Filthy Crown by Eleanor Aldrick
“What do you mean you don’t know?” My teeth are about to turn to dust, I’m grinding them so hard.
“We mean, we don’t fucking know.” Hudson growls, refusing to drop my gaze. This is what I get for being in a room full of alphas. “It’s not typical cartel behavior, that’s for damn sure. We’ve been digging, asking our sources for info, but everyone either doesn’t know or this is something only high-level members had access to.”
“I don’t understand. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful as hell they didn’t sexually abuse her. I just want to know the why.”
“So far, all we have is that the guards were ordered not to touch her. Her mom was free game but not her.” Hudson drops that bomb and my stomach sinks. I wonder how much Blanca suffered at the hands of these monsters.
William thankfully cuts into my thoughts, though the image he paints isn’t much better. “If Pen’s a virgin, they could’ve wanted her for the market.”
Hearing this makes my blood boil. Is my little princess a virgin? She sure as hell didn’t act like it under the waterfall. No, she climbed me like a wanton woman.
My cock twitches at the memory. Fuck. Now is not the time.
Hudson looks sheepish as he asks, “Is she? A virgin?”
My body heats to the point of discomfort. Looking out the massive picturesque window at the women sitting outside, I grit out my answer. “I have no fucking clue.”
“Tiiiimberrrr,” Titus bellows into the room.
My brows push together, wondering what in the world he’s talking about. Meanwhile, Hudson coughs, trying to hide a chuckle.
“What?” I bark, not in the mood to be out of the loop.
Hudson answers, “It’s nothing. Titus has this thing where when one of us men falls for their girl, he says they fall like a log, hence he yells timber.” I glare at him and he quickly holds up his hands. “Hey, I’m just the messenger.”
Turning toward Titus, he has this annoying smirk on his face. “I just call it like I see it, brother. All the women out there are taken, save for Pen and your five-year-old niece, and I know you weren’t looking at her that way.”
I run a hand over my face, letting out a slow breath. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I’m a fucking liar. I very much know what he’s talking about.
“Look, I’m going to lay it out there. Each and every woman out there came with an insane story and it was a battle to get to our happily ever after. But man, was it worth it. I’d slay a million dragons if it meant I could hold my woman in my arms. And that is how you were looking at Pen.”
“Even if that were the case, if I truly felt that way, I couldn’t do anything about it. She’s seventeen and my niece for fuck’s sake.” My skin grows tight, unable to contain all of my emotions.
“Legally, she’s not your niece anymore. And as for her age? Just wait a couple of months and that won’t be an issue.” William speaks this matter-of-factly, and I wish I could be as certain as he is about how to move forward with these feelings, but I can’t.
“Her turning eighteen doesn’t change the fact that she’s so young, she’s just a girl. Or the fact that my brother would murder me if he were still alive.” The reasons why this would be so wrong keep looping in my head.
“Excuse me if I’m overstepping,” Titus lifts a brow, waiting for my nod to continue. Once he gets it, he drops a truth I can’t ignore. “Pen, just like our women, has been through hell and back. Based on her background info, it doesn’t seem like she had an easy childhood either. At least not before her mom met your brother. Point being, she’s not the little girl you thought you once knew.”
William cuts Titus off. “And as for your brother murdering you, all you have to do is ask yourself if your feelings are serious. As in, do you want her to be your forever? If so, I think Austin would’ve eventually come around. Hell, I did when Titus went after my sister.”
Titus snorts, “It took you a minute, though. At least it wasn’t like Aiden when you went after his daughter. It took him about a year.”
I chuckle. “You men have quite the story. Who thought your security service would come with relationship advice.”
“Hey, this isn’t typical for us.” William quarks his lips into a half smile. “But finding a brother with a similar love life hangup, we couldn’t not say anything.”
“Whatever the reason, I appreciate it. For everything.” I glance back at Pen and can’t even imagine a world where she wasn’t in it. That’s what would’ve happened had these men not retrieved her from Mexico.
“And we aren’t done. So far, there’s no word that they’re looking for Austin’s kids. But based on experience, they don’t like to leave loose ends, and leaving living relatives like children is typically considered a loose end to them.” Hudson looks at me apologetically. “The one thing making this different is how they treated Pen and the kids. Alex and Amanda weren’t subjected to the brutal discipline of the cartel and only suffered starvation and sub par living conditions.”
I snort sardonically, “Only. As if that weren’t bad enough.”
“Hey, I’m only saying that isn’t typical behavior.” Hudson tries to smooth over my ruffled feathers.
“Neither is the fact that they didn’t sexually abuse Pen. That’s highly atypical,” Titus adds, making a violent shudder run through me. Those words shouldn’t even be in the same sentence as Pen’s name.
“If you must know, I’ll ask her. I don’t want anyone else talking to her about it and risking a panic attack like she had outside.” My eyes flit to her, finding she’s immersed in conversation. She looks happy. The realization making my chest fill with warmth.
“Of course. In the meantime, we’ll keep digging and let you know if we catch wind of the cartel coming for the kids. We do suggest you pad your security until we’ve figured everything out. Maybe have a couple of men stationed outside your main house and a couple more throughout the property.”
“No,” I forcefully rush out. “We’ve alerted all the ranch hands to our current situation. They know to be on the lookout for any unauthorized guests.”
The men look at each other but remain quiet, so I continue, unwilling to give an inch on this. “The kids need stability right now. Seeing bodyguards will only alert them to the fact that they aren’t safe and that will definitely hamper any of their progress. The ranch is closed off from the outside and we have more than capable staff here who know what to do in case we have unwanted intruders. Let’s not add more security until absolutely necessary. Just keep me informed, and as soon as you have confirmation that the cartel is looking, then that’s when we’ll implement the additional guards.”
They all nod in agreement. I can sense their hesitation, but I’m only doing what I think is best for the kids.
With Amanda still having nightmares and Pen having panic attacks, I’d like Leventhal to work his magic a little longer before I introduce the fact that they still could be in danger. Damn, nobody said parenting would be easy, but having to make decisions like this is downright inhumane.
