Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,17
question?” he snapped. “Of course, I’m fond of her. I’d lay down my life for her. Everything I do is to keep Charlie safe.”
“If you wanted to keep her safe, you’d abandon this castle and find somewhere quiet to live out your life.”
At the suggestion, Roark snorted. “You mean hide from the world. Put myself in a weak position for when my enemies come.”
“The whole point of living a quiet life is to not make enemies.”
“I don’t intentionally try.”
“Yet you’re doing an excellent job.” It probably wasn’t entirely his fault. Just being in the same room with him, she could feel the force of his personality oozing, filling the space around her.
“Someone has to lead. Why not me?”
“I’d say the question is, why you? What makes you fit to be a king? Did you wake up one day and decide, ‘I need a castle and people to serve me’?”
“In a sense I did wake up. And it was rude. Painful.” He lowered his voice. “It changed me, and I promised to never cower while injustice swelters and people are slaughtered. Together we are stronger.”
“If they obey your rules.”
“Any who don’t like them can leave.”
“With an arrow in their back.”
“You are so determined to find fault with me.”
She snorted. “Whereas you appear determined to have me admit you might have a good thing going on.”
“I don’t need your approval to affirm what I know. Eden is prospering. The Marshlands, despite some incidences, is now safer than ever. People are thriving. Growing.”
“So far. We’ll see. Things always look good in the beginning. Tyrants start out with the best intentions, but at some point, their true colors and motive always come out.”
“You think I am a tyrant?” He laughed, and his teeth gleamed around the deep sound. “Very astute.”
“You admit it?”
“Might as well. You’ll soon discover I am ruthless. My kingdom, my rules,” he said firmly.
“Speaking of rules, what happened to the woman who tried to abduct the princess?”
“After questioning Liandra thoroughly, she was released.”
Casey frowned. “You released the kidnapper?”
“She won’t try again.”
“How can you be sure?” she asked.
His lips flattened. “Not everyone has as thick a shield on their minds as you.”
A good thing it sheltered her thoughts, because she’d never come across someone as strong. He practically oozed power. Which might explain why hiding with his daughter would never work. Roark was the kind of man who drew the best and the worst of humanity. Loyal people working under him. A seemingly happy city. Even the castle staff appeared good humored and hard working. No wonder the Enclave and other leaders like the Emerald queen wanted to kill him.
“Are you admitting you invaded a woman’s mind and left her a blithering idiot?”
“Not an idiot. But she’s no longer the same person who tried to abduct my daughter.”
“You tortured her.”
“I handled a threat,” he corrected.
“Handling her would have involved her death. You let her go, making me wonder what makes you so sure she won’t retaliate.”
“As I’ve said before, she’s no longer a problem.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“If you want, you can meet her, but I assure you, nothing will come of it. Liandra is a new person now.”
“I’ll make my own judgment if you don’t mind. Which leads me to my next question, why would anyone want to abduct the child? Is it to use her as a hostage against you?”
“Among other things,” he muttered.
“Such as?”
“Let’s just say more than a few groups would probably like to get their hands on Charlotte. And not all of them are my enemy.”
Implying the child was already special in some way. Bold by nature, Casey had no problem asking, “Who is her mother? Where is she?”
“Dead.”
One word. No cause. No time frame. “How long ago?”
“Long enough that Charlie doesn’t remember her.”
“Other family?”
“None that can have her.”
An interesting way of putting it. Just who was the mother? “How did you find out about the bounty on your heads?”
“Other than the obvious attempts to collect?” His lips tilted, once more making him more handsome than she should be noticing. “They all said the same thing. A rumor in a tavern. A promise of reward.”
“How is it supposed to be collected?”
He shrugged. “On that point, none had an answer.”
“Other than the woman who tried to abduct Charlotte, did you capture anyone else?”
“Not many made it past the attack phase alive.”
“Those that did?”
“Were thoroughly questioned.”
She wondered if Roark was as thorough as her. Axel might have done some ugly things to protect Haven. She’d done even more to safeguard