Banan cursed beneath his breath and spun around to pace the library once more. “We have no choice but to kill him now. Dammit, Ulrik!”
That’s when it dawned on Henry that not all of the Kings hated Ulrik. Ulrik had been one of them, and now he was the enemy.
“I’m sorry,” Henry said. “I didn’t realize Ulrik was a friend.”
Guy scrubbed a hand down his face. “He was a friend to all of us. Some have forgotten that.”
“And Con?” Henry asked.
Banan stopped before the fire. “They were the best of friends, closer than brothers. Ulrik wants to kill Con, and Con wants to kill Ulrik. Whoever wins, it’ll tear the Kings apart.”
*
Ulrik sat for a long time after Rhys and Warrick left. He didn’t think he would see another King after his last encounter with them, but he should’ve been better prepared.
The day had gone to shit with nothing turning out as he wanted it. It was rare when his plans didn’t fall into line, and when it happened, it put him in a foul mood.
He set straight a painting of some chap from the sixteenth century and growled when he saw the frame cracked in the corner from his encounter with Rhys and his shadows. The fact Kings continued to come to his store was not a good sign.
The more they meddled, the longer it was going to take for his schemes to happen. Yet he couldn’t leave. The moment he didn’t appear to be at The Silver Dragon, Con would search for him. That time would come, but it wasn’t now. Soon, so very soon Constantine would get what was coming to him.
Ulrik was finishing straightening the store when the bell chimed above the door at the same instant as an image of an attractive woman with blue eyes and light brown hair cut to her jawline filled his head.
“Abby,” Ulrik said as he faced her.
She smiled and closed the umbrella, adjusting the strap on her shoulder holding the briefcase. “Hello, sir,” she replied in the perfected British accent he required she use. She looked around the shop, standing straight in her black pencil skirt and soft pink sweater. “Is now a bad time?”
“No’ at all. Come to the back, and we’ll go over everything.”
He waited until she walked around to the back, and then he locked the door and followed. Abby was never late. She arrived precisely on time, every time. Ulrik found her punctuality refreshing. She didn’t ask any more of him than he offered, though she let it be known she was interested in taking him to her bed.
For the last ten years, Ulrik had kept from giving in to that particular desire, but Abby was a very desirable woman. And he had needs.
She lifted her blue eyes to him after she sat. “As usual, everything is playing out just as you said it would.”
Ulrik nodded in response. For all of Abby’s attributes, she knew only a quarter of his plans. Trust wasn’t something he gave. Ever. It had been a hard lesson, but Constantine taught it well.
“Good. And the shipment from Russia?”
Abby flipped open the briefcase and pulled out a manila folder. She scanned the pages. “The Astron has put into port in Norway right on schedule. They’ll take on your additional cargo there before heading to London.”
“That’s good news. Go ahead with your other reports now.”
Abby went through them one at a time, naming who was showing leadership and who was weakening. Ulrik could have no weak links in his plan.
It was an hour later before Abby finished. She finished putting away the folders in the briefcase. “Do you have any orders for me?”
“No’ today. I’ll be taking care of a few issues over the next day or so. I expect you back two days from now.”
“Yes, sir,” she said with a nod and stood.
Ulrik rose with her. When she started to grab her things, he put a hand on her arm to stop her. Their gazes met. He weighed her interest, glancing down to her cleavage visible in the curved neck of the sweater.
Her eyes widened a fraction, her breath hitching. It was all the indication he needed. After the day of disappointments, he needed to ease his body. Ulrik turned and shoved her against the wall, roughly taking her lips as she clawed at his clothes to remove them. He had no such desires.
He yanked up her skirt, shoving aside her panties to feel her wetness. In no time at all he had his pants undone and his cock free. Holding one of her legs up, he plunged inside her. She screamed, her nails digging into his back as she kissed him like there was no tomorrow.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
On the lift up to Lily’s room, she and Rhys stood in the back while a group piled on with them. Rhys looked down at her while she watched everyone else.