned, I ask, “You want me to read it?”
“Yes.”
Not sure what to expect, I open it and he says, “Out loud.”
I nod and start reading.
Kayden:
This is for your queen, should you find her. I never told you that I found mine. Olivia was strong and brave, and my biggest fear was her death. So I did something she could never forgive, and she left. A year later she was killed in a car accident and died thinking I was a bastard, when in truth, I was just a fool and a coward. You, like your father, are not those things. Maybe I could have saved Olivia, or maybe I just could have loved her until she was gone. Whatever the case, guilt gutted me every second of the rest of my life. Once the game is over, the king and the pawn really do go back in the same box. In death they are indeed equal. But in life, we are not. In life we are a product of more than our decisions. We are the consequence of how we cope with those decisions, and too often that is fear and guilt. Don’t let it be fear and guilt.