“Your dad?” I questioned, and then internally smacked myself. That wasn’t important right now. The gates opened and I turned to face him, needing more answers. “Tell me more before Daemon gets in.”
“This island is run by The Lost Boys but owned and orchestrated by Katsia. This island, Madison”—his eyes collided with mine as we came to a stop outside the front door— “is where things you can’t even comprehend happen. This is the crux of The Elite Kings.”
“Wait!” I paused, trying to gather my thoughts. I was so confused but excited by how he was being open with me. “I thought the cave was on your property? The cave in the book?”
“Oh, that cave is.” His eyes hardened. “But after the war, they all moved to Perdita which was where our families settled until they took back what was theirs, here, in New York and The Hamptons.”
My mouth hung open, still in shock, then the front door opened and Daemon came walking down. He wore worn jeans, a white polo shirt, and a red bowtie. An interesting combination, but it was Daemon. He closed the back door and I turned to face him. “Bishop sort of filled me in, sort of didn’t, but, are you sure you want to do this?”
He tilted his head, his eyes going to my mouth and then coming back to my eyes. Fucking language barrier. I pulled out my phone and typed up google translate—untrusty fucker that it was—but it would at least give me something.
Bishop rolled his eyes and floored it out of our driveway, my head slamming into the seat. “Vos certus vos volo facere?”
My tummy tightened and my legs clenched together. It was my secret that Bishop speaking Latin was a major turn-on—goddayum.
Daemon nodded and shot me a tight smile. Daemon always smiled in a way that—either by twin instinct or not—I knew something was below the surface, threatening to spill over. I just hoped he would let me take some of the load. “I’m sure, Soror mea.”
I went to type in that word in google translate, but Bishop did me a solid. “It means my sister.” We traveled in silence, and it wasn’t long until we were pulling up to the airstrip. Bishop handed the security officer his ID, and then the gates opened and he drove in. Pulling to a stop, I gulped.
“Let me guess,” rolling my eyes, I pushed open my door. “The black jet with the gold crown on it is yours.”
Bishop slipped on his aviators, getting out of the car with the sun hitting his tan skin.
He flashed me a grin, his dimples sinking into his cheeks. “Dad’s, yeah.”
I turned around and jumped into Daemon’s arms. “I promise I will get you out of this shit, mmkay? But in the meantime, I think it’s the best to have you out for a while, but I’ll see you soon.”
His eyebrows pulled in, obviously confused, but I yanked him in for another hug. “I love you.”
He froze, and then his arm hooked around me, tightening around my waist. He kissed my head. “Te amo.”
My heart soared in my chest, my knees weakening. I knew what “amo” meant in most languages, so I already knew what he had said. He let me go, and I watched as he boarded the plane. Bishop was already waiting in the car for me, so I ducked back in.
“Are you sure this is a good thing?” I clipped my belt back on.
Bishop drove us out of the airstrip. “Yeah, it is. Now that the charges have been dropped, he has the chance to settle with Katsia.”
Hold up. “What!” I snapped. “I thought the reason why he was leaving was because of the charges!”
Bishop shook his head, calmly driving us onto the main highway that would lead us back to our neighborhood. “What? No. Of course the charges were dropped.” When I don’t answer, he glanced at me, and then back to the road, letting out an exasperated breath. “Madison, he’s not just a Lost Boy, he’s the Lost Boy. He’s Princeps of the Lost Boys. He has a commitment, and this life is all he knows—you can’t take that away from him. I get that this world is new to you, but there’s some shit that you’re just going to have to understand, while still understanding that you’re never going to know everything. It just is what it is. You’re a Silver Swan, Madison, you’re lucky you’re alive, let alone allowed to roam free amongst us.” I sunk back in my seat, suddenly feeling like a child getting scolded.
“Harsh, but I get it. Which by the way, how am I still alive?”
He smirked before chuckling. “How do you think?”
“You?” Excitement jumped inside of me like a na?ve little girl.
He rolled his eyes. “You give me way too much credit. But, yes and no. A lot of it you have to thank your dad for, and the rest is me, and, well—”
“—well, what?” I snapped, getting frustrated with his snail pace explanation.
“My dad.”
After swinging by In & Out, we’re getting out of the car back at my house when Madison started with her questions again. As long as she didn’t ask why I was keeping her away from her house—I didn’t care.
“What did you mean by your dad?” She shoved a few fries into her mouth and I snatched the bag from her before she ate them all.
I took out my burger. “Exactly what it is.”
“Oh, ok, Mr. Cryptic.”
“It’s not the fucking Davinci code, Madison,” I scolded her, walking to the side of the house that led to the pool house. “It’s just fucking wait and I’ll tell you.”
I took my burger out of its wrapper and bit into it, then handed the bag back to Madison.
“Fine!” She huffed. “But I want to talk about Tillie.”
My chewing paused briefly. I knew it was coming, I just dreaded when she was going to mention it. Just as we came out the side, I saw my dad talking with Justin near the pool. I stopped in my tracks which had Madison slamming into my back.
I pointed to the pool house. “I’ll meet you inside.” Even though Dad had a lot to do with why Madison and her father were still alive, I wasn’t too keen on testing the strength of his patience with her.
Her eyes darted from Dad to me and then back again.
“Now,” I growled, pointedly looking to my room.
She rolled her eyes so hard it made me want to smack her, and then stormed off into the pool house. She made me fucking violent. Once the door closed, I made my way to Dad and Justin. “What?” Biting into my burger, I watched them both carefully.
Dad took out a cigar and lit it, inhaling. “I now understand the Khales’ bullshit.”
“What?” I paid him no attention because Dad liked to beat around the bush a lot. He was powerful—probably one of the most influential and powerful men in this country, but he liked to fuck around before getting to his point. He wasn’t only known by the underworld either—nicknamed Patronus, which is Latin for Godfather, but he also had his influence over the legal system in everyday life. He was more powerful and lethal than any man walking this fucking planet—more than the goddamn president. Madison underestimates his power, which was why I’d always have to shield her—for the most part—from him.
He handed me a photo, and I took it with my free hand. My eyes fell on it and then went back to the both of them, sucking the grease off my finger.
Keeping my poker face in check, I shrugged. “So?”
“So?” my dad exclaimed. Fuck. “The reason you hid Khales was because she was pregnant with your kid?”
Pausing, I looked between the two of them, then once I realized they weren’t fucking kidding, I started laughing. Yeah, the image showed Khales pregnant, but— “That was not my fucking kid.” My eyes bored into Dad’s. “And you know it.”
His eyes slanted at me, and then he shot Justin a look. “Leave.” Justin, who looked confused as fuck, left and went straight into the pool house. He got thrown into the world of Lost Boys when he was born—but he’s a soldier. One of their best. Built for war.
Dad rubbed his jaw. “When the fuck did this happen?”
“Well, about six months after you put your dick in her.”
“Now’s not the time for your smart mouth, son.”
“Hey, I ain’t judging.” I took another bite. “I mean, it’s a little sick considering her age and all…”