Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
“Long story short… I got kidnapped. I’m fine, though,” I assured her, not wanting to waste any time telling the whole story. “Have you been able to talk to Schimdt?”
“Hold on! You were kidnapped?” Buffy gasped.
“By Arvo and Zephyr’s fathers. That’s why I need to know if you’ve been able to reach Schmidt,” I replied, trying to nudge the conversation along. We could talk about my kidnapping experience if we all survived this.
Buffy remained quiet for a second, reeling after my brief explanation.
“He’s been extremely paranoid lately. Like, he won’t leave his office or campus,” Buffy finally told me.
“Can you try to talk to him now?” I asked her as I glanced at the door of the room. I had to push him. I needed that meeting.
“Hold on,” Buffy said.
I heard ruffling and other noises over the phone. Hopefully, he would at least talk to her through the door. He couldn’t hide in there forever. I soon heard the sound of knocking.
“Tell him I’m on the phone,” I told her, hearing Buffy repeat my message.
“What does she want?” Schmidt’s voice sounded over the phone.
“She needs you to meet with her,” Buffy said.
“No! Do you understand how dangerous that would be for me? I have no interest in dying today,” Schmidt hissed.
“Remind him that we have a deal. I’ll give him the information about the Kings he needs if he meets with me,” I told Buffy, hearing her relay my message right afterward.
At first, there was silence. Then, Schmidt sighed.
“Five minutes. I’ll give her five minutes,” Schmidt told her. “I’ll meet her in the courtyard at noon.”
I heard a door slam shut before hearing Buffy’s voice.
“Did you catch that?” Buffy asked me.
“I did. Courtyard at noon,” I replied. “Thank you, Buffy.”
“Be careful,” Buffy warned me before hanging up.
I put the phone back on the receiver and fished my hand under the entertainment center. Once I got what I needed, I headed out of the room and back to the boys as a taxi rolled up. When they gave me a questioning look, I told them about Schmidt and the meeting I scored for us.
“What if Arvo sees us?” Theo asked me.
“Maybe that’ll be an opportunity to take him down,” Zephyr pointed out. “We’ll come up with a plan. At least we have an opening.”
At least we had our next step planned. We all piled into the taxi, squishing together in the backseat, while Zephyr rode up front. I sat between Sol and Theo, enjoying their warm bodies on either side of me. I wouldn’t mind having the three of them by my side for the foreseeable future.
When we all got set up in the cottage, which had warm, gold lighting, plants in the windows, and a soft cream and light green color theme for its rugs, pillows, accents, and curtains, we lounged in the living room with glasses of alcohol in our hands. We made sure to grab the hard stuff too, sipping on whiskey and vodka. It had been a day, and we all deserved to relax.
“It’s weird being here with all of you,” I commented after two drinks. Heat gathered in my cheeks as the alcohol started to take its course. It felt good to relax like this. I lounged against one side of the couch with my foot resting on Sol’s thigh as he sat on the other side of the couch. Theo and Zephyr sat on the red rug in front of the fire.
“What? You don’t like our company?” Zephyr smirked as he glanced over at me.
“I love your company. It’s just… you guys have been enemies for a while now,” I replied, wanting to know more about how they came together. They’d put aside their rivalry for me, and it was hard to wrap my mind around me being that special to them.
Theo shrugged.
“Does it matter in the grand scheme of things? We have bigger things to worry about than what we did to each other in the past,” he said as he glanced over at Zephyr. “I mean, I just thought you were a dick for a while.”
I tensed up slightly, expecting a fight to break out.
Instead, Zephyr smirked.
“I was a dick. I thought you were weak and wouldn’t amount to the greatness of being a King,” Zephyr told him before shaking his head. “But you would’ve been a great King. Fair. Honest.”
Everyone in the room looked surprised at Zephyr’s apology. It came out of left field, but it did lessen any remaining tension in the room. Between the alcohol and being able to relax for a minute, everyone was fairly calm and content.
“While I’m at it…” Zephyr sighed before looking over at Sol. “Sorry I trusted Arvo about you. I shouldn’t have trusted him instead. And I’m sorry I almost got you killed. I went too far.”