Kyler's Justice (Assassins of Gravas Book 3) - N.J. Walters Page 0,57
to lie. “I have no regrets. There’s nothing I won’t do to keep the two of you safe. I love you.” She drew her sister inward, ignoring her stiff little body.
Sera gave a cry and hugged her tight. “I don’t want to lose you, too.”
Eyes burning, she rocked her sister. “I don’t want to lose you, either.”
“Why is Etta crying?”
“She’s afraid,” Kyler told Maggs.
Etta almost laughed. “Why?” and “Are we there yet?” had become her sister’s two most favorite sentences. For a girl who had talked very little, she’d become quite vocal.
Because she felt safe.
Etta understood all too well what it was like to grow up with Helldrick as a father. Their mother had done her best to shield them, but they’d all been prisoners in his world.
It wasn’t up to him to explain things. She rubbed the tears from her face and offered Maggs a watery smile. “I was telling Sera that you’ll both be fine. I may have to go away.” That was the best way to put it. Maggs might be a young seer, but she was a child who needed reassurance.
Maggs’s red curls danced when she shook her head. “No, we’ll be together.”
“Did you dream it?” she dared to ask, willing to cling to any hope.
“No. I just know.”
Her thread of hope crushed, she managed to keep the smile on her face. “Whatever happens, you and Sera will be together.”
Sera took her sister’s hand. “Let’s dance.”
Etta was grateful to her for distracting Maggs. The two of them headed to the cargo bay. “We’re practicing a routine. We’ll show you later,” her youngest sister called over her shoulder.
“I’m looking forward to it.” She buried her face in her hands, squeezed her eyes together, and tried not to burst into tears. Her chest swelled, the ache expanding until it threatened to burst.
Kyler plucked her from her chair and dragged her against him. Everything about him was so familiar now—his masculine scent, the way their bodies fit together, his touch. He liked to sleep on the outside of the bed, closest to the door. In case of a breach, he’d told her. He might appear cold and unfeeling to most, but he interacted freely with the girls, answering their questions and seeing to their needs before they were even voiced.
He noticed everything.
When he’d observed that she enjoyed a flatbread that was stored in the galley auto-cooker, it suddenly began to appear once a day at meals. A newer data pad had been provided for Maggs, loaded with every drawing and painting program in existence. Sera’s most prized possession was a data pad filled with a library of books, all hers to read at a touch.
He did so much and asked nothing in return.
Still, she’d like to believe he got something out of their relationship—beyond the sex, which was smoking hot. She’d seen him almost grin when the girls danced for them, seen his eyes lighten when one of them went to him with a question.
Like the girls, like her, he was changing. In their own way, they’d become a makeshift family.
And she was going to lose it.
She clung to him, fisting the material of his shirt. It wasn’t fair. If she hadn’t drugged the king’s son, none of this would have happened. But if she hadn’t, she never would have met Kyler, the girls wouldn’t be free and safe, and they’d never have spent time together.
Maybe the price she’d have to pay for her temporary happiness was worth it.
She tilted her head back and pressed her hand over his heart. The strong, steady beat comforting her, she told him the same thing she told the girls. “I have no regrets. The choices I’ve made have all led me here. And I wouldn’t change that for anything.”
“Etta.” His gaze softening, he lowered his head. Before their lips touched, the computer beeped, signaling an incoming call.
Kyler snapped to attention, becoming the king’s blade once more—remote and dangerous. “Computer, who is hailing us?”
“The King of Gravas.”
He turned to her. “Go to the girls and stay out of sight.”
She shook her head. “I won’t hide. I won’t leave you to deal with this on your own.” He’d been on his own for far too much of his life.
He heaved a great sigh. “What am I to do with you?”
Love me! She wanted to scream the words but pressed her lips together.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Computer, send written communication. Will arrive in sixteen hours and seek an audience.”