Inheriting a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 7) (10 page)

“I need the jewels,
Darcy.”

“And I can’t give
them to you.”

“I don’t want to be
at war with you. Why are you forcing me to fight you?”

“You should go now.”

“I’m going to make
your life a living hell. You’ve given me no other choice.”

“Get the fuck out,
Brayden. I can handle whatever you plan to dish out, so your
conscience can be clear.”

“You’ve been
warned.”

“Goodbye.”

I walk out, feeling
anger start replacing the sadness inside of me. She thinks she can
handle me, and come out of this unscathed? She can try. I wish her
all the damn luck in the world.

Darcy

The last few days have
been pretty rough. I meant what I said when I told Brayden that I
could handle anything he did to me. It’s what he’s not doing to
me that I’m having a hard time with. We hold hands and even give
each other a peck on the mouth during public appearances, but as soon
as we’re out of sight, he stays as far away from me as possible.

His mother insists on
us all eating together, but no one speaks during the meals, and we
all go our separate ways afterward. I hang out with the girls, but
never in my rooms. I don’t even sleep on my bed anymore. I’ve
been taking the comforter and pillows off to sleep on the floor.
There’s just too many memories in that bed—and on my couch in the
game room—and besides, I’ve slept on much worse before.

Tomorrow, more of my
friends are coming. The whole island is excited about their arrival,
and no one is aware that they’ll be here for me. This weekend is
the first of the many celebrations leading up to Brayden’s
coronation, and it’s just for the locals. Because Brayden’s dad
had spent time in the States for college, the plan has always been to
feature American entertainment at these events. From what I’ve
heard around the palace, and during my walks into the village, every
young girl on the island—and many of their mothers as
well--couldn’t be more excited to have Storyside performing for the
daytime picnic and carnival. Zack Taylor is a big draw for the sports
fans; although, I’m not sure that he and Ainsley will be able to
hide their relationship from anyone. They’ve been together for
almost a year, and still can’t keep their hands off of each other.

The nighttime ball is
going to be more formal, with American dignitaries and businessmen
and women dressed to the nines. Jake Mason will be attending on
behalf of his mother—unfortunately Isa won’t be with him; I heard
they had a huge fight about him constantly trying to protect her, but
then he somehow made it up to her. I’m guessing he earned another
medal doing it, but I won’t be asking either of them for
confirmation. Matt and Reina will be here representing Corrigan &
Co., Nate and Aiden will be joining them as part of their security
detail, and Jade will be coming as a representative of the C&C
Foundation. They won’t exactly be undercover, since the royals know
they’re part of the Society. The mentors will be here as well, but
they’ll be with their husbands—or in Helen’s case, her latest
boy toy—so it will look like they’re just wealthy couples
attending one of the biggest social events of the decade.

Stella picked out my
dress when I was first assigned to the mission, but no one here will
know that. Jenysis has been talking about how excited she is to meet
her, but I think she’d be less than happy if she knew that Stella
was really coming here for me. She hasn’t tried to harm me again,
but she’s been overtly hostile, especially now that Brayden is
treating me like I don’t matter. Noah gives me a sad smile here and
there, but he’s kept his distance as well. I know his loyalty and
allegiance lie with Brayden.

I’m sitting on a
bench in a park near the village square, eating gelato, and trying to
will myself to go back to the palace, as I smile at the people
passing by. A shadow falls over me, and I look up to see Brayden’s
uncle, Steven, standing over me. “Hello, Darcy.”

“Hello.”

“I’m surprised to
see you sitting out here all alone.”

“Who did you honestly
think I’d be with? Brayden can barely stand to be in the same room
with me. Your daughter hates me with a passion that I’ve rarely
seen rivaled, even in the ugliest of child traffickers. Noah is
Brayden’s best friend, so he can’t be friends me with. Who’s
left?”

“Your friends are
here.”

“They’re busy
trying to keep your family from harming me.”

“No harm will come to
you, Darcy. Not as long as I am breathing. I swear it.”

“Don’t make
promises you can’t keep.”

“I’m truly sorry
for what you’re going through. My nephew made a promise to his
father, and surely you can understand what that means to him.”

“Your brother
should’ve never made him promise what he did. Asking him to do the
impossible was wrong.”

“It’s not
impossible. You could tell him what he needs to know.”

“No. I will not break
the oath I’ve taken. That would be an insult to the people who have
died, and put those still living in even more danger.”

“It’s a sad day
when something as beautiful as honor can also cause heartache.”

“Yes, Steven, it is.”

He gives me one last,
sad smile before walking away. I sit for a little longer, and then
throw the rest of my gelato away. I’ve lost my appetite, and I just
want to go home. Not to the castle, but back to Vegas, where I can
nurse my broken heart with ice cream and World of Warcraft. Instead
of having to hide the hurt with a fake smile and designer clothes
while I sleep on the floor.

I’m only a few blocks
from the castle, when strong arms reach out and pull me into the
shadows of an alley. It’s not dark, but it’s secluded, and I know
I could potentially be in trouble. I force myself not to struggle as
I try to plan my escape.

“Hello, Darcy,”
says a voice that has only lived in my nightmares for the past ten
years.

He’s behind me, and
whispering in my ear as I try not to shiver in fear. I’m not a
scared teenager anymore, I remind myself. I can fight him off. I can
make it away from him alive. But can the other people I’m
protecting? The fact that I’m unsure of that is the only reason I
don’t break away.

“What do you want?”

“What I’ve always
wanted. I’ve been patient with you, but your time is running out.”

“My answer will
always be the same.”

“I saw you with
Steven, and I’ve seen you with the son. You care for him.”

“It’s an act.”

“If you give them the
jewels, there will be consequences.”

“I’m not afraid of
you.”

“You know well enough
that you should be. Your father already paid with his life, I would
hate for the same to happen to you.”

“No you wouldn’t.
You’d love to kill me, but you want the jewels too much to do
that.”

“If I even think
you’re close to giving them to the royal family, I will make good
on my threats. Remember that, little girl.”

With that, he lets me
go, and is already a moving shadow when I turn around. I squat down
and run my fingers through my hair as I try to breathe normally
again. I can do this. I
will
do this. I’ve done it for ten years already, but I really hope I
don’t have to do it for ten more. In a perfect world, I’d be able
to hand over the jewels to Brayden before coronation day, but I know
that’s unlikely. Honor can suck it sometimes.

* * *

Brayden

I’m sitting by the
pool trying to figure out what to do about everything when I see
Darcy jump down from the top of the fence across the lawn. Of course
she wouldn’t just walk in the main gate. Or even the side one. She
looks shaken up, and sad, and I just want to go pull her into my
arms. I want to, but I can’t.

“She’s hurting,”
Noah says, sitting down next to me.

“I’m not doing so
great myself, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed.
You still think the kingdom is worth more than her?”

No. Maybe. “Yes.”

“Then it’s good
you’re staying away. Do you want me to bring some girls over
tonight?”

“What? No. I’m
still engaged.”

“A fake engagement.”

“That’s supposed to
show how responsible I am now. Having girls over is a really bad
idea.”

“I could find
discreet ones.”

“I said no. Now drop
it.”

The thought of being
with another woman makes me want to throw up. I know I’ll need to
move on once this is all said and done, but for now I belong to
Darcy, even if we’re not speaking to each other. I’m hers, and I
know deep down that she’s still mine.

“Your Highness?”

I turn to see Audrey
standing in the doorway to the formal dining room. “You can call me
Brayden.”

“With all due
respect, there are quite a few things I’d like to call you. Some of
them even start with a ‘b’ but I think I’ll stick to formality
for both of our sakes.”

“Fair enough. What
can I do for you?”

“I wanted to go over
the plans for Saturday with you.”

“Just do whatever you
want. I’m sure it’ll be great.”

“You don’t care
about your own celebration?”

“Not really. I mean,
there’s a carnival with Storyside, and then a fancy ball, right?”

“You make it seem
like it’s nothing. A lot of people have put quite a bit of effort
into making these events something special for everyone who attends.”

“I know. I’m sorry
if I made it seem like I don’t appreciate it. I do. You’ve done a
great job with PR for not only this weekend, but everything else.
I’ll show up and play my part.”

“Do you even know
what that is—you part?”

“I show up and smile
for the cameras. Play a little polo, and then dance with my lovely
fiancé at the ball.”

“I’d like you to be
a little more involved than that. I think the people of your country
deserve
more from you
than that. For the international events, do what you want. But
Saturday afternoon should be special for your people.”

Well, now I feel about
an inch tall. Because she’s right. “I’m sorry I made it seem
like I didn’t care. Things are a little rough right now, but my
people deserve my best. Please sit down and tell me what you’d like
me to do.”

“What I’d
like
you to do is make my friend stop crying herself to sleep on the floor
every night. What I
need
you to do this weekend is be present in everything. Not just show up
and look pretty. I need you to play some carnival games, go on rides,
sit on the grass while eating junk food with the kids, and dance at
the concert. Preferably with your fiancé by your side, but I can
spin it that you want to interact separately.”

I hear what she’s
saying, but my brain’s still stuck on Darcy sleeping on the floor.
Why the hell would she do that? I realize that Audrey’s waiting for
me to respond, so I do. “I can do all of that. It sounds great. I
love my people. Darcy should be by my side. If she wants to, I mean.”

“She’ll do
whatever’s necessary for her mission. I’ll talk to her.”

“Does she really
sleep on the floor?”

“I shouldn’t have
told you that. She’d kill me if she knew I told you.”

“I don’t want it to
be like this. I need my family’s jewels back, though, and she’s
the only person who can tell me where they are.”

Audrey stands, and I
have to look up so I can meet her eyes. “I don’t know any more
than you do, Brayden. But I do know Darcy. If she says that she can’t
tell you, then she has a good reason. She isn’t doing this for
herself. She hasn’t told me that, but again, I know her.”

“I can’t let this
go.”

“But you don’t want
to let her go either, do you?”

“He’s not staying
with her either way. He can’t,” Noah says. I’d almost forgotten
he was sitting next to me.

“Why? What’s wrong
with Darcy?”

“Nothing’s wrong
with her,” I say. “She’s fucking perfect.”

“Except that she’s
not royal,” Noah reminds me. Like I could forget.

“So?”

“As you’ve seen, my
country is very small. Its rules and traditions were decided
centuries ago by kings who wanted to protect us from anyone who might
want to conquer us. For that reason, it was put into our charter that
a king could only marry another royal. Someone who would combine
their forces with ours if we were ever attacked.”

“Why is Darcy even
here as your fake fiancé then? Don’t the people know you can’t
marry her?”

“Yes, and no. They
know of the charter, but my people—especially the younger
generation—hope that I’ll break it. They’ve seen other royals
around the world marry commoners, and they want that, too. The staff
that go out and talk to my people have found that they’d rather I
marry for love, and not for tradition.”

Noah jumps in again, to
shoot it all down. I know he’s right, but he could let me have the
fantasy for at least a few minutes. “Those are the people with no
power, though. Our Parliament would never let that happen. Those old
men live and breathe tradition. I don’t think the word ‘change’
is even in their vocabulary. That’s why it’s best for the two of
them to remember that this is fake.”

“I think it may be
too late for that,” Audrey says, squeezing my shoulder as she walks
past.

She’s right again.
It’s way too late to pretend that we don’t care. But Noah’s
right, too. The powerful men in this country would never let me marry
Darcy, and with my coronation already set in motion, I can’t stop
it now. I’ll have some time after I’m crowned, but I’ll be
expected to find a suitable queen eventually. One who doesn’t have
bright orange hair, and the ability to make me smile just by walking
into a room. Tradition can really be a pain in the ass.