Tarnished Crown (Gravestone Elite #2) by Caitlyn Dare (books like beach read TXT) 📕

"She's blinded by the glitz, glamor and money. She thinks that being Cade's prosapia is the world's biggest privilege."

"You're not selling her to me."

"I wasn't trying to. Come on, I need to show you something."

"Your bedroom," I ask, waggling my eyebrows.

"Well, yes, but it's what I've got inside that I want to show you."

"Okay, lead the way."

I follow her ass up the stairs, wishing all the way that she hadn’t put her shorts back on yet. She shows me to her desk and starts explaining what she's found.

"So what do you think it means?" she asks, standing next to me with her ass perched on the desk.

"I think… I don't know what I think, aside from this all being suspicious as fuck."

“You said you were at Marcus'. Did he have anything to say?"

"No. He just kept repeating that we needed to trust that Q knows what they're doing and that I need to protect you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Why do you look surprised? We all know that Cade is dangerous."

She lifts her hand, pushing her hair back. “I know, it's just hearing you say it like that… it makes the threat seem so real.”

"It is. What happened at your picnic yesterday, mouse?"

"Nothing really." I narrow my eyes at her, sensing that she's hiding something. "He tried and, thanks to Channing, failed to get what he wanted."

"He's not going to wait until your ceremony at this rate."

"It's tradition. He has to."

I quirk a brow.

"I hope."

"What if you can't get out of it by then?"

"Then…" She blows out a long breath. "Then I have to see it through."

My body freezes with her words. There's no fucking way I'm letting him make things official in the eyes of Q. There's no fucking way I'm going to let him touch her.

"I'm sorry, Bex. But it might be the only way. We might need more time."

I know this, I do. But it doesn't stop it from hurting.

Pushing that issue aside for now, I focus back on why we're here.

"What are you doing?" she asks as I pull my cell from my pocket.

"Calling James. If Marcus won't help, I think you're right. He's the next one to ask about all this."

After a short conversation, I discover that he's thankfully in Sterling Bay right now, and he—somewhat reluctantly—agrees to meet us.

"He's going to send me an address for a diner out of town, and we're going to meet him there," I tell Mia.

"Now?"

"In an hour, yeah. It's only about thirty minutes from here though, so we've got a little time."

"Is that right?" she asks, a knowing smile pulling at her lips.

The diner is deserted when we pull into the lot exactly an hour later. Not two seconds later does another car roll in behind us.

"Is that him?" Mia asks, staring out the window.

"Yeah. Come on then, let's see if we can find anything out."

"Bexley," he says, holding his hand out to me when we meet just before the entrance to the diner. "Good to see you, son. And this must be Mia. It's a pleasure," he says, also shaking her hand. "I've heard a lot about you, young lady."

Mia's cheeks turn bright red.

"F-from where?"

"That doesn't matter right now. Shall we?" He gestures toward the doors, and the three of us step inside.

There is only one server as we walk in, and we're quickly seated in a booth in the farthest corner of the restaurant.

"Is it always this quiet?" Mia asks, filling the silence that's descended.

"No. I booked the entire place."

"At an hour's notice?" She balks.

"Yes. I sense we might need to discuss some… sensitive topics, so I thought it for the best."

"Right. I'm sorry, but who are you exactly?" Mia asks as she stares James directly in the eyes. Pride for my girl oozes from me as she holds her own against him.

Everyone knows that James Jagger takes no prisoners, but she doesn't seem fazed in the slightest.

"I work for Q," he states. “My grandfather and grandmother fled from Gravestone after falling in love. My father was promised to someone else. Sound familiar?" he asks, looking between the two of us.

"Somewhat," I mutter, having already heard this story from my mom.

"They moved to Gravestone, and thankfully my father was in a position with Q that he could broker a deal. He agreed to work for them if they agreed to make Sterling a safe haven, that they wouldn't come after either of them or others who flee.”

"What did your grandfather know or do to hold that much power over them?" Mia asks, enthralled by this story.

"That doesn't matter right now. Marcus—my great-uncle, your grandfather—stayed. His son took my father's place as heir, and everything would have continued."

"But he died."

"Died after also falling for the wrong woman. A woman who had you."

"Okay we know all this," Mia says in a rush, wanting to get to the main point of the meeting. "I was never meant to be Cade's prosapia," she states with confidence.

"Your name was in the calix, Mia."

"I know, but it threw everyone for a loop. It wasn't meant to be me. Someone planned it, and I want to know why." Her voice begins to rise with her anger. "Cade is unhinged, a complete psycho, and someone thought it would be a good idea for us to be together."

James swallows somewhat nervously as Mia's emotions begin to get the better of her.

"We found this," she says, slamming the list of names down on the desk. "I found it in my father's office after hearing him having a very suspicious conversation with Phillip Cargill. I need to know if this is all linked, if this is going to help me get myself out of this hell before Cade Kingsley kills me.”

James takes the piece of paper, but he doesn't look at it long enough to really read the names. He knows exactly what it is.

"Gregory Kingsley's accident was no accident, was it?" I ask James, voicing my suspicions.

"No. It was not."

"So why? Why was he killed along with all these other