King of Slaves (Jenna's Story) (The Slave Series Book 5) (36 page)

“Hmm,” Alex said and kept walking in a leisurely pace.

“What do you remember about our grandparents?”

“Well, nothing; they died before I was born.”

“No, I’m not talking about Dad’s parents. I’m talking about Mom’s parents.”

Alex looked up into the sky. “Not much… I only have a few memories of being on a boat with them.”

“But don’t you find it strange that they’d stop seeing us after Mom died?”

Alex shrugged. “You told me that we reminded them of Mom, and that it was too painful for them to see us.”

“Yeah… because that’s what Dad told me.” Jenna held up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. “But the more I think about the whole thing, the stranger I think it is.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I would like to see Mom’s hospital records to understand exactly how old she was when they discovered she had breast cancer, and what they did to try and cure her.”

“And how will you get those records?”

Jenna turned her head, “Dad is flying in for the wedding in a few days. We could ask him to bring them.”

“Okay.”

“And I’ve decided that we’re going to call Grandma and Granddad and ask what happened.”

Alex narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure about this, Jenna?”

“Yes. Kio and I are getting married and starting our own family. You know how frightened I am that I’ll die young too, so I think…” She trailed off, her eyes glazing over.

Alex waited for a moment before she nudged Jenna on. “You think what?”

“Oh, ehhm, I think…” She looked confused. “I don’t remember what I wanted to say.” She massaged her temples. “God, my brain has too much to think about.”

“That’s okay, but I’m sure we could have Dad bring Mom’s medical record. I can call him up tonight and tell him, if you want.”

“Thank you. I already looked up Mom’s parents and found them in Tennessee.”

“Tennessee?”

“Yes, and I want us to call them together.”

“What, now?”

“Why not?” Jenna asked and headed for a bench close by.

Alex followed and nervously played with her hair; it was a sure sign that she didn’t like the idea. “I don’t know, Jenna. What if we reopen their pain… or something?”

Jenna arched a brow. “I’m sorry, Alex. But honestly… They might have lost a daughter, but we were only children and lost our mother. What kind of grandparents turns their back on two small girls in mourning?”

Alex nodded her head. “When you say it like that…”

“I want answers, and we are calling them. Come and sit.”

Before Alex could make it to the bench, Jenna had already fished out her phone and a scrap of paper with a number on.

“Are you sure about this?” Alex asked but Jenna ignored her.

Thirty seconds later the two women sat close together, leaning against the cellphone with loudspeaker on, hearing the dial tone ring out once, twice, before a voice answered with a loud “Hello.”

“Hi, is this Cathleen Schmidt?” Jenna asked and felt her pulse race.

“Yes, this is she.”

“Hi, I’m Jenna… Jenna Davis.”

The gasp on the other end of the line was loud.

“Jenna?”

“Alex is here too.”

“Ohhh, girls.” The old lady’s voice broke.

“How are you?”

They heard their grandmother call out on her end. “Jim, come quickly, it’s Jenna and Alex.”

They exchanged a glance and Alex took Jenna’s hand.

“How did you find us after all these years?” Cathleen asked.

“You are listed in the Yellow Pages; it wasn’t hard at all.”

“Oh, good, that’s good.”

A male voice was heard in the background. “Hang up, Cat.”

“But it’s the girls, Jim.”

“Hang up – you know you can’t talk to them.”

Their grandmother was crying. “I’m so sorry, but I have to go.” Click… the line went silent.

The shock and disappointment made both Alex and Jenna unable to speak.

Alex yanked the phone out of Jenna’s hands and called the number again. This time it rang nine times before it was picked up.

“Hello,” a gruff male voice answered.

“The connection was lost before – this is Alex and Jenna.”

“I know who you are, but you can’t call here. We are not allowed to talk to you. It’s better if you forget about us.”

“Allowed… what are you talking about?”

Click…

“What the hell?” Alex was the one to say what they were both thinking.

Jenna got up from the bench with determination on her face. “We need Mom’s records… something is not right here, Alex.”

“I’m on it!”

CHAPTER 33

Manipulation

Zurry

Enough!
Like a lion in a cage, Zurry was pacing his room.

He was done waiting for Alex to come to him. Eight days she had been at the palace and… nothing.

Jenna had both begged and threatened him to stay away from Alex, but of course he hadn’t been able to. The minute she arrived from the airport he had been there to see her. She was gorgeous as always but with her eyes guarded, and when she saw him she had given him a polite nod.

Not even a little smile, but a fucking nod, as if he was nothing but an acquaintance to her.

He had tasted Alex, taken her, claimed her, and for her to treat him this way was unacceptable.

That was why he had gone to her room that first night. How was he to know that Jenna had foreseen his move, and had moved Alex to a different room, without his knowledge?

Jenna might be sneaky, but her attempt to hide her sister had been pointless, as he had access to all surveillance cameras. The next day he had found Alex in a room on the third floor, and this time, he had skipped the small talk and taken the chance to tell her how he felt.

“Alex, I know you think we’re bad for each other. But it’s not true. What I feel for you is more than I’ve felt for anyone.”

Alex had been surprisingly calm, considering that he had invited himself into her room, and thrown his declaration of love at her without any warning. She had simply put down the book she had been reading, and gotten up from her chair.

“Wow… I don’t know what to say,” she had told him in a tone of voice that was far from the silky one he remembered. “How many women have you told that lie to, Zurry?”

If Alex had been a native, she would have understood the magnitude of her insult.

“You think I speak of my emotions to all women?” he had asked in disbelief, and she had made it worse by shrugging him off, as if she really couldn’t care less. As if he was somehow insignificant to her. It had given him that awful burning sensation in his throat that he hated so much. It always reminded him of being eight and overhearing his mom telling his sister that she was her favorite child. Back then he had felt like he was suffocating, and hearing Alex dismiss him was no different; the iron ring around his throat fucking hurt. 

“I’m not saying that you lie to all women, Zurry, probably just the ones you wish to manipulate into believing they are special to you.”

“Manipulate?” He had barely been able to form the word.

Alex had looked sad when she spoke again. “You know, I meant it when I said that I have never met a man like you. It’s easy to be blinded by your good looks and sweet words, and I don’t blame myself for falling in love with you.”

Sweet words?
He had found it absurd to hear her accuse him of being a sweet talker… he was the exact opposite. Or at least he always had been.

Of course he had considered seducing her before he went to her, and even in his state of disappointment, he might have been able to pull it off. But seducing her would only have made her resent him more the next day. He had resisted.

“Alex, I’m not trying to manipulate you, I’m trying to tell you that I’m in love with you.”

Alex had gasped, and in that moment Zurry found her more lovely than ever with her amazing red hair shining with colors of gold and copper that matched her cute freckles. Her beautiful blue eyes had been wide with surprise as if she couldn’t believe what he had just said.

He had declared his love for this woman and it had been perfect… until she spoke.

“You barely know me.”

“I know, but I’ve been thinking about you every day for the last seven months, Alex.”

She had laughed then, and it had
not
been the wonderful melodic sound he loved so much. Instead her laugh had been hollow and hellish at the same time.

“You don’t love me, Zurry…”

“Don’t tell me how I feel,” he had protested.

Alex picked up her book again, and held it against her chest as if it could somehow shield her heart against him. “I think you should leave.”

There hadn’t been much he could do. Forcing his company on her would only scare her, and so he had left with a short parting comment. “I’ll leave you alone for now, but I’m telling you the truth, Alex, and I want you to come find me so we can work this out.”

So far, she hadn’t come. He had waited eight long days and there had been nothing from her, not a text, not a phone call, not a visit… just
nothing
!

Zurry could be patient and strategic, but more importantly he was a man of action and he was done waiting.

He didn’t mean to slam his door when he left his room to go find Alex. It wasn’t that he was angry, more like pumped with determination.

Why can’t she just see that there’s no point in fighting this attraction between us?

He speed walked to her room and was knocking on her door when he heard shouting coming from the other side of her door.

“Alex,” he called and tried to open the door. It was locked.

“Alex, open the door.”

Why is she shouting?
He couldn’t hear the words, only her raised voice, and it sounded angry. Another shout convinced him Alex was in danger, and he reacted instantly, not thinking twice about kicking in her door. Three hard kicks were all it took to make the hinges break and the door fly open.

Zurry stormed in, pumped with adrenaline and ready to take down anyone endangering Alex. He found her screaming in fear, in a crouched-down position behind the bed, with her arms covering her head.

“What happened, Alex?” he shouted and searched for the danger. There was no one there. Not in her bedroom, her bathroom, in her closet, or even under the bed. Alex was alone!

Confused, Zurry kneeled down beside her. “Alex, talk to me. What happened, why are you screaming?”

She was shaking and looked up at him with eyes as wide as saucers. “Because a crazy person just kicked in my door and scared me to death.”

He frowned. “That was just me. I heard you shout and your door was locked. I thought you were in danger.”

She shook her head and gave him a stare of complete disbelief.

“I did knock,” he defended himself. “Twice.”

“But I wasn’t in danger, I was just talking on the phone with my dad.”

Zurry followed her gaze to the phone lying on the carpet a few feet away from her. He reached for it and handed it to her.

She picked it up with shaking hands and spoke while keeping her eyes fixed on him. “Dad?”

Zurry could hear Andy on the other end. “What the hell happened – are you okay?”

“Yes… It was just Zurry.”

“Why were you screaming like that?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you when you get here – and you better bring those papers, and have a good explanation ready.”

Alex put down the phone and took a long deep breath.

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

“No. Are you out of your mind?” she asked him and blew a strand of hair away from her face.

“Alex, I really thought you were in danger. Your door was locked.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Of course my door was locked – you came in uninvited just last week. I’ve been trying to keep you out.” Her gaze went to the broken door with a deep frown.

“You know I have a master key, right?”

Both her eyebrows lifted; apparently she had forgotten that he once told her that. “If you have a master key, then why in the world would you kick in my door?”

“Because I don’t carry the key around with me. I was counting on you to open the door for me, but then I heard you shouting… Why were you shouting?”

There was a minute of silence and he could see she was considering whether or not to tell him.

Alex climbed up from the floor and sat on the bed. He followed and took a seat next to her.

“I was shouting because my father is the largest jerk in the world.” She gave him a sideways glance. “I honestly thought that title belonged to you, but you just lost it to him.”

He ignored the part about his being a jerk… for now.

“Why is your dad a jerk?”

A voice from the door interrupted them. “Is everything all right, miss?” One of the king’s soldiers was in the doorway with a handgun in his hands, and when he saw Zurry he switched to Spiri. “What happened to the door?”

“Yes, everything is fine. Leave us.” Zurry demanded.

The guard gave a last grim stare at the broken door before he left.

“Why is your dad a jerk?” Zurry repeated.

Alex sighed. “I don’t even know where to start.” She let her face fall into her hands. “It’s such a mess.”

Zurry couldn’t resist stroking her hair and her back in a quiet, comforting way. “Tell me.”

“When I was six and Jenna was twelve, our mother died of breast cancer.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“Now that Jenna is getting married she has concerns and questions about our mother’s medical history. Mostly because she’s afraid it could be hereditary.”

“Okay.”

“So she wants to see the medical records and I was calling my dad to tell him to bring them.”

“Right.”

“Only, he refused.”

Zurry tilted his head. “Why?”

“See, that’s what I wondered too, and then I told him that Jenna and I called our grandparents today and got a strange reaction from them, saying they weren’t allowed to speak with us.”

“What?”

“I know… it’s so strange, but it gets worse because my father is definitely keeping something hidden from us. He told me that Jenna has nothing to worry about, and that our mother didn’t really die from breast cancer.”

Zurry scratched his chin, trying not to interrupt.

“He told me not to worry about it and let it go.”

“And are you… going to let it go, I mean?” Zurry asked and received a snort and a what-do-you-think look.

“I told him to bring the medical records. I’m not even going to believe anything he says at this point. That man is so manipulative; he’ll just fabricate another story to cover his first one.”

“Your father?”

“Yes…” There was a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Zurry…”

“Yes.”

“How did you know my mom had breast cancer?”

“I didn’t.”

“But when I told you… you said ‘
I know.
’”

Fuck…
he had slipped up by revealing that he knew, and he couldn’t tell her that he had been eavesdropping on her phone calls with Jenna.

“No, I meant it as in a sympathetic ‘Oh, that’s horrible.’ Not as in, ‘I already knew your mother had breast cancer,’” he babbled.

“Huh. Okay.” She looked confused, but to his relief she dropped the subject and tugged her hair behind her ears. “I’ve got to find Jenna and tell her.”

“When is your dad flying in?”

“Thursday.”

“That’s in four days; do you want me to get my people to find out what they can in the meanwhile?” he asked.

“How?”

“I could have someone pay your grandparents a visit. Sounds like they might know what killed your mother.”

“No, not right now,” she said softly. “I don’t want anyone harming or scaring them; they are old.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “And I don’t wish them any harm.”

Zurry nodded. “I understand.”

Alex turned away from him, drying a tear from her cheek. He couldn’t resist pulling her into his arm to console her.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and cried.

“It’s going to be all right, Alex. I’ve got you,” he whispered and kissed the top of her head.

She didn’t respond but let out her sadness in sniffled cries.

It was breaking his heart to see her this sad. He was angry at Andy for having lied to his daughters and caused this situation, but at the same time he finally had Alex back in his arms again, and that had to count for something.

Another one of his soft kisses on the top of her hair made Alex lift her head up and meet his worried gaze. Her mascara had smeared, and there were tears stuck on her long lashes, but her eyes were no longer guarded and the specks of green and gold in her blue irises were more pronounced than ever. It took his breath away to be this close to her.

“Did you mean it when you said that you are in love with me?” she asked in her soft silky voice.

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation

“Why?”

“I just am.”

“But why?”

“Because you are you.”

There was the cutest little frown on her forehead. “What’s so special about me?”

The answer came from deep inside him. “Only you make me feel this way. Only you make me want to do stupid things to prove my love to you. Only you make me feel wildly alive when I’m with you, and partly dead when you’re gone.”