The Rebel King (All the King's Men Duet #2) - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,18
yarn and knitting needles. I’d laugh if I wasn’t so tired and ready to be left alone.
Not alone.
With Maxim.
Maxim follows everyone out of the room, probably ensuring they actually leave. My father lingers, picking up my hand on the bed once they’re gone.
“You sure you’re okay, kiddo?”
He hasn’t called me that in a long time, and the endearment, the love behind it, makes my eyes water. “Yeah, Dad. I’m okay.”
He met us on the tarmac, squeezing me so tight and weeping. This traumatized him in a way I think only he and I can fully comprehend. What we went through with Mama . . . I’m just so grateful he doesn’t have to go through that again.
“Maxim is . . .” He widens his eyes and smiles, “. . . intense.”
“He is.” My chuckle sounds like it’s in a blender. “But I like it.”
“I can see that. Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Maxim Cade? He’s a pretty big deal.”
“He’s a very big deal to me.”
“He’s not who I would have expected you to choose,” Dad says carefully.
“Yeah,” I agree wryly. “We met when I went to Amsterdam.”
“You’ve known him that long?”
“We hadn’t seen each other in years. We reconnected when I started working on his brother’s campaign. You’ll love Owen, by the way.”
“Everyone seems to. I haven’t seen this much excitement about a candidate in a very long time.”
“He’s the real deal. Kimba and I feel very lucky to work on his team.”
“He’s lucky to have you.” He pauses, darting a quick glance over his shoulder and then turning back to me, lowering his voice. “How serious is it between you and Maxim?”
“We’re keeping it private. I don’t want the drama of us dating to cast any doubt on why Kimba and I got this job, and it would only distract from Owen’s campaign at this point, but I love him.”
“And he obviously has very strong feelings for you.”
“He loves me.”
Dad pushes my hair back. “Who wouldn’t?”
“Spoken like a daddy.” A real yawn, not like the one I faked to get rid of everyone, catches me by surprise. “Guess I am tired.”
“Love you, kiddo. Get some sleep.”
I nod, determined to see Maxim before I close my eyes, but I don’t last.
10
Maxim
“I want to see his dead body, Grim.”
The words vibrate in my chest, rattling across my ribcage. I grip the cell phone tightly and run a hand through my hair, keeping my voice low in the front room of Lennix’s apartment.
“I know.” Grim sounds as weary as I feel. “My team’s doing everything short of draining that river to find him. You and I both know his odds of surviving in that current with four bullets in him are almost zero. The rapids alone would probably drown him, and if they didn’t, he’d bleed out in the middle of nowhere, with no medical assistance available.”
“I don’t want odds. I want proof. I don’t care if he’s face down, blue and bloated in that river. Until I see for myself that he can’t get to her again, this isn’t over.”
“King, it is over.”
“You don’t believe that. You just want me to stop harassing you about it while you keep searching because you need the same closure I do.”
His silence admits that I’m right.
“What about his partner?” I ask. “Get anything from him yet?”
“The body’s back in the States. We’re cross-referencing fingerprints and DNA with state records, FBI, Scotland Yard, every database available. We’re hoping there’s some biological or documented connection between the two of them, and that will also give us clues to Abe’s identity.”
Hearing the fake name for the masked man makes me grit my teeth. Coward hiding behind a mask and threatening my girl. Putting a gun to her head. Fury contracts the muscles in my belly.
“He called Nixon ‘Jack,’” I say, recalling the volatile scene by the river. “He was beyond distressed. I bet they’re related.”
“Yeah, I heard. We’ll get everything we can from the body and go from there.” Grim pauses and then sighs heavily. “Look, I know you said you’d be okay if you had to kill, but taking a life is some heavy shit. If you need—”
“Like a baby. That’s how I told you I’d sleep if I had to kill one of those motherfuckers to get Lennix back, and that is exactly how I plan to sleep tonight.” I glance at the closed door to Lennix’s bedroom where I hope she’s sleeping peacefully. “Like a baby.”