She loves her sister.
And I fucking love every inch of Anastasia Noble.
I get in the nice as shit Jeep and drive myself through the city to the other side where Ana’s dad instructed me to come and see him this morning. Liam and Mason are with Raine and Estelle, helping them buy things for the twins and putting them together with Raine’s boyfriends. They both know Ana’s dad called on me, and honestly, they aren’t sure of him. I want to figure out his game as well.
And if it hurts Ana, we are leaving. Period.
The sat-nav leads me to a quiet road, and it briefly crosses my mind that her dad might want to kill me in an abandoned place before the road comes out into a clearing with five warehouses. Soldiers in black clothing with large animals at their sides run in formations around a track at the back as someone shouts orders to them. I park the car and get out, spotting Clive Dawn, or whatever his real god name is, waiting for me in front of the first warehouse. He offers me his hand when I’m close, and I shake it, noticing he has a strong ass grip.
“We don’t know or trust each other, but you are in my daughter’s life. Part of me wants to chuck you off that cliff over there with a thousand rocks strapped to your body,” he snaps. “But my wife, my mate, has demanded I show you three compassion.”
I drop his hand and cross my arms. I smirk. “You can fucking try it. God or not, I will kick your ass all over this island if you hurt me.”
He surprises me by laughing. “Now I see why she likes you. I’m not here to start a war with you or Mason or Liam. I want to show you something important and hope it builds some trust between us. I want to attempt to instruct you on how to run the main part of the island. You are my heirs, and this island will need leaders like you who are born for it.”
“Trust has to be earnt,” I warn him. “And I am not a trusting person.”
“Then how did my daughter gain your undying loyalty and trust?” he asks me, looking curious.
“How did your wife?” I counter, and he simply smiles as I follow him to the door of one of the warehouses.
“With how pure and loving she is. Diana has a pure heart, and it’s hard not to love her for it,” he tells me and pushes the door open to the warehouse. The inside is far bigger than I expected, and it has several levels that are underground. The place is full of weapons and soldiers, hundreds, if not a good thousand of them, walking around or training. The weapons, guns mostly, fill the cases on the walls around the sections. “That is why I will not let my other daughter hurt us. We have an army of three thousand highly trained soldiers and a similar weapon count.”
“You want to destroy the threat before it comes to our shores?” I figure.
“No...I don’t want Bethany dead. She is my daughter, and there must be a way to get through to her heart. I won’t give up,” he swears, and I purse my lips into a tight line, trying not to say anything that will piss him off.
But lying isn’t my game.
“Bethany has grown bitter and cold, thinking the world owes her everything because she is immortal. She has forgotten how to love anyone but herself, and no matter where this ends, she will have to die,” I tell him. What she did in the video is the last straw, in my mind. I know Ana won’t be able to kill her, but I will if it has to happen.
“We can agree to disagree on that one. Diana would be destroyed if Bethany is killed,” he retorts. “So would I. No father wants to see their firstborn child killed. Or any of their children.”
“So will Anastasia, but she knows there is a price to pay to do the right thing,” I remind him. “Even if it hurts.”
“Help me prepare my people...no, our people, for what is coming next,” he asks me, offering his hand to shake one more time. “And let’s protect our family.”
When I shake his hand, it’s not a mark of trust, but an understanding that we both want the same thing right at this moment. We want our family safe, and there is nothing we wouldn’t do for that outcome.
Chapter 12
Mason
Loving one woman is an honour.
“Is Skye still here?” I ask Ana as I walk into the living room where Ana is alone on the sofa, reading a book on her Kindle. She looks over her shoulder with a soft smile just for me, and the light pouring in from the windows shines down on her blonde hair, making her look like an angel. I can’t help but smile as I drop my keys onto the counter nearby.
“Nope, she ditched me for syrup smothered pancakes at mum and dad’s with Phoebe,” she tells me, but I can tell she isn’t really pissed. Possibly highly amused.
“I wouldn’t ditch you for pancakes,” I tease as I sit next to her on the sofa, picking her foot up onto my lap and peeling off her fluffy socks. I start rubbing her feet, loving how she sighs and sinks into the sofa further. Dressed in only leggings and an oversized light blue tee shirt, she looks stunning. I love how she isn’t one of those girls who needs to wear excessive makeup or fancy clothes to look beautiful. “How was your day with her?”
“We spent a good amount of time searching the city for new shops for some new shoes. Skye has really small feet for her age,” she explains to me, and I love hearing her talk, enjoying how happy she sounds. This place was
