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Now I possessed, names, dates of meetings, agreements, terms, costs, collateral, and most of all, consequences.
Without Neil and I producing a child, the debt my uncles owed Joshi and Shah for the murder of my parents and brother would never be clear.
Just like a child had cleared Shah’s debt to Joshi, the deal my uncles had made required the same price, with me as the collateral they’d used for payment.
From the beginning, I’d been the bargaining chip for everything. I had the pedigree, the connections, and the money.
It finally made sense why my aunts had kept pushing Neil at me over the years. And also why they’d lost their shit when I told them I wasn’t interested in him except as a friend.
If they’d only known, until Sam, I’d never planned to marry or have children.
This baby I carried had defied a birth-control method with almost a nonexistent failure record.
Never would I have believed I’d be a central piece in a breeding agreement. Yet, why was I surprised by any of this? Nineteen years in Solon taught me those with the image of saints could do things worse than the devil.
I set a hand over my stomach.
Now, I carried the wrong Shah son’s child, and it had fucked up everyone’s plans.
Good thing I knew how to protect myself.
“The queen needs to cool it with her ire. I can hear you grinding your teeth from over here.” Sam watched me from his spot on the other side of the car bench seat. “Nothing is supposed to ruffle your feathers, remember? Cold as the diamonds in her mines and all that shit.”
“I know how to do my job. You didn’t have to tag along. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
With the threat to our child, and in turn to me, nothing outside of a force of nature would have kept Sam away from my side.
I understood his fear and his need to protect me. He trained with the King security team regularly, so he wasn’t a weakling. Still, he wasn’t Solon and had no concept of what giving a girl some breathing room meant.
“I enjoy watching you work. Think of me as backup.”
“I’ve managed countless assignments without you in tow. Also, Neil is more than capable of handling any unforeseen incidents. I’ve worked with him on and off since I was fifteen. He knows all my cues.”
“Maybe. However, Neil’s never handled this version of my wife before.” The smirk on Sam’s lips had me narrowing my eyes and ready to punch him. “The blood in her veins is no longer ice, so it’s better if I’m around to ensure she doesn’t kill someone prematurely.”
“Like you?” I asked. “Pregnancy doesn’t mean I don’t have a functioning brain, Sam. I was running operations while you were still figuring out puberty.”
“Yes, I remember, child assassin recruited at thirteen,” he muttered and then added, “Do you even realize how fucked-up that whole situation was?”
Ignoring his question, I said, “Between my team ready to activate with a simple command, Neil ready to act in the room, and Dani and Noah feeding me info through the com-link, we have it covered. Plus, I’m armed to the teeth. You’re going to be a distraction. This wasn’t even part of the plan.”
“Leave it alone, Devani.” Sam’s voice grew hard. “I’m going in there with you. We agreed to do this together. That means a King is required to be at the table.”
“A Kingisat the table, or did you forget about this?” I waved a finger with my platinum band back and forth.
The crease between his brow softened as a smile touched his lips. Reaching to his side, he captured my left hand, his own band reflecting in the sun’s light.
“That’s right.” He rubbed his thumb over the stones in my ring. “The King finally captured the queen.”
I rolled my eyes. “Possessive men are a turnoff.”
“That’s rich, coming from the woman who claimed me in a room full of New York’s elite.” He pulled me toward him, bringing my face to his.
I licked my lips, and immediately his pupils dilated as he followed the movement of my tongue. “You think too highly of yourself.”
“Doesn’t change the facts.”
A moment before our mouths brushed, Noah’s voice came through the transmitter hidden behind my earring. “Are you two going to continue your weird form of foreplay, or can we finish the assignment?”
