VALIANT REIGN (The Royals Book 3)

by Brooke Sivendra

  “Sometimes,” she said.

  “So you’re a murderer?”

  “I do what needs to be done,” she said flatly.

  “So I’ve heard,” he said, sounding pleased with himself. “Where were you on February second?”

  A moment passed. “I have no idea,” Abi said.

  “Let me help you . . . IFRT rescued thirty-five women from an abandoned school,” he said.

  “Then that’s where I would’ve been,” Abi replied.

  “And on that same day, sixteen boy soldiers were slaughtered by IFRT. Were you leading that operation?”

  “Probably,” she admitted.

  “So you gave the order to kill the soldiers? Village boys who had been taken captive by Lamberi’s men and turned into soldiers against their own will. Instead of rescuing them and returning them to their families, you slaughtered them. Isn’t that right, Abigail Bennett?”

  Asher couldn’t breathe.

  “It was self-defense, not murder. Their innocence was taken by Lamberi the day he turned them into soldiers,” she said, her words running into one another.

  “Did you kill them, or not?” he asked.

  “Probably,” she said vaguely.

  Asher groaned, pressing his fingers against his temples.

  “What is your plan with Asher now?”

  “There is no plan,” she said.

  “Because you have what you want from him?”

  “Because of the border permissions? He knew what I was doing, I didn’t trick him,” she said.

  “But he didn’t know who he was helping, did he? What did you tell him your name was?” the man asked.

  A long pause followed.

  “You lied to him, and you used him,” the man said.

  “I didn’t lie to him,” she slurred. “I just . . . failed to say the full truth.”

  “So there’s a gray area between the truth and a lie. And that’s okay, isn’t it, Abigail Bennett?”

  “Fuck you,” Abi said sharply.

  The man laughed. “A liar and a murderer. He was right—you’ll never be fit to be Santina’s queen.”

  “We’ll see,” Abi said defiantly, her words stronger than her voice.

  Asher’s eyebrows rose despite himself. What had she meant by that?

  A new voice spoke next, clearer than the other voices. “That’s just the start of an hour-long chat we had with your hero girlfriend. Do what we say—or we’ll release the full recording to the media.”

  The tape cut off, and Asher stared at the wall. His veins pumped with fury and he fought the urge to scream until his lungs exploded. Just when he’d thought he could unleash his plan, his enemies still had leverage on him.

  And he couldn’t shake the questions the tape raised about Abi. She’d been drugged, she must’ve been, but she seemed to speak the truth. There had been something about the way she’d said it: We’ll see.

  His mind reeled with terrifying scenarios. He stood and began to pace. He spun around just as James Thomas walked in, to Asher’s surprise—he wasn’t even aware he’d discharged himself from the hospital.

  “We’re going to run some analysis on that tape and then make a plan for how to deal with it,” James said.

  Asher questioned whether he’d listened to the entire recording, and was certain he had.

  “It’s her,” Asher said through gritted teeth.

  “I agree,” James said. “But, she was also under the influence of something—some type of sedation. Too, that recording could’ve been chopped and edited to make it sound worse than it is.” James eyed him carefully, sitting on the edge of his desk. “What did she actually say in the recording that you didn’t already know?”

  Asher stared out of the window. When he didn’t continue, James answered for him. “Nothing. She, and I, have already said her past isn’t clean, however good her intentions.”

  “We understand that, but is Santina going to?” Asher asked bitterly, squeezing his eyes shut. It was yet another blow against him, and he was sick of it. He needed it all to end.

  “I think this is the first recording of what will probably be a series. And this one just skimmed the surface of questioning Abi’s past—her integrity. Why do you think they would want to do that?” James asked.

  Asher knew the answer. “They couldn’t take her or kill her, which would’ve destroyed me. So, they’re doing this instead.”

  James nodded. “Exactly. We’ve dug through Abi’s past—we have tracked back over the last fifteen years and found every piece of dirt on her that we could, and I’ve discussed it all with Jesse. If I thought for a second that she might not be who we think she is, I would’ve said something—that is my job as head of your security. I’m not here to make friends; I’m here to keep you alive.”

  “So you’re not concerned about the tape?” Asher asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Oh, I’m concerned,” James said, “but only about how it’s going to be used against you and Abi. I’m not concerned with anything she actually said. The two of you were broken up at the time and had hardly spoken, so for her to say there’s nothing between you was correct. She was also sedated to some degree, but some of her words sound coherent. She might’ve been aware enough to know that the less she said about your relationship with her, the better. You are part of the reason she was taken—that was obvious from the first recording IFRT obtained from the hut she was being held in—so anyone in her situation with her training would know to downplay that relationship.

  “Regarding the IFRT mission—she’s right. If they hadn’t killed the boy soldiers, the soldiers would’ve killed them. Murder is not black and white; it’s fifty shades of gray . . . but spinning that to the public if this tape is released is not going to be so easy, I’ll admit that,” James said.

  “Can you take it down if it’s released?” Asher asked.

  “It depends on how and when it’s released, and how many people make copies of it. Once it’s on social media, it’s out of our control. Samuel can shut down a TV station network but only for so long. If your enemies want to release that tape, they will—unless you find a way to scare them so they don’t dare.”

  Asher leaned his elbows on his knees as his head hung down. “I don’t know who is behind this.”

  James’s next words surprised him. “You don’t have to know. You don’t have to make your move against the person behind this tape. You just need to show them—and the world—that you’re not someone to be messed with.”

  “And how do I do that?” Asher asked, raising his head.

  “You know that case you asked Samuel to look at?” James asked, a tight smile forming on his lips.

  Asher nodded.

  “You won’t believe what we found.”

  Abi

  Abi looked at the cold, perfectly folded bed sheet beside her. Light shone through the slightly parted curtain.

  Asher hadn’t come to bed at all.

  Abi leaned over, reaching for the remote control. She held her breath as she scrolled through the news channels, but nothing major had happened in Santina last night. She was about to call him when she heard the door open.

  “Hey,” he said as he walked in.

  “Hi. Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Sure.” He walked past her to the bathroom. He closed the door behind him but she heard the running water and assumed he was brushing his teeth. He emerged a few minutes later, discarded his clothes, leaving only his boxers on, and slid in beside her. But he didn’t pull her into his arms—he only closed his eyes.

  “Asher,” Abi said, her chest tightening when he didn’t look at her.

  “Hmm,” he mumbled.

  Had she done something wrong? If so, she couldn’t think of what, and she wasn’t going to play games.

  “Can you look at me for a second?” she asked.

  He opened his eyes, she assumed due to the tone of her voice more than anything.

  “What?” he asked after a moment.
>
  “What is going on? And don’t lie to me,” she said flatly, propping herself up on her elbow.

  “Nothing. I’ve been up all night dealing with shit and I just want to sleep,” he said, his tone sharp, but he was quick to realize his mistake. “I’m sorry, I’m just . . . My mind is reeling.”

  “Why? What happened? You said earlier that everything was my business, and now you’ve changed your mind.”

  She saw the reluctance in his eyes and turned away.

  “I received a sound recording in the mail,” he said, his voice wary.

  “A sound recording of what?” she asked, turning back to him.

  He looked away, and then back to her. Biting his lip, he said, “You. I think you were sedated.”

  Her jaw must’ve hit the floor and her body went numb. “What?” she asked, barely a whisper.

  “I was going to tell you in the morning—I just wanted an hour of sleep,” he said. “You sound like you’re drugged—some words slur into others—but your sentences make sense. Your words are coherent,” he said and her stomach churned violently. She thought of Lenna’s drawing of the man with the syringe and the walls swayed.

  “I want to listen to it,” she told him resolutely. She didn’t want to, but she needed to.

  Asher sighed heavily, but she thought he was mainly just tired.

  “I’m going to listen to that tape.” She made a move toward the door, but Asher beat her to it.

  “Give me a minute to put some pants on,” he said. “I’ll come with you.”

  She nodded as Asher headed toward the walk-in closet. Her stomach churned at the thought of the tape and what she could have said. The fear that she’d said something while sedated had been festering in the back of her mind, but now it was real.

  “Where is it?” Abi asked as they entered Asher’s office.

  “James took the tape to run some analysis. I’ll have Samuel play it for us,” he said, not faltering. “Samuel!”

  Abi knew they monitored everything that was said inside these walls, so surely someone would hear Asher now.

  Samuel didn’t respond, but James Thomas entered the room with a brief nod after only a few seconds had passed.

  James looked to Abi, not wasting time. “Before I play you this recording, I want you to remember two things. You and I, and Asher to some extent, see the world very differently. We understand how things work and what it takes to get a result. There is nothing in this recording that I would judge you for, because I’ve done it all myself.”

  Abi crossed her arms over her chest, bracing herself.

  She stole a look at Asher, whose eyes locked on hers. He nodded in agreement.

  “Please just play the recording,” Abi said. Her legs felt weak beneath her and she sat down on the chair opposite Asher’s desk.

  “Okay,” James said, his voice calm. “Samuel, activate the recording.”

  The speaker on Asher’s desk activated and Abi leaned forward, burying her face in her hands. A shiver ran up her spine when she heard her own voice—it sounded so foreign, but there was no mistaking it was her.

  She cringed at everything she said. When she responded, “Nothing,” to what Asher meant to her, her head snapped to him, but he was looking at the speaker, his face unreadable.

  She hadn’t meant that. He had meant everything to her even then. He’d changed her world from their first date.

  Abi chewed on her cheek as the recording continued and memories of the mission flashed in her mind.

  But it was the ending that gave her the chills. It was something about her voice, the vindication in it. We’ll see. She sounded manipulative and arrogant. She sounded like a player. She knew those who knew her wouldn’t think that. But the people of Santina? That was a different question.

  “I have no recollection of any of this,” Abi said, her voice a hoarse whisper. “I was only unconscious once during captivity—I think—and I did have concerns they’d drugged me because I remembered an IFRT case from years ago. That was the file Rachel picked up for me. Reed copied it.” She shook her head, trying to organize her thoughts. “The mission, we were there, but I didn’t kill any of those boy soldiers. Not that night—”

  James held up his hand like he was stopping traffic, but really he was stopping the words pouring out of Abi’s mouth.

  “I don’t want anything said about IFRT business in front of Asher. To be honest, I actually don’t care if you did or not,” James said unapologetically. “But we need to protect Asher from your potentially complicated past. Asher has never seen your security file, and I advised him when we took this case that I would not discuss your past with him. If I came across something I thought was a concern, I told him I would speak to Jesse and we would go from there. Although unlikely, there’s a possibility that in the future Asher could be questioned about your past, and I want to make sure if he has to testify in some form or another, he can truthfully say he doesn’t know anything. My wife is in the same position—especially so, as she’s a criminal prosecutor.”

  Abi nodded, noting Asher still hadn’t looked at her.

  “Regarding the tape,” James said, “there’s every possibility it’s been edited. You might not have even been answering the questions we’ve been led to believe you were. I admit, I don’t like the tone of your voice when you said, ‘We’ll see,’ but again, we don’t know the context. They could’ve been talking about IFRT coming to rescue you and that’s why you sounded so confident. Samuel’s team are analyzing the tape right now, and we’ll know more tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” Abi said quietly, even though she felt anything but okay.

  Asher looked to her intently. “They couldn’t take you from me, Abi, so this is the next best thing they can try. Every move against me has been to break me down, and that’s exactly what this tape is trying to do. But I refuse to let it. I’ll handle this, and I’ll make the person behind this recording pay for it.”

  James looked to Abi and nodded in agreement with Asher.

  With one last look between them, his eyes settled on Asher. Asher gave the slightest nod, and then James dismissed himself. The sound of the door closing seemed to echo through the rom.

  “I don’t blame you for what you said, Abi. I meant what I said—I understand and I will support you through this, even if there is public fallout. But right now, honestly, I just want to forget about it for an hour or two, and then I’ll make a plan to deal with this tape.” He rubbed his hands over his face. The dark circles beneath his eyes seemed to be growing by the minute, Abi noted sadly before standing.

  She walked toward him, her heart beating in her chest. She stopped a step away from him and he reached out for her. She took his hands, wrapping them around her waist as she stepped forward. Their eyes locked. “I don’t know what happened during that interrogation, but I know two things: you mean more to me than you’ll ever know, and that wouldn’t change if you weren’t king. When we met, you weren’t in line to be king. Being queen has never been a goal of mine. Even if that tape wasn’t cut, I can only assume I had that attitude at the time because I was trying to throw them off. The situation I was in . . . I couldn’t appear weak and afraid. And I knew the more valuable I was to you, the more they would punish me. I love you, Asher. If you walked away from your title tomorrow, I would walk with you—I need you to know that.”

  He pulled her into his lap and cupped her cheeks. “I do know that. I do,” he said, locking his eyes on hers. “It’s us against the world, Abi.” He brushed his lips over hers.

  She placed a sweet, lingering kiss on his lips. “Me and you . . . and Thomas Security,” she added with a laugh.

  “They help a little,” Asher said, grinning. The sight of Asher beaming a full smile warmed her heart—it was mesmerizing.

  He took her hand and ran a thumb over her knuckles, pausing on a ring finger. “I need to get you a ring,” he said.

  Abi smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “What?” A
sher asked quickly.

  “Nothing,” she said, shaking her head softly.

  Asher raised an eyebrow expectantly.

  “Maybe we should wait. I don’t want you to put a ring on my finger, announce our engagement, and then the voice recording is released to the public. It’ll be a nightmare for you to deal with.”

  “Abi, this tape is probably going to be a nightmare regardless. It would be easier for me to deal with it if you have a ring on your finger,” Asher said.

  She pulled back, watching him carefully. “Do you think I’d walk away?” Santina’s divorce rate was low—divorce happened, but it wasn’t common. Couples tended to stick together and work it out. Abi had thought that the stigma of divorce might’ve been one of the main reasons—children included, of course—that her parents had stayed together after her father’s liaison with Emilia.

  “Abi, I would understand if you walked away at any time, but especially now,” Asher said, his eyes pained. “There’s every chance you’re going to be heavily criticized in the media—and you’ll have me to thank for that. Yes, you’re William Bennett’s daughter, but our relationship makes your story a front page feature. You will be unfairly criticized and I’ve seen what that can do to people.” He looked away from her uncertainly.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said without hesitation. “When I said I would marry you, I meant it. I won’t walk away when things get tough. You said we were forever, so put that ring on my finger! If I’m going to be unfairly criticized, I want the world to know I have your support, at least.”

  Asher pressed his lips to hers. “I will fight for you. Always.”

  Abi

  Asher’s tongue swept over hers with a hunger she hadn’t felt in days. She wasn’t grateful or happy for the fallout that was surely coming, but one thing was becoming very clear: Asher met every challenge. The more difficult the circumstances, the more he rose to meet them. She was proud to stand beside him—and proud to marry him. She just hoped he’d think the same of her in a few weeks’ time.