LOGINI still hadn’t slept. I paced my office, unable to go back to our apartment. Sutton’s scent was everywhere. It permeated the walls. I thought it would be a comfort but it only fueled my anxiety. So did Max’s failure to answer my calls. And Helene. Sutton’s phone was still off and I hadn’t heard anything about when they would get home. So, I wasn’t prepared for Max to walk through the door.I rushed to leave, knowing she would be in our apartment. I could fix this. This would all be over soon and I could hold her.But Max stepped in front of me, blocking my path. Jaden had come in behind him and was also blocking the doorway.“Move,” I barked. “I need to see Sutton.”Max’s expression shifted. Pain and even fear filled his eyes as his jaw muscles clenched and released anxiously. I looked to Jaden. The look on his face just as grave.“Where is she?” I demanded, my voice eerily calm. He didn’t answer. “Max, where the hell is Sutton?”“She… she wouldn’t come home,” Max told me.Numbness fl
“Sutton, please, just come home,” Max pleaded. “I swear, Lucas can explain everything.”“I don’t want his explanation,” I replied as I sat by the window, still in my night clothes with no intention of changing.Max huffed. “He deserves a chance to explain.”“Does he?” I asked. “Even if I give him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn’t actually here to sneak around with Sera, then the question still stands—why else would he be here? The only other reason I could imagine is something to do with this… vendetta he has against my uncle. Meaning he not only went behind my back after I asked him to drop it. Either way, he’s been keeping something from me.”“Which is why you should come home,” Max argued. “He’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”“No,” I said sadly. “I’m not so sure he will.”“Sutton…”“I just need some space,” I snapped. “Please, just go.”Helene came over and sat in the chair across from me. “Sutton, are you sure about this?” she asked. “It may be easier to hear him out.
We made it back to the car and I helped Sera get into the backseat before turning to Max.“Rodney is waiting at the airstrip,” I told him as I put the keys in his hand. “Get her on the plane and call Dr. Callahan. Have her waiting for them to check Sera over.”I didn’t wait for a response before I started walking back toward the palace entrance. A hand grabbed my arm, yanking me back.“Where are you going?” Soloman hissed. “You can’t go back in there. They can’t know you were here.”“I don’t give a fuck if they find out I’m here,” I growled viciously. “The only person I care about knowing already found out. I’m going to Sutton.”“And how are you going to do that?” he retorted. “Even if you find her room, what happens if she doesn’t let you in? Are you going to wake up half the country pounding on her door? How do you think Osric would react to that? How many questions do you think he’d start asking? Right, you need to finish fixing this mess. Then you can fix things with Sutton.”Max
“Sera, we’ll…”“No,” she insisted, shaking her head. “After all this, I’m not leaving without it.”I shared nervous glances with Max and Soloman. I wanted to say it didn’t matter. That we worry about that when she was safe and had been seen by a doctor. But I couldn’t. I needed that key. And I needed it before someone realized it was missing. If either Raphe or Nomi realized it was gone, I had to have the evidence deciphered before they suspected I was involved.“Where is it?” I asked Sera. “I’ll get it.”“I…” She put a hand to her head, obviously in pain. “I hide it. They pulled me out of the way of a group of people. Up next to the wall. I… I dropped it in a pot. Or maybe a vase.”“Where?” I pressed. “Were you still in the royal wing? The main building?”“We had left the royal wing,” she said. “But… I don’t remember the way we took.”I suppressed a curse. Not wanting her to feel even worse than she already did. But right now, she was the only hope we had of finding that key. I didn’
“Sera, we’ll…”“No,” she insisted, shaking her head. “After all this, I’m not leaving without it.”I shared nervous glances with Max and Soloman. I wanted to say it didn’t matter. That we worry about that when she was safe and had been seen by a doctor. But I couldn’t. I needed that key. And I needed it before someone realized it was missing. If either Raphe or Nomi realized it was gone, I had to have the evidence deciphered before they suspected I was involved.“Where is it?” I asked Sera. “I’ll get it.”“I…” She put a hand to her head, obviously in pain. “I hide it. They pulled me out of the way of a group of people. Up next to the wall. I… I dropped it in a pot. Or maybe a vase.”“Where?” I pressed. “Were you still in the royal wing? The main building?”“We had left the royal wing,” she said. “But… I don’t remember the way we took.”I suppressed a curse. Not wanting her to feel even worse than she already did. But right now, she was the only hope we had of finding that key. I didn’
I owed Soloman for the strings he managed to pull so quickly. Without him, we never would have been able to land in the private airport in the capital. Let alone had a car waiting for me in the parking lot. I told Uncle Rodney to wait with the plane while went to the palace to handle things.Not that I knew how I was going to handle this mess. I had been desperately trying to work out a plan on the flight here but my head just wouldn’t focus. No doubt thanks to the lack of sleep and the fact that I didn’t know the last time I’d consumed anything other than whiskey. Rhonen still hadn’t returned either. Still pissed about my argument with Sutton.Max linked me where to park when I got close to the palace, making sure we wouldn’t draw attention. He and Soloman met me at a staff entrance at the back end of the building.“It’s all quiet now,” Max insisted in hushed tones as he let me in. “But we should stay clear of the guest wing just to be cautious.”“Sutton is safe?” I demanded. “She’s







