“You’re cute when you’re acting tough.”
“It’s not an act, Brayden. You can consider this your only warning. I am not going to say or do anything that I don’t want to. No matter what you do to me.”
“I can be very persuasive. And if that fails, I have people who can be equally persuasive—just in a less enjoyable way.”
“You’ll never break me, Brayden. You and your ‘people’ can try, but it’s just simply not gonna happen.”
“I need those jewels.”
“I don’t have them.” Not technically a lie—they’re not currently in my possession.
“But you know who does.”
“No. I don’t.”
“Even if that’s true, you know how to get the information for me.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Can’t.”
“I won’t let this go.”
“Then you’ll need to let me go, and find someone else to play pretend with you.”
“No.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “You may be a prince, but that really doesn’t mean anything to me. Or my employers. If I choose to walk away from you, they’ll back me up.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we? Or maybe I’ll just make it so they can’t find you.”
I pull out my phone and dial. Reina picks up on the second ring. “Hi, Darcy.”
“Hi.”
“I’m guessing that you didn’t call me to just say that.”
“No. I may need to be removed.”
“Is he there with you?”
“Yes.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“Yes.”
“Do not go back to the house with him. There’s a small hotel we’ve used before. It’s on a side street near a mall, and I don’t think he’d look for you there. A taxi is about to pull up outside. Get in and go. Call when you’re safe.”
“Thank you.”
“Always. You know that.”
“I do.”
I hang up and look over at Brayden before standing. If I was a different girl, and he wasn’t a prince I’d stolen from, this could’ve been something great. But it is what it is, and nothing or no one can change who we are. No matter how much I wish that could happen. I step away from the table as he stands.
“Goodbye, Brayden,” I say, tossing my giant engagement ring in the air as I turn and run.
I hear him yell after me, but he’ll catch that ring before he comes for me. If those other jewels still mean so much to him after ten years, then his great-great grandmother’s ring isn’t something he’ll let go either. That’s why I tossed it instead of just setting it on the table. I needed the time to get to the cab. I make it into the backseat and we’re already moving when he gets to the curb. I look back at him, watching him run his hands through his hair. He looks angry—and a little lost. I’m lost too, and broken. I told him he couldn’t break me, and I meant it. You can’t break something that’s already in pieces. That happened to me years ago, and even though the Society has put some of me back together, I’m still not whole. I honestly don’t think I ever will be.
Chapter 3
Brayden
I can’t believe Darcy left me on the sidewalk last night. But then again, I can. I was a total asshole, and if I was her, I wouldn’t have gone home with me, either. I expected her to call me today after she cooled off. She hasn’t though, and I don’t know how long I have until my mother finds out what happened. I told her Darcy needed some time alone, but if she’s not back today, I know she’ll want to call the people Darcy works for. That could go pretty badly for me. Which is why I’ve been trying to keep calm about her leaving. I’m not calm, though. I need her, and not just for the jewels.
The doorbell rings and I practically run down the stairs. Security wouldn’t let anyone through the gates unless they knew who they were. I’m expecting Darcy, but what I get is one pissed off couple. America’s Couple, in fact. Matt and Reina Corrigan. They don’t look like the couple their country thinks of as royalty right now. They’re both looking at me like they want to kill me, and I’m honestly not sure who I’m more scared of.
“Reina? What are you doing here?” my mother asks as she comes into the hall.
My mother doesn’t wither under the look that comes her way, which makes me respect her even more than I already do. “I made some things very clear to you when you came to me for help. You assured me that Darcy would be safe with your son.”
Holy shit. The Corrigans are part of the group my mother is using for help? And not just part of the group. Reina Corrigan is in charge. I may not make it through this day alive.
“Darcy’s safe. She needed some time to herself, so Brayden dropped her off at a hotel.”
“The cab I sent for dropped her off at a hotel after she called me because he threatened her.”
“No. That’s not right. Brayden?”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “What Reina said is true.”
“I didn’t give you permission to call me by my first name.”
“You didn’t bow when you came into my home.”
“My wife isn’t bowing to you, asshole.”
I back up a step as Corrigan advances on me. I may be cocky, but I’m not stupid. I hold up my hands in a show of surrender. A fake show, but hopefully enough for now. “I just meant that if she’s going to be familiar with me, I will be familiar back with her.”
“I don’t really care what any of you call each other. I just want to know what could possibly have made you threaten Darcy,” my mother tells me.
“That’s between us.”
“No. This engagement is about more than the two of you. You’ve been raised to know what you must do. Emotions cannot be involved.”
“I will marry for my country when it’s time, Mother. You know I don’t believe in love. We can’t all be the Corrigans.”
I see Reina wince, and it piques my interest. Not enough to take me off course, but I’ll file that reaction away for later. I’m pretty sure that I’ll need everything I can get when this all blows up. I’m not letting Darcy go without the answers I need, even if that means things become more unpleasant for both of us than I’d like.
“I will not allow this to continue if Darcy isn’t comfortable with the situation.”
“Please, Reina. We can’t just replace her with someone else. That would negate everything all of us have worked for,” my mother reminds her.
“If you think I care about that, you’ve obviously been misinformed about me, and my organization. The women who work for me come before any assignment. No exceptions.”
“She told me her army could rival mine. I guess I should’ve taken her more seriously.”
“I still don’t understand why you would threaten her,” my mother says.
I know I have to give them something. “She has some information I need, and she won’t give it to me.”
“What information could she possibly have? You just met yesterday.”
“It really is between the two of us, Mother.”
“Not if it jeopardizes everything.”
There’s nothing if I don’t get the jewels, but no one except for me and Noah are aware that Darcy holds the key to my future. I need to keep it that way. “I’m sorry, but I need to have the information she’s withholding. It’s not an option for her to keep it from me.”
My mother nods. “Fine. Reina, I’ll need for you to make this happen.”
“What part of me putting my women first did you not understand? I agreed to help you, not the other way around. I need nothing from you, so I suggest that you refrain from trying to boss me around. That really won’t end well for you. Either of you.”
“I am a queen, and while I have let you ignore that until now, I must insist that you check your insolence at the door.”
“O
h, I will. On my way out your door. We’re done.”
“Wait, no,” I say, moving toward her.
“Take another step towards my wife, and see what happens.”
If I thought angry Matt Corrigan was scary, smirking Matt Corrigan is even worse. I have no doubt that he’s going to lay me flat, but I need to fix this. Somehow.
“Please, Re-Mrs. Corrigan. I promise that Darcy is safe with me. I shouldn’t have threatened her. I’ll behave. Give me another chance to do the right thing for my country.”
She sighs, like I’m a complete annoyance to her. I probably am, but I’m also desperate. “It will be up to her. I’ll let her know what you’ve said, and then I’ll stand behind whatever she decides.”
She locks eyes with my mother one more time, and I’m not surprised when Reina’s not the one to look away first. Royalty or not, we’re at the mercy of these people. We know it, and so do they. If we were on our own soil, things might be different, but I really don’t think it would have too much of an impact.
There’s power from royal bloodlines, money, and brute force. And then there’s the power that’s earned. Reina Corrigan may have married money, and she definitely has the force to back it up, but her power comes from within. Being in the same room with her, I can almost feel it as a tangible thing. I get the impression that she doesn’t like having to flaunt it—and I also feel like she was actually holding back with us, but she definitely earned it. And God help those who feel the full force if she ever has to unleash it all.
* * *
Darcy
This hotel is nice, but I feel like the walls are closing in on me, along with my secret. I’m going to have to tell Reina and Mallory something; although, I really just want to tell them everything. I made a promise to never do that, and I’ve kept it all these years later. I can’t break it just because I want help. Nate knows some of it because it didn’t feel right to have him bare his soul to me and not give him something back. I wanted to unburden myself with all of it, but I couldn’t even fully let go with the man I think of as my brother.
The knock on my door pulls me from my worries, but replaces them with a few more. I grab the small gun I had in my clutch last night, and go to the door. Only a few people know I’m here, and I wasn’t expecting them so soon. I sigh, in relief and nervousness, as I see Mallory on the other side of the door.
“Hi,” I say a little sheepishly as I open it wide for my mentor and surrogate mother.
She quickly pulls me to her, hugging me tight. “I came as soon as I could. He didn’t hurt you, did he? Reina said he didn’t, but she also said she hadn’t seen you yet.”
“He didn’t hurt me,” I assure her. “You didn’t need to come all the way to Paris, Mal.”
“Yes, I did. I need to know that you’re safe.”
“I’m almost never safe on a mission. You know that. You did recruit me after all.”
“Sassy as ever, I see. Which tells me you’re okay. And yes, while I know our work places you in danger, I didn’t think that posing as the fiancée of a prince would.”
“Can you tell me any more about why we even took on this mission? As far as I can tell, Brayden isn’t in danger. I mean, I wanted to hurt him and I’m sure others feel the same way, but I’m not aware of any specific threats.”
“Let’s sit down.”
Okay. That can’t be good. I sit on the bed, and gesture to the desk chair. Mallory sits down, and looks conflicted for a moment before speaking.
“Ten years ago, one of our first initial missions was to protect Brayden’s cousin, Jenysis. She was being stalked by a particularly nasty older man who wouldn’t take no for an answer. We were able to keep him from her, but he retaliated.”
“Is she okay?” I think she is, because I’ve heard her name, but maybe she’s been hurt in some way.
“She’s fine. But while we were concentrating all of our energy on keeping her safe, he stole some important pieces of jewelry belonging to the royal family.”
No. No, no, no, no, no. Oh God, no. I interfered with a Society mission. I use every ounce of training I’ve had to keep my face neutral. “That sucks, but I still don’t see what it has to do with this mission.”
“We failed, Darcy. We rarely fail.”
“So this is out of guilt?”
“Partly yes.”
“Nice to know I’ve been pawned off on an asshole to assuage Jane’s guilt.”
“You’re treading a fine line, my dear. Jane is not the only one with guilt, and my presence here should let you know that we’re not just ‘pawning’ you off.”
“Sorry.” And I am. For causing them to fail, and for being a bitch now because of my own guilt. “What’s the other part?”
“Your engagement may finally flush out the jewels.”
I need the floor to open up all the way to the Earth’s core, and take me down there. “Are they that important?” I know the answer to that, but I need to play dumb, especially now.
“Yes, and no. They were the first jewels of the monarchy, and it’s expected that when Brayden ascends the throne, he’ll have possession of them. It’s more of a superstition than anything, but it’s still important to them.”
“So you’re hoping to rectify the mission failure—which wasn’t exactly a failure since you kept Jenysis safe—by getting the jewels back now?”
“Yes. We should have disclosed this to you sooner, but we didn’t think it would become an issue. Brayden seemed like he was finally ready to be king, and he knows he can’t do that by sleeping his way around the world.”
“Does that really matter in this day and age?”
“You can’t walk into a supermarket without seeing a picture of Kate and William. Now imagine being a royal in a very small country where many of the streets still have cobblestones, and no one moves there ‘just because.’”
I’d move to Cyndryann in a minute. I was only there for a short time, with a job to do, but I’ve never forgotten how beautiful it is. I’ll admit that I was happy to have a chance to go back when I was assigned to this mission. That was before I knew why Brayden chose me, and that he’d be happy to have me spend my time there in his dungeon. If he has a dungeon. Of course he has a dungeon. Wait, why am I thinking about that when my entire life is about to fall apart. I’m not only attracted to the man who saw me steal from his family, but I just found out that I once betrayed the family I’ve created for myself. At least I look good in orange.
“Darcy?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, I guess they would want someone respectable running the country. Or pretending to. Don’t they have a Parliament or something?”
“You were given all of this information, Darcy.”
“I was also made to change my clothes, eating habits, and free time entertainment. There’s only so much I can retain.”
“You have an eidetic memory.”
I forget that playing dumb doesn’t work with people who know your skillset. “Okay, fine. I know how it all works.”
“Let’s address the elephant in the room.”
Oh God. Does she know? No. She would’ve said something. Wouldn’t she? Yes. She’s family. “Elephant?”
“You ran from Brayden last night. I’d say that’s pretty big.”
“Oh yeah. That.”
“May I ask where you got the clothes you’re wearing? The pictures from last night show you in a dress, and I’m told you never made it back to the royal house here.”
“I went next door to the mall. It was easy to sneak over right when they opened and grab some stuff.”
“And of course you grabbed leather pants and a t-shirt,” she says with a smile.
“Of course.”
“Back to Brayden. What did he threaten you with?”
This is where it gets tricky. How much do I tell? How much can I tell? Not much. “Brayden thinks I have some information he wants. He said he’d use the force of his army to torture it out of me if necessary.”
“What i
nformation?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“We can’t help and protect you if we don’t know the truth. You can trust us—me—you should know that by now.”
I really wish I could, but it’s not just me I’m protecting. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
I see that she wants to argue, but she doesn’t. Instead, she leans over to take my hand in hers. “One day, I hope you’ll be ready. When that day comes, you call me and I’ll come. No matter what.”
“Thank you,” I tell her squeezing her hand.
She nods, and gives me a sad smile. I know I’ve hurt her by not telling her my secrets, but I have no choice. “Let’s try and figure out how to keep you protected since you’re going to have to go back. We made a commitment, and we have to keep it.”
“I know.”
“If that young man thinks he or his people are going to harm you in any way, though, he’s horribly mistaken. Once Reina gets here we can talk more about what we can do.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I love you, Darcy. We all do. The Foundation and Society have always come first, but that doesn’t mean we won’t protect all of you.”
Honestly, that’s what I’m most afraid of—not the protecting, but the Society coming first. I know it has to because they can’t risk everything we do for just one person, but that doesn’t bode well for me.
I haven’t seen the man she’s talking about in person for years, but if I called him, he’d meet me. If it comes to that, I’m going to lose the family I’ve built for myself. Hell, even if I don’t, they’ll find out. Brayden won’t keep quiet forever, and the man who set this all in motion would give me up in a second. The smart thing would be for me to run now, but I won’t. I’m scared, but I’m not a coward, and it’s time I paid for my past no matter the cost.
Chapter 4
Darcy
It’s almost three hours later when Reina finally arrives at the hotel. She called me when she was still at Brayden’s house to make sure I was willing to go back if all of their precautions for me were agreed to. I could tell she really meant it, and maybe that means a change for the Society. Reina will still put the whole first, but she won’t risk any of us for it. I think she’ll work a way around anything that comes up. Not to discount the women who came before us, but I can’t imagine the Society had anyone smarter than Isa, Ainsley, and Audrey ever working for them at once. The rest of us aren’t too shabby, either. If anyone can keep me safe, it’s them.
Inheriting a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 7) Page 3