Page 46 of Vicious King

I frown, already slowly shaking my head side to side.

“I’m not asking, baby,” he continues, and his voice is just as hard as his face.

“I told you already that I’m not comfortable moving Charlie,” I remind him. “And I know that you’re powerful and scary, but I’m a motherfucking mama bear, and I dare you to make me do anything I don’t want to do when it comes to my son.”

“I fucking missed you,” Julian says with a half smile.

“Do you remember Nico Makris?” Carson asks me, and my eyes fly to Julian.

“Of course. He and my father were besties when I was growing up. He always looked at me a little too long.”

“He was the janitor at Charlie’s school until about”—Carson checks the nonexistent watch on his wrist—“three hours ago. When I fucking killed him.”

The blood has drained from my head, and I have to plant my hands on the table to keep myself upright.

“What?”

“He was sent here to watch you,” Julian continues.

“Under your orders?” I demand, the anger moving through me becoming its own living, breathing entity.

“Fuck no,” Julian replies. “I didn’t know he was here until Carson’s men discovered him. He and your father’s other buddies have been watching you.”

I’m going to throw up. “For how fucking long?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Carson says. “Nico wasn’t forthcoming on the information, but we know that it’s been for several years. I need to go to Vegas to round up the other men and interrogate them, and I need to get you out of here.”

My breath is coming fast, and I’m so fucking lightheaded.

“Years? All this time, I thought we were safe here, and they found me?” I blink rapidly and frown. “Wait. If my father knew I was alive, how didn’t . . . did you know all this time and you⁠—”

“No,” Carson says and moves fast, scooping me into his arms. “I didn’t fucking know. Julian didn’t know.”

“Your father was working on his own,” Julian says. “He didn’t share the information with me, because if he had, I would have found you and kept you safe. I would have brought hellfire down to get you back and kept you and the baby under protection until Carson was out of prison.”

“I don’t know how he knew where you are,” Carson says. “We’re going to find out, but I can’t protect you and Charlie here the way I can in Vegas. I was fine giving you time. Being here with you two and waiting until you were ready, but we don’t have that anymore.”

“But, what about my house? Do I just sell it?”

“Keep the house,” Carson says. “We don’t have to decide that right now. The important thing now is getting your things packed and getting on Julian’s plane back to Vegas. This morning, Sunshine.”

I look between the two of them. I can see by the set of their jaws and the hardness in their eyes that they’re not kidding.

So, I stand and walk for the door, and they hurry behind me. The yard is crawling with Carson’s men now, and my heartbeat is in overdrive because they’re anticipating something big happening, and I need to get my son as far away from it as possible.

I stride into the house and paste a smile on my face.

“Hey, kiddo,” I say when I see Charlie having breakfast at the counter. “We’re going on a trip.”

“When?” he asks, and then eyes Julian. “Who’s that?”

“That’s your dad’s brother, Julian.”

“He looks just like you,” Julian mutters to Carson, who simply grins. “Hey, buddy. It’s nice to meet you.”

“We’re leaving now,” I tell Charlie, and watch as Mildred frowns at me. I hold her gaze when I say, “And I don’t know when we’ll be back.”

Her eyes fill with tears, and she swallows hard.