AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Then we do more investigating,” Cal says, flipping off his phone that he’s been using to send text messages the whole time we’ve been talking. “We’ll find them. Whatever it takes. It'll be…”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare say it’ll be okay. We all know that’s bullshit.”
“Asia, Cal is doing his best,” Mr Carmichael begins.
I whip my head around and glare at him. “His best ain’t good enough. You know as well as I do that when it comes to people like Monk, like theKing,” I spit, refusing to call him my father, “that we have to fight fire with fire.”
Letting go of Kate’s hand, I stand. Eastern stands too, moving towards me, but despite my need to collapse into his arms and beg him to take the pain away, I reach for Ford instead. He gets up, his fingers twining with mine, holding me tight. I need his strength and he has it in abundance. “I want them dead! Nothing else is good enough.”
The room stills. Even Grim’s eyes widen before she grits her jaw and nods with understanding. “We all do. But that ain’t gonna happen. At least, not whilst he’s still got the people you love. We get them out and then you get to deal with the King. You have my word.”
“Grim!” Hudson warns. “She’s just a kid. You can’t offer her vengeance like it’s a fucking sweet.”
“Asia’s been screwed over enough. If she wants revenge who am I to say she can’t have it?”
“Now hold on a minute,” Mr Carmichael says, stepping in. “Asia isn’t going to be killing anyone.”
A look passes between Grim and Mr Carmichael, one I can’t interpret. I laugh bitterly. “But here’s the thing, Mr Carmichael, I’m not sure I see any other alternative. Tell me, did you have one when you put that man who killed your brother into a wheelchair?” I cock my head, narrowing my eyes at him. When he opens his mouth to respond, I wave my hand in the air. “Actually, don’t answer that because I’m pretty sure you didn’t have to fuck that guy up like you did. Your alternative was to walk away except youdidn’t. I’m not walking away from this.”
“I don’t want that for you,” Mr Carmichael responds.
“Fuck what you want!” I snap back.
“Wedon’t want that for you,” Bryce says this time, concern filling his eyes.
“You don’t know me. Why would you even care?” I accuse, the kid within me who’s never had anyone looking out for her, or even considering her wellbeing, raises its ugly head.
“Because I know what it’s like to have a father who’s evil. I know what it’s like to have a father who hurts the people you love just so he can hurt you more. And I know what it’s like to have a mother who’s weak, putting her own needs first. I understand your anger, your pain. I really fucking do. But I also know that revenge is only sweet when you don’t fuck your own life up to get it. You’re just a kid and murdering someone isn’t what we want for you.”
“It doesn’t matter what you want. I might bejusta kid in your eyes, but I know how this works. Even if we do manage to get Pink and Camden’s mum out unharmed, he will hunt us all down. He won’t let this go. I don’t even know the man, but I know that much.”
“Asia’s right. He will.” Camden gets to his feet too, determination set in his jaw. His hands are balled into fists and the tension between us all grows. “But for once I agree with Mr Carmichael, and with you, Bryce,” he says, shocking me. Camden’s piercing topaz eyes bore into mine as he continues. “You’re not a murderer, Asia.”
Sonny scrapes a hand over his face. “We won’t let you ruin your life.”
I shake my head. “You see something that isn’t there. You saw how I was with Monk. I’m capable of hurting people.”
“Asia, knocking someone out and ending someone’s life are two very different things,” Eastern says, the love he feels for me softening his gaze.
“You think I couldn’t do it? You think I couldn’t kill that bastard for what he’s done?” I seethe.
“No one here doubts that you could do it, Asia, but that doesn’t meanyoushould,” Hudson sighs.
“I’m just as fucked up as the rest of you.”
“You’re wrong. I see what’s within you and it’s so fuckinggood. Why do you think we’re all so drawn to you, Asia?” Camden responds, angrily. “It isn’t just because you’re strong, brave, and fucking beautiful, it’s because despite all the crap life has thrown at you, you still have a conscience, a sense of right and wrong. You protect the ones you love. Nothing you do is selfish.”
“Killing the Kingisprotecting the ones I love,” I argue with him.
Bryce shakes his head. “No, it isn’t. That’s called revenge and it will ruin you.”
“None of that matters now.”
“Yes, it fucking does. It matters.Youmatter to us,” Sonny insists.
“I won’t let him change you into someone you don’t recognise,” Camden continues, not taking his eyes off me for one second. “I lost who I was because ofhimand I’m finding my way back to that person because ofyou.”
“I agree,” Ford says, breaking his silence. “The payment is too high. You kill him, you’ll lose a piece of yourself and we all want you whole, Asia, because you’re the only person who makes us feel the same way.”
I turn to look at Ford. “So what do we do then? Beg the King to give Pink back, to release Camden’s mum and hope that he finds it in his heart to do that? Don’t make me laugh.” I can’t help snapping, immediately regretting my sharpness given he is being so… sweet. It must’ve taken a lot to say what he just did, to bare a piece of himself like that. He winces, hurt flashing briefly across his gaze before he shuts it down quickly.
“No. We play the long game,” Camden says, drawing my attention back to him. “Grim will confirm Mum and Pink’s whereabouts. Then we wait for his instructions.”
“And then?”
“And then when he least expects it, we finish him.Iwill finish him. I’m already tarnished, Asia. I’ve already done so many bad things in his name, things even you aren’t aware of. But this one last bad thing, I’ll do it, so you don’t have to.”
With that, Camden turns on his heel and strides from the room, leaving me more heartbroken than when I’d entered it. Thing is, they may believe I’m good, salvageable, worthy of their protection, but I know better. The King’s blood runs through my veins after all.
I’ll be the one to kill him.
