EVIL QUEEN - Rebel Hart Page 0,22

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I pulled into the driveway of the smaller but still luxurious house that my parents built for me and gave me when I turned fourteen. At first, I didn’t notice the presence of any other vehicles, but then I noticed a familiar black car out of the corner of my eye. At lightning speed, I hopped out of my car and rushed through the front door. I ran into the living room, and Nikita was sitting on the couch, flicking through her phone.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Hi, beautiful.”

She looked up at me and smiled. “Hey.”

8

Nikita

When Nathan stepped down into the living room, laid on the couch, and put his head in my lap, I didn’t stop him. His eyes immediately fluttered closed, and I threaded my fingers into his hair to stroke his head and calm him. Not only had he endured a dinner with Kyle and Brayden after the intensity of the day, he said in his voicemail that he also heard from Deon, and god only knew how that conversation went. If he wanted to talk about any of it, I’d be there to listen, but if he didn’t, that was fine too.

Of course, I realized that I shouldn’t have jumped up and gone running over to Nathan’s the second he called, but for as long as I could remember, I was there when he needed me. Yes, things were a little off between us right now because of how things were with Cherri, but that didn’t change that Nathan was going through a lot at the time. I was the one person who understood it the most and could keep him from jumping off the deep end.

“Did you eat at dinner?” I asked.

“I did, I promise. You can ask Kyle and Brayden tomorrow. I had a rib eye with aioli sauce and roasted potatoes.”

“Good,” I replied. Nathan’s eyes flicked open and landed on mine, and my heart leaped up into my throat. The way I felt about Nathan was the kind of love from movies. I was powerless to refuse him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. Dinner was interesting. I may or may not have told Brayden that he can be the king of The Royal Court next year.”

My eyes widened before I could stop them. “Wow. I’m surprised Kyle didn’t freak out.”

“He did. Kind of. I told him that The Royal Court isn’t really as important as we make it out to be, and if being the king of this thing I’ve constructed will make Brayden happy, then I want to give that to him.”

One of my hands rested on Nathan’s stomach while the other came to rest on his forehead. “Just to make him happy? Why is Brayden’s happiness suddenly so important?”

He shook his head. “It’s not just his happiness. It’s all of you guys. You’ve all suffered so much, and I just want to make good with you. Whatever any of you want, whatever would help you guys and make things right, that’s what I want to do.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I replied. “You’re just going to turn into a pushover to make people happy?”

“Not a pushover, but I want to make amends. I can’t turn back time, and I can’t give you guys back the peace of mind you lost while messing around with my corrupt family and me, so the only other thing I’ve got is giving you guys whatever you want.”

The resonance of his words terrified me down to my core. “Is that what I am?” I slid out from under him. “You know I have feelings for you, so is that what you’re doing? Just making amends?”

“What?” Nathan sat up. “No! Nikita, I’m in love with you. I have been for as long as I can remember.” He scooted over to me and put his hands on either side of my face. “Nikita, you mean more to me than anything in this world. Deon’s out there, hunting my dad down because he threatened to hurt you, and nothing matters more to me than making sure you’re okay.”

I stared as deeply into his eyes as I could, searching for the truth. “How do I know for sure? If you’re doing everything in your ability—”

“Nikita Jones.” He leaned in and set his lips on mine. There was a strong, encapsulating heat that boiled up around us and wrapped us closer to one another. Before I could stop myself, my arms slid up Nathan’s sides and pulled. He pulled away, only