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“Interesting decor,” I comment. I hold the candle up to the framed photographs on the wall. There are a few landscape shots and others of the same group of children grinning at the camera.
“Recognise me?” Seb points at a cheeky kid sticking his tongue out. “It’s me and some of my cousins.”
I kick myself for not seeing it sooner. I’ve seen the smiling faces of the young royals splashed across newspapers all my life. This house must be under royal protection somehow. The Killers Club crosses many lines. I’ve killed mafia bosses, sultans, and the mistresses of all the above, but we don’t touch the monarchy—well, we try not to, anyway. It’s too dangerous, and some of them are rumoured to be our clients.
“You’re the troublemaker of the group,” I comment, noticing how all the other kids have picture-perfect poses.
“That’s Seb for you,” Freddie says, kneeling by the fireplace. Thankfully, there’s a pile of wood ready to go.
“Here.” Seb grabs a blanket from the sofa and wraps it around my shoulders. “That’ll help.”
I waddle to the sofa in my blanket shroud and collapse onto it. It sags under my weight, letting me sink into the cushions. Damn, it’s more comfortable than it looks.
“Done,” Freddie declares proudly as the fire catches. He comes to sit next to me. The burning smell and crackles fill the room, but the heat emanating from his body will warm me faster.
Seb’s ringing phone makes me jump.
“You still have a signal out here?” I ask.
“It’s a little patchy, but it’s better on the first floor,” he replies, then groans as he looks at the screen. “It’s Callen. I better take it.”
Seb leaves. Freddie doesn’t talk, and neither do I. We watch the flames jump around in the grate, hypnotised by their dance.
“I never meant for any of this to happen, Rose,” Freddie murmurs. The strands of silver through his hair look almost golden in the light as he pushes it out of his face. “This is all my fault.”
My stomach lurches. There it is again. Guilt. Is part of me pleased we escaped the city because it means I get to pretend to be Rose for a little longer? Or am I just avoiding the inevitable? We’re not meant to be, no matter what Freddie says. We come from opposing worlds.
Freddie’s hand slides under my blanket and finds my hand. His skin is icy cold.
I squeeze his hand. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m fine,” he insists. I unhook some of the blanket stuck under my arse and drape it over his lap. I gave their house the worst makeover, so it’s the least I can do. “Thanks. You know, you’re acting very calm for someone who watched a man die…”
“Would you prefer I be a crying mess?” I rebuff, hoping that my strong boss bitch vibes will help make the bullshit I’m about to say more convincing. “The truth is, he was standing there one minute and on the floor the next. I was looking away when Callen shot him. All I heard was the noise and… It happened so fast.”
“I shouldn’t have taken you to our place,” Freddie says. “I didn’t think they’d be able to trace us. I put you in harm’s way.”
I stare into his piercing eyes and hold his gaze. Suddenly, I’m very aware of how close our bodies are. In another life, this is a moment I’d have dreamed about. He looks at me like I’m the only woman in the world that matters.
My mind races with words I can’t speak.You don’t know who I am, Freddie. You don’t understand how much danger you’re in now the Killers Club knows who you are. I am here to kill you. All of you.Instead, I only manage to say, “You didn’t know what would happen.”
“I won’t let any of them hurt you,” Freddie says. “I’d die to protect you. You know that, don’t you?”
“Freddie…”
“We lost the first chance we had,” he says. “I won’t lose the second one.”
CHAPTER22
FREDDIE
Time slows. Everything has been building up to this moment. During the war, the royals used this cottage to hide out. They rarely use the place anymore, so it’s a perfect spot for us to avoid a group of deadly assassins… but even that doesn’t seem to matter when her eyes meet mine.
“Freddie…” Rose resists, holding back a part of herself that I desperately want to set free. “This is crazy. All of this… it’s…”
“You don’t have to be scared.”
“But I am,” she says. “Everything is changing so fast.”
