Fall and Rise of the King (Kings Duet)

by Ruby Wolff

  "Pike, what about the bar?" I ask.

  "Everything's fine there. We have some men there, and Craig's going to keep an eye on things," he says.

  Now that I know that our business and staff are safe, it's time to let all the families know they messed with the wrong family.

  "All the families who are in England, get them all in one place, then let me know. John will stay there for now. First, I want answers from Seth," I say, looking at my dad. This might start something, or it might finish with Seth.

  "Do you not want to talk?" he asks me.

  "No. I don't want to talk about it with anyone." Maybe my dad's right. Maybe we should talk to the Jones family, but right now, I just want Harvey. I don't care who I have to kill to get to him.

  As I start walking out of the kitchen, I take a quick glance over to my bedroom. I feel guilty I'm not there next to her, but, if I'm right, Alice will want the same thing as me—to kill everyone who touched her.

  As I make my way down the stairs, I remove my jacket. Warren opens the door, and I see Seth standing against the wall. I take a step forward.

  He looks between us while I stand there for a moment considering him.

  "Mr Frost, I never touched her. Sir, my dad sent me, but I never even stood close to her." Seth walks closer to my dad but stops when Warren keeps him from taking another step.

  I lean closer to Pike. "Go get his dad," I order. I can see that this dick couldn't do anything, but now I'm pissed off even more.

  "What did your dad say?" my dad asks him.

  "He told me that a family in America put a bid in and they won, but they can't come, so they sent me," Seth says, speaking fast.

  Before he can finish what he's saying, I walk out of the room and let my dad finish with him. I might be calling in a favour with the Carter family tonight. As much as I’d like to do this myself, I know I can't be here and across the pond.

  I stalk down to the basement the moment Vinny confirms they have John secured. He races after me, no doubt feeling the rage pouring off me. I know he won't try to stop me from taking out my vengeance on John, but a look of concern flashes across his features when he glances at me and sees the cold, merciless anger filling me. I'm not normally this guy, but this isn't a normal situation. They took my queen, hurt her, and tried to break her. Nothing will stop me from making them pay for what they've done.

  Throwing open the door to the basement, my fiery gaze lands on the man bound to the chair in the middle of the room. His already wide eyes grow even bigger as his fear spikes. "It was Harvey who raped your girl,” he blurts out.

  His words stop when my fist slams into his jaw. I don't need his excuses. I don't give a fuck how much or how little he was actually involved. He's part of that fucking family. Every last one of them will pay for hurting Alice. If they think she's a weakness to me, they're wrong. Hurting her was a huge fucking mistake. Seeing Alice tortured shattered my desire to hold back, be the better man, have restraint…all of that shit.

  "Untie him," I command.

  Vinny gives me a sideways look but doesn't argue. He quickly cuts the ropes around John's wrists and gets the hell out of my way.

  John, on the other hand, doesn't move. Terror has him frozen to the chair, and he only stares up at me, his cowardice shining in his eyes.

  "Get up!" I shout.

  "I didn't do anything," John argues.

  Grabbing his shirtfront, I yank him up out of the chair and throw another hit. It crashes into his jaw and makes him stumble. "You didn't stop your brother, that makes you just as responsible. He tried to hurt me through Alice, so I'll do the same to him before I get my hands on him and do worse than he can even imagine."

  Hopeless dread spreads across John's features. He makes an attempt at defending himself by bringing his hands up into position to fight, but they drop as soon as I land another blow. Blood flows from a split lip. The sight of it unleashes my fury. My fists land one after another, all my rage slamming into him with relentless abandon.

  Right now, I don't think anyone could beat me in a fight with how much anger I have flowing through me.

  ***

  I could’ve easily killed John if Vinny wasn't there to pull me away. The fucking arsehole thought I was going to go easy on him? He’ll be in that basement until I find Harvey. Even then, I’ll kill him.

  As I walk into the office, I grab a whiskey bottle and a glass and walk over to my desk. I need to ask the Carters to take care of the Walker family for me. Dad got the family name from Seth, and now he’s telling me we should let Seth go—going on about how he's young, how he hasn't taken after the family… I just want to get away from him. The last thing I want is to show the families I'm willing to let people go.

  Warren holds the phone out for me. "Bruce is on the phone."

  "What the fuck do you want?" I ask Bruce as I set up the computer to call the Carters.

  "My wife, you fucking piece of shit," he shouts.

  "You should have thought about your wife when you let your brother touch mine." I end the call, not waiting to listen to him. I look up at Vinny and ask, "Where's Pike?"

  He went to get a team together to get Seth's dad.

  "He went with the team to get him," Vinny says.

  I say nothing as I take another drink.

  Fuck, I'm covered in John's blood. Fuck knows how he's still breathing. The fucker somehow managed to cut my lip open, too. I can still taste my blood.

  I hit the call button on Skype and wait for him to answer as I try to wipe the blood from my hands.

  “Angel," Frank says. I adjust the screen so I'm in view. "You don't look so good."

  "Have you heard of the Walker family?" I ask. I know my dad will give them all the details, so I'm not going to bother with small talk.

  "Yes. They're a family in Washington. They tend to stay over there," Frank says.

  "I want them—“ I stop when the door opens, and look over to I see Drew standing there.

  "Sorry. I tried calling you. She's asking for you." Drew looks at me, then at everyone else.

  "I'm coming.” I turn back to the screen. "I want them dead. Dad will fill you in," I say then quickly walk out of the office.

  "Is she okay?" I ask as we make our way up the stairs.

  "She woke up scared and was asking for you. I tried to call you," Drew says when we stop by the door. I look down at myself and realize I look like a fucking mess. "Angel, I really don't think she cares how much blood is on you. She just needs to see you." Drew softly puts her hand on my arm.

  I nod and walk into the room. I stop just inside the door when I see Alice isn't in bed. I look around the room, my gaze turning to the bathroom when I hear water running. It's been too long since I've held her, too long since I've seen her. I walk closer to the door and wait for her to come out.

  The moment she walks out, I stand frozen to the spot. Seeing her face bruised drains all my strength. I hate the weakness in her body from what she’s been through. Her gaze moves over my face as I take a step closer to her.

  "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything." My hand softly touches her cheek. Before I can say anything else, her arms wrap around me, pulling me in closer.

  "I just want you to hold me. I've waited so long for you to hold me," Alice says, her voice full of sadness, her words choked.

  I pull her closer, giving the top of her head a kiss. “You'll never have to wait again." Pulling her closer to me, I feel my shirt getting a little wet from her tears.

  Alice takes a step back and looks at me. "You’ve been working?" She looks down at my hands then back up at me.

  "A little. Everyone's going to die for touching you, for bidding on you, and even for looking at you. I'm going to make sure the world knows Alice is my queen and no one fucking touches her." I step back from her and begin to take my shirt off so I can get in the shower. "I'm going to tell Drew to come in here with you, so—"

  "No. Can I wait in the bathroom with you? I want to be clos
e to you." She closes the space between us. "I know you’ll have to leave sometimes, but if you’re home, I want to be near you."

  "Where I go, you go. If I have a business, Drew will be here with you. If you want to, you can ask her to move in for a bit." I want Alice to feel like she can live again, and know this hasn’t broken her.

  "Thank you." She leans up and gives me a little kiss.

  Chapter 12

  Alice

  I don’t want people to think they’ve broken me. My body may be broken, but the moment I saw Angel today, everything felt so much better. It’s been so long since I’ve been close to him. All I needed was to feel him. Just one touch and I knew he’d make it better.

  As brave as I’m trying to be, I know that my body and mind are so broken inside, I’m not sure how long it’ll take for me to be able to smile and mean it.

  I lie on the bed and stare at the bathroom door, waiting for Angel to get out. I know he’s only just got in there, but the thought of me being alone in the bedroom scares me. I know the Midlands won’t stop trying to get me back, and I won’t let that happen. I just can’t. I'd rather kill myself than go back to him. I still feel him on me, his breath grazing my skin.

  My body jumps at a sound outside, and I run over to the bathroom. As I open the door, I see Angel ready to walk out of the there in a towel.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” He rushes over to me, cupping my face. My body jolts again at a sound outside. “Alice, I promise I won’t let anything happen to you again. I'll take bullets, and everything else that comes my way, to protect you.” He pulls me in and wraps his arms around me.

  Walking out to the bedroom, I sit on the edge of the bed and watch Angel dress. His gaze stays on me the whole time. I know that Angel won’t let me out of his sight, and when he does have to leave, he's going to make sure I have enough men around me that no one can touch me.

  He grabs the bandages from the side table. “Shall we change them before we go downstairs? Someone would really like to see you,” he says. I know he's talking about Vinny.

  Angel stands in front of me, slowly lifting my shirt so he can start undoing the bandages. My body tenses up, and my hand moves to stop him. I don’t know why, but I don’t think I can let him see what he did to me.

  “Alice…”

  “I don’t think I can… I’ve been scarred with...demons.”

  “Shh.” Angel places his finger on my lips. “It’s a good thing hell lives inside me then. Your demons can burn there.” He pulls me in for a hug. “Alice, I love you, and you need to know that nothing, and I mean nothing, will change that. You’re my queen, and I'll never forgive myself for the scars on your body because every single one of them is because of me.”

  I look up at Angel and see a man who's hurt. I don’t see the devil, or the London King, just a man hurting over the pain I went through.

  I slowly release his hand and let him continue to remove my bandages, his eyes still on me.

  As the last of the bandages leave my skin, he drops them on the floor. Angel slowly kneels, and I feel his finger moving on my skin. My body tenses up and his touch leaves me. The fabric of the bandage touches my skin a few seconds later, and I wait for him to finish.

  Angel stands up, he leans down and kisses me. “You’ll always be the most beautiful woman in the world. Nothing will ever change that,” he says reassuringly. I don’t reply to him, but I lean in closer, my head leaning on his chest so I can listen to his heartbeat. “Shall we go downstairs?” I don’t want to face anyone, and would much prefer to hide up in Angel’s bedroom, but I know I need to go down. I need to face them all. Lifting my head from his chest, I look up at him. Whatever he sees in my eyes, he understands that I don’t want to. “I’m right with you, and there's no way anyone's getting into this house.”

  Not replying, I nod and my hand grips Angel’s a little harder as he walks over to the door. I take a deep breath and follow him down the stairs and into the kitchen where I can hear everyone talking.

  Everyone in the room quiets soon as Angel steps in. They look at me, and my gaze moves over each of them, but I don’t see Vinny.

  “Alice.” Robert walks closer to me.

  I don’t mean to, but I pull against Angel, not wanting Robert to touch me. He stops and looks at Angel, then back to me. “We’re all so happy you’re home,” he says, not moving closer to me this time, but I know from his compassionate expression that he wants to hug me.

  I hear Vinny’s voice behind me and quickly turn to see him. He’s on the phone and hasn’t seen me yet. I bet he’s talking to Ben, another person I need to see.

  As soon as he sees me, he ends the call. I run over to him and wrap my arms around him.

  He immediately pulls me in closer. “I’m so sorry. I’m never going to be able to say how sorry—”

  “Stop, please stop. This wasn’t your fault,” I tell him as tears escape my eyes. “You did everything, everything you could. You protected me for so long. This isn’t your fault.” Vinny pulls me away from him and wipes the tears away. “You can’t blame yourself. I don’t. So, stop saying sorry.”

  Leaning his forehead against mine, Vinny says, “You're so strong, Alice, and I know your dad would be so proud.” He kisses my head, and I wrap my arms around him again.

  I quickly pull away from him a moment later. “You were shot. Are you okay?” I say in a panic, remembering how that night played out.

  “Doc fixed me.” Vinny looks behind me, then back to me. “Ben will be coming tonight. I don’t know how Angel's doing it, but he is.”

  I look over my shoulder at Angel who’s watching us as he smokes a cigarette.

  “I can’t wait to see him,” I reply. I’ll feel a little better knowing Angel's finding a way to bring Ben here. He knows I need to see him.

  “But first, you need to eat. By what we could see, you didn’t eat anything, so le—”

  “Vinny.” I stop him for a moment, and I clear my dry throat. “When Harvey—”

  “Angel kicked everyone out of the office. No one but him watched.” Vinny looks behind me again. I’m not sure what he’s looking at. Maybe he saw how Angel reacted to all of this. “Let's get some food,” Vinny continues.

  I turn and walk with him, focusing on the fact that Angel watched everything they did to me. It happened to me and broke me, but I think it broke Angel, too.

  Staying close to Vinny as he walks closer to everyone, I listen to what they’re all talking about. Drew stands next to me after placing a sandwich on the counter. Food is the last thing I want in my stomach. I still feel sick.

  “I’m not hungry,” I whisper to her.

  “Alice, you have to.”

  “Just not yet, please.” The room quiets, making me look over at everyone. I see Angel watching me but says nothing, and I turn my head to Robert. “I’m so sorry about Elijah,” I whisper, not really wanting to talk to anyone. I look back at Angel and say, “I’m going to go back to bed. I’m not feeling up to all of this if I’m honest.”

  He doesn’t say anything but moves his gaze to Vinny. “I’ll come—”

  “Angel, you stay here. You have things to finish,” I say as I look over at Drew, and she nods.

  Angel walks behind us until we get to the bottom of the stairs.

  Drew continues to walk up, but Angel stands in front of me. “I'd like you to eat something,” he says.

  “I will, but not yet. I’m tired, and I don’t really want to be around anyone at the moment.” I look back at the kitchen at everyone talking.

  “I'll bring something up a little later.” Angel brushes some of my hair out of the way. “I love you,” he whispers against my lips.

  “I love you too,” I tell him.

  As relieved as I am that I’m here, I still feel sick and scared. Angel says he loves me, but he watched what Harvey did to me. Is he saying these things to make me feel better? Can he really love me after Harvey branded me?

  Chapter 13

  B
en

  “I don’t understand why I need to stay here. I’m sure Harvey fucked her enough,” I shout into the phone.

  I fucking hate that I have to say those words and sound pleased. All the things I feared happened to Alice, and there was nothing I could do to help her. For the first time since being with the Midlands, I was helpless. I had no way to protect her.

  I was meant to protect her, and I let her down. I’ll never forgive myself.

  I still remember the day I left to start my new life with the Midlands.

  “I don’t understand why it has to be you,” Alice shouts. She hasn’t really spoken to me since Uncle Stuart and I thought of this plan.

  “Alice, I really don’t want to fight with you over this, not again. They’re looking for you, not me,” I say as I throw all my stuff into a suitcase.

  “But why do you need to get close to them?”

  Alice is the only person I care about. She can’t go anywhere because the fucking Midlands are looking for her. She’s trapped in the house, and something has to be done.

  I turn to face her and wipe the tears from her cheeks. “Alice, I can’t let them hurt you. You’re my life, and I hate knowing you have to hide in the house by yourself.” I sit on the bed and pull on her arm to get her to sit with me. “This plan might not work, but if I can build a friendship with Bruce, I’ll know everything.”

  “But I’ll never see you,” she says, choking on her words.

  “We'll figure that all out after, but when it’s time to come out of the shadows and protect you, I will.”

  “Ben.”

  “I need you to live—”

  “What about you?” Alice interrupts.

  I take in a deep breath, pulling her in for a hug. “How can I live knowing you’re in danger?” I whisper, and she starts crying into my chest.