“Don’t play dumb with me, you little slut!” I flinched at his harsh words.
Leo had never been a kind man, choosing to use his words as weapons in private, but it was still jarring to be on the receiving end. I skated under his radar for most of my life as he sparred with Liam—his natural rival—before eventually focusing on Natalie.
Keeping him talking was important, but aggravating him was borderline dangerous, so I conceded, “You must be referring to the fact that you are my half-brother.”
“I am the first-born son!” Leo roared.
Calmly, I repeated my question. “What do you want?”
An evil smile curled on his lips. “It’s quite simple, actually. I’m willing to trade an heir for an heir.”
That didn’t make any sense. I wasn’t the one who would take his place—Liam was. Carefully, I pointed that out to Leo. “I think you took the wrong sibling if that’s your goal.”
“Don’t patronize me, Lucy. Liam won’t be able to resist playing the white knight to save his precious little sister.”
“So, I’m bait, then?” Each question he answered gave me more pieces to the puzzle.
“Something like that.”
Even if Leo took Liam out of the equation, that wouldn’t be enough to restore him as my father’s heir. I was still legitimate and posed a threat if he ever wanted to rule.
My blood ran cold as it hit me.
Leo was going to kill me—whether before or after he did the same to Liam was the only uncertainty.
My life was on the line, but only one thought crossed my mind.
I’d never get the chance to tell Preston that I loved him.
I didn’t even know if he was still alive.
When I saw him today at the front of the cathedral waiting for me, the way his eyes never left mine throughout the ceremony, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was in love with him. The feeling had been growing for weeks, but at the same time, it snuck up on me.
He grounded me in a way I didn’t know was possible, easing the burden of my heavy life. He was the first person I wanted to see when I woke up and the last one I saw before falling asleep. Our history might have been complicated, but it shaped our relationship in a unique way, and I couldn’t imagine my life without him.
If Leo’s goons eliminated him without a thought and I made it out of here alive, I wasn’t sure I would survive. My heart would die with him.
Keeping my head held high, knowing I had nothing left to lose, I decided to press Leo further. Psychopaths tended to have bigegos, so my goal was to stroke it and see what more I could get out of him.
“It’s smart. Once Liam and I are out of the picture, they will be forced to let you resume your role as heir because they no longer have spares. It won’t matter that you don’t have a drop of royal blood—you will become their last resort.”
What he hadn’t considered was that my family would rather let a distant cousin take over in ruling our country before they let a depraved son of a bitch like Leo rule. But it wasn’t my place to tell him that. I had to make him believe he was the smartest man in the room.
Leo laughed maniacally, sending a chill down my spine. He was seriously unwell.
“You think you’ve got me all figured out, don’t you?” Gesturing to the two other men in the room, he challenged, “Since you know everything, did you know I plan on allowing those two to do whatever they want to your body before putting you out of your misery?”
I swallowed and shook my head. The two giant, hulking men leered at me, and a shudder involuntarily racked my body.
Terror gripped me, but I made a conscious decision to keep stalling for time, praying there was a rescue coming. Surely, someone had noticed I was missing and was actively searching for me.
“How will you continue your line? Will you remarry?” I regretted asking those questions the minute they left my mouth.
“The timing couldn’t be more perfect. It just so happens that my children are somewhere above us as we speak. I can picture it now, Belleston rejoicing that I’ve brought the royal children they adore back home. But don’t you worry—Natalie can keep her little bastard.” That last line spoke to his conviction that he was not biologically Beau’s father.
I couldn’t contain my visceral reaction to him mentioning those kids, screaming, “You leave those kids alone! They’re better off without you!”
Pain exploded beneath my eye as Leo brought the back of his hand across my face. “No one is better off without me! Not my children. Not my country. NO ONE!”
