Stolen Heart - By Bennett, Sawyer Page 0,59
of his bottle of Jack and going to my apartment to get stinking drunk. It seems that Annika was the one that stole The Scepter in the first place. She stole it for her best friend, Claire, who is apparently in way over her head trying to rule Balvraine. Their intent with The Scepter was innocent enough. It was only to protect Claire and Balvraine from insurrection. Once I got Annika involved to help me retrieve it, they concocted a plan to put a replica in its place. That amulet you gave me worked like a charm, Ava. I detected it was fake right away.” Kieran took another swig from the bottle and continued. “After I threatened to slit Claire’s throat, both women crumbled and confessed everything. It was actually quite easy. In fact, I’m considering going into a new career field. Interrogation. It seems I have a natural ability to get people to spill their darkest secrets to me.”
Kieran gave a bitter laugh and took another drink.
Ava reached over and put her hand on Kieran’s knee. “I’m sorry, Kieran. I know you cared for Annika very much.”
Kieran just snorted.
Carrick stood up and placed Ava aside. He held his hand out to Kieran. “Come on, buddy. I’ll walk you back to your apartment.”
“I’m not drunk…yet.”
“I know. I just thought I’d give you some brotherly company and have a few more drinks with you. Help you wallow in your own pity and all that.”
“Awesome. Can Carrick come out and play with me, Ava?”
“Of course he can. Just don’t drink and drive. Well, don’t drink and ride a horse.” Ava leaned up and kissed Carrick.
As they walked through the palace halls, Kieran and Carrick passed the bottle back and forth. “Thanks for drinking with me tonight, bro.”
Carrick reached for the bottle. “I’d say anytime but I wouldn’t mean it. I’m already regretting the hangover I know I’m going to have tomorrow.”
Kieran laughed and slapped Carrick on the back. “That’s the spirit.”
“So really, how do you feel?”
Kieran was silent for a bit. Reaching for the bottle, he looked at Carrick. “I feel like my heart has been fucking ripped out of my chest.”
Carrick winced. “How mad are you at her? Enough to let her go completely?”
“I don’t know, man. I need to think about it. She stole from our family. She lied to me. How can I trust her?”
“I can’t answer that for you. Only you can judge that. Is she sorry for what she did?”
“Yeah, she is. Remorse was oozing out of her pores. And I get it. She was helping her friend…in the only way she knew how. Which, you’ll find interesting… Annika apparently is a world class thief. She uses her glamour to still jewels and stars knows what else. Just fucking perfect. I fell for a criminal.”
They reached Kieran’s apartment and went in. Kieran grabbed two glasses from the cabinet so they wouldn’t have to pass the bottle back and forth. Carrick poured shots into each glass and raised it to Kieran. They both downed the shots.
“So, you still love her?”
“Yes and it sucks. But I’m hoping my new love, Jack Daniels, will help me get over her.”
Carrick laughed. “Well, let’s drink up and find out.”
CHAPTER 24
The next morning, Kieran woke up and gingerly raised his head from the bed. He could tell it was late morning by the angle of the sun coming through his window. He realized that the smell of bacon is what woke him. Surprisingly, he only had a slight headache and his stomach felt pretty good. Jack Daniels treated him well after all.
After dressing, Kieran walked into his kitchen. He wasn’t surprised to find Ava there, cooking breakfast. She heard him come in and gave him a smile over her shoulder. “I just peeled Carrick off of your couch and sent him home. I hope he can make it without throwing up. How do you feel?”
“Surprisingly well. But then again, I have way more practice than Carrick does. He’s an old married man now and is not used to hard core partying.”
“Well, I doubt he’ll be doing it again anytime soon. He was positively green in the face when I woke him up.”
Ava scooped eggs and bacon onto a plate and handed it to Kieran. He sat down at the table and she joined him with a cup of tea.
“I just wanted to see how you were doing?”
“Helping me nurse my broken heart, Ava?”
“Something like that. It’s just…I know how it feels. And I