“I know.”
“I’m so sorry, Ava,” she said in a low voice. “It’s my fault.”
“No, of course it’s not!” I insisted. “Why would you say such a thing?”
“I came back. I was in Father’s sight as collateral to use for his own gain. I messed up everything.”
I brought my horse closer to Hara’s and pulled on her reins, to slow the horse down.
“Don’t talk like that,” I chided. “Edward could reach you anywhere since you are his child. None of this is your fault.”
“I can’t help but feel like it is.” She peered over the grassy field. “I’ll never forgive myself if Garrett has to marry that…witch.”
“Let’s try to think positive,” I told her, even though I didn’t feel it. This was all a mess. I might lose the best thing that had ever happened to me.
“I’ve been thinking,” Hara said quietly. “There are other ways we could go about this.”
“How?”
Hara motioned her head toward the men behind us. “The Elite Eight. They are your men. They would do anything you asked them to do.”
“I don’t think they can make this agreement go away, Hara. I have George and Reddington pulling out all the ideas they have on this.”
“No, no.” She shook her head. “They could get rid of the problem.”
My eyes widened, and I furrowed my brows. She couldn’t be thinking what I thought she was.
“Do you mean…you mean to kill her off?”
Hara grinned, which frazzled me a little. How could she smile when she was talking about murdering someone? I’d dreamt of smashing her face against a wall and ripping her hair out until she was bald, but not that.
“Have you lost your damn mind?!” I shouted. Hara looked at me, startled. She probably thought I’d jump at the chance. But I wouldn’t put the men at risk for murder, nor did I want my name tied to it. Not even George could save me from killing a powerful judge’s daughter.
“They would do it discreetly, of course.”
“Hara, no. That is insane. It’s too risky.”
“These are trained assassins,” Hara replied, matter-of-factly.
“They are mortal men that could die for this,” I countered. I placed my hand on her knee. “You are a darling. A crazy, kind-hearted darling. But no. She is too high up on the totem pole to not be missed. It’s too obvious.”
“Then I’ll tell them to—”
“Don’t you dare,” I said sternly, glaring at her. “This isn’t a game. You’ll ruin your life, and Garrett’s.”
“But he will be saved!”
“But you won’t be!” I squeezed her knee. “You aren’t thinking rationally. This won’t happen. You will not do anything. Let the men handle it. I’m serious.” I looked at the men. “Captain, you will not act on any orders that Lady Cranfield gives to you, is that understood?” He nodded his head.
“How dare you!” she gasped.
“Like you said, they are my men. They’ll do what I ask them to do.”
Hara kicked the side of her horse lightly to pick up the speed, and I didn’t follow her. She wasn’t used to this stress, and I was the leading role in it half the time. But her solution scared me. If we weren’t so close, she may have tried to do something stupid.
“Keep a close eye on her,” I said to the captain.
Garrett
Chapter 39
“It’s his real signature,” Reddington announced, as he strode across the dirt and in the middle of my conversation with a few of my men. I winced inwardly, his voice sounding like a blade against stone. I threw my head to the side, silently dismissing my soldiers, as I kept my glare on him.
The sight of him put me on edge. One, because I didn’t trust the fucker; two, I didn’t like him; and, three, he was on my training grounds—in my space.
Working on this ‘Getting rid of Sophia’ plan was supposed to be just George and me. I’d no idea how this idiot suckered his way into it.
Reddington stood in front of me, waiting for some congratulations or a pat on the back—I didn’t know. I just wanted him off my field and away from me.
“We studied dozens of documents that your father signed, and they match perfectly,” he went on, as I walked away from him. I’d talk to George about this later.
He followed. “We need to come up with another plan, Garr.”
I stopped mid-step, the dumbass almost bumping into me. Turning around to face him, I scowled.
“It’s not ‘we;’ it’s me and George. Second, you don’t come out here, spilling out information in front of my men.”
Reddington sent me a sheepish grin. “Sorry.” I began to walk away again but he spoke again. “I want to help.”
I crossed my arms “Why is that exactly?”
He furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “You don’t owe us shit. Actually, you should hate us, shouldn’t you, Red?” That only deepened his brows. “Let’s cut the bullshit. Your mother was exiled by the bitch we now call the Enduring Queen. Which, we both know is utter shit, but can’t do anything about. Cecilia sent your mother to poverty, abuse, and a life of hell. Then you show up—out of nowhere, I might add—wanting to help.”
Reddington raised a brow. “Your point?”
I took a step closer. We were just about the same height, him only a tad bit taller than me. “My point is, I think you’re playing us. Have been for a while. George is blind as hell to it; I, on the other hand, am not.”
Reddington narrowed his eyes. “The paranoia is starting to cook your brain. You wouldn’t know how to take help if it slapped you upside the head, Garr.”
I snapped. “Don’t call me Garr.”
A small smile appeared on his lips. “Fine, cousin.”
I clenched my hands into fists. “Keep it up.”
“You need all the help you can get,” he pointed out. “Loosen up on your pride. Ava is a friend. I wouldn’t surmise her happiness for the world.”
I stepped closer. “About that. Stay away from her.”
“It’s not like that,” Reddington countered, waving his hand in the air.
“Don’t like repeating myself, Red.”
“Tell her that.” He fixed his eyes on me, challenging me to be a bullheaded asshole to my fiancée and tell her who she could and couldn’t talk to. He knew I wouldn’t win.
“Go back home,” I retorted, lamely. With that, I didn’t stop walking, even though I heard him still mumbling something.
“Garr!”
Son of a bitch.
Rubbing my temples with two of my fingers, I turned to see George jogging over.
“Hey! Glad I caught you!” He stood next to the man I was trying get away from. “Got some news back.”
“I already heard.”
George looked over at Reddington. “You had the balls to tell him?”
Reddington shrugged. “I didn’t cause it.”
“Sure about that?”
“Stop it, Garr.” George scratched his head. “We need to figure out something else.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Use your kingly powers and make this go away.”
I was acting like a child, asking for something he had no power to give me, but I didn’t care. I needed to voice it. I needed him to hear me. Sophia needed to be gone from my life, so I could breathe again.
George shot daggers at me. “Asshole, I would have done that already if I could.” He shifted to his other leg. “There is something else.”
Geezus fuck.
I needed a drink.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized we needed to get out of here—me, Hara, Mama, and Ava. We needed to disappear.
“Sophia is already moving forward with the wedding plans.”
“I haven’t even seen her!”
“Do you need to?”
“Fuck no, I don’t need to. I won’t be there.”
“I can delay some of her plans,” Reddington quipped. “Buy us some more time.”
“Don’t bother,” I shot back.
George took a step toward me. “You need to go talk to her.”
“Can your kingly powers dismiss a murder charge, because I’ll kill her.”
“You need to play along,” Reddington replied.
I stilled. Did he not understand what the hell we were trying to do? I wasn’t going along with anything, let alone be left alone in a room with her.
I fixed him with a scowl. “And why the hell would I do that?”