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We enter a large ballroom,at the centre of which is a grand table. The King is sitting at the head, flanked on either side by Ma Silva and Connie. Ma Silva is calm, her emotions carefully controlled. Opposite to her Connie sits shivering in her seat, her teeth chattering loudly. There’s no sign of Malakai or Mr Carmichael and my heart plummets. What if they’re both already dead? And the King… well, there’s no fear in his eyes. His face is void of emotion. If I didn’t know any better I’d assume he was made of granite and rock, not flesh and blood like the rest of us.
When our eyes meet and he smiles that sinister smile of his, I know that today is my last day on Earth. I know without any shadow of a doubt that I’ll never get to see my baby brothers again. I’ll never get to hold Tracy close and sit with Braydon talking to him about stupid things like how long it takes Eastern to get ready to go out, or how we both prefer Marvel over DC. I can’t bear to look at my boys, at Pink or Kate, for fear I will lose all self-control. If there’s one thing I do know, the King will never see me cry.
I refuse to give him that power over me.
As we’re forced into the room, guns still trained on our backs by the King’s guards, he raises a glass of wine before taking a sip.
“Yet again you surprise me, Asia,” he says, resting the glass back on the table as he regards me. “Quite a mess you’ve made this evening.”
“Fuck you!” I respond, unable to help myself.
He barks out another laugh, entertained by my reaction. When he turns to Ma Silva and places a hand over hers, I flinch as though he’s reached out and slapped me. Not because he’s touched her so affectionately, but because she has let him.
“I had no idea, Ma, that my daughter was such a little firecracker.”
“She certainly has your blood in her veins,” Ma replies calmly, not a hint of fear or disgust in her eyes. She gives him a gentle smile, her other hand lifting to cover his. The exchange sickens me. My God, is she in on this too? Was this all a fucking setup?
“Grandma?” Connie hushes out, surprise registering on her face.
“Ma Silva’s loyalty to my family knows no bounds. She brought me you, after all,” the King says as he suddenly reaches for Connie’s hand and presses a kiss against her knuckles. “Quite the rare beauty.”
“Grandma?” Connie repeats, tears falling unbidden from her eyes now.
Ma Silva remains stoic. She doesn’t react and my own stomach bottoms out.
What the fuck has she done?
When the King’s attention returns to me, I flinch. My heart fucking pounds in my chest, desperate to flee, to protect itself from certain death, but my rib cage keeps it trapped, securing it inside. I daren’t look at my boys. Daren’t show the King how truly afraid I am, not for me, but for them. My boys. I feel them beside me. I feel their wrath and their rage. I feel their loyalty and their love.
“You, Asia, are quite a rarity.”
“How so?” I ask, humouring him. I’m holding onto the hope that Malakai and Mr Carmichael aren’t dead, and that somehow they’ll save us. It’s a childish hope, but it’s all I have. Assuming Mr Carmichael is here to save us at all. I still don’t understand why he’s here. How he got here. I thought he’d run.
“I’m here to atone for my family’s sins, Asia. Now fucking go!”Those words echo inside my head, reminding me that there are secrets yet to be uncovered. Were Mr Carmichael’s family members involved with the King too? I’m not sure I’ll ever find out the answer to that question now.
“The Bennett girls are often vacuous, trifling little things better used for their beauty not their intelligence or fight, and whilst coming here tonight was a stupid decision, I like your tenacity.”
“It’s taken seventeen years to cultivate, no thanks to you,” I respond, unable to ignore the veiled insult. Clearly women are regarded as lesser humans in his eyes. Figures, given how he used and abused Camden’s mum, murdering her as a message to us all.
My gaze travels to Ford who is still carrying Pink. She’s beginning to come around, her eyes fluttering open. Ford notices, but he refuses to put her down on her feet. Instead, he allows Camden to take her from him and despite the pain he must feel from the wound on his face, he holds Pink gently in his arms.
My heart expands with the love I feel for them all, then shatters when my gaze hits Kate on the other side of the room, and I see the pure, unadulterated fear in her eyes. Fear that turns to disgust as Monk mauls her breast with his meaty hand.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” I shout, every ounce of anger and rage I have pouring from me. Less than a second later, the cold, hard butt of a gun is pressed once again into the back of my head. Eastern grabs my hand, his touch reminding me that I’m not the only person here who has a gun aimed at them.
“Asia, don’t,” he warns me.
The King laughs.
“You truly are a Bennett, such conviction, suchviolence. I see it shining in your eyes. You are no weakling. I admire that, Asia.” He heaves a sigh as though he’s actually affected by my outburst, but a stone statue is all he is. There’s not one ounce of empathy in his body. The man’s a fucking psycho.
“It’s a damn shame. I really should’ve introduced myself a lot earlier. Things could be so different now.”
“Different?” I bark out a laugh.
“Yes, Asia. You could’ve been a part of this family. Alas, you and your friends are going to die tonight. I don’t like loose ends.”
“I would never have accepted you. You’re nothing but a murdering bastard!”
