Throne of Power (Throne Duet #1) by Rina Kent

“A long time ago, I was with my friends.”

“Friends?”

“They weren’t exactly my friends, but my colleagues from the assassination organization. In a way, they were like a family to me. It’s somewhat like the brotherhood, only we barely had any loyalty to each other. We just co-existed. The head of the family, whom I considered my godfather, was slipping away from me.”

“Godfather? Is he from the mafia?”

“Sort of. I wouldn’t consider him part of the mafia, but the concept is close enough.”

“Then, what happened?”

“Some rivals in the territory we ruled in London wanted my godfather dead. Of course, I couldn’t allow that to happen, so I took it upon myself to draw out the culprit.”

“That’s how you got shot?”

“That’s how I got myself shot.” Or close enough, anyway. She doesn’t need to know about the details.

“What is the difference between getting yourself shot and being shot?” Her question takes me by surprise. She really focuses on the details others wouldn’t even pay attention to.

“Getting oneself shot means I brought it upon myself.”

“What did you do?”

“I was overprotective of my godfather.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Sometimes, yes, but that’s how I was able to learn that I shouldn’t be overprotective about anyone. Because in the end, they have their own life, and I have mine.”

“I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think protecting people makes you a bad person or someone who shouldn’t be trusted. I think it takes a lot of courage to not only protect oneself, but everyone else around you.”

“Believe me, Princess, that wasn’t my intention, but if you take it that way, I won’t mind.”

“Didn’t you just say you were being overprotective?”

“Yeah, but not of everyone around me. We don’t do that where we came from. Not like you do.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you make sure your family is well taken care of.”

“It’s my duty.”

“Using yourself as a fucking body shield in front of Sergei isn’t duty—it’s reckless.”

She stares at me for a beat, then sighs. “I had to. That’s the only way my family could survive. If Sergei dies, both Anastasia and I are fucked.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, we are. Don’t you see how the others are plotting against me? Mikhail will have my head on a platter the moment Sergei dies, and have you seen that fox Kirill? He has something up his prim-and-proper sleeve, too.”

“Neither of them will hurt you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you have me now. There is no way in hell you’ll be hurt under my watch.”

She’s silent for a second, and I think she’s falling asleep. But then her words fill the silence. “Why did you leave?”

It’s the first time she’s spoken to me with that vulnerable voice outside of sex. It’s not only due to the question, but also about how she felt when it happened back then.

I consider my options and what to tell her without pushing her away. I’m enjoying having her around me so much right now. Or any time, basically.

“I was on a mission,” I say.

“What type of mission?”

“The type you shouldn’t know about for your own safety.”

“You left me, Kyle. I have the right to know why.”

“What do you mean I left you? We weren’t in a relationship back then. We weren’t sexual, or anything.”

“You were the closest guard I had, and you were the only one I ever allowed to know about my twin sister. You were the only one I shared my past with. And yet you just up and left as if nothing happened, as if we didn’t have those things together.”

“You told me you didn’t need me, Rai. After we saved Reina, you stood in front of me and said you were your own person and didn’t need someone to do things for you. You said those words, so don’t sit here and pretend as if you begged me to stay.”

“Begged you? Do you realize how that sounds? You know me, Kyle, or at least you did back then. Did you really think someone like me would ever beg? I’d just lost my grandpa back then, my only anchor, and the only person I needed by my side fucking left.”

“I didn’t know. I don’t exactly have the capacity to read your mind.”

“So you decided to leave as if nothing happened?”

“I told you I was on a mission.”

“What type of mission? And don’t tell me I shouldn’t know for my safety. We’re already married. There’s no wall that exists between us.”

Yes, there is, and she’s the one who has been building it since the beginning. I’m no better myself considering everything I’m hiding, but the barrier does exist, and all I want to do is to fucking eradicate it.

“The mission was for that organization I told you about. I had to go back to England.”

“And that made you unable to answer my calls or send me a text to let me know?”

“Yes.”

“But why, Kyle? Just why the hell did you erase yourself from my life that abruptly?”