Thorne Princess(36)

It scared me. I’d never seen him express emotions other than boredom or anger. I climbed into the passenger’s seat of my car. He drove us up the road, back to my house, glancing at the rearview mirror. A lot. Like he was expecting to see someone.

“What was in the leaflet? An ad for penis enlargement? Are you all geared up to book a consultation meeting?” Naturally, I thought this would be a good time to break the ice with a terrible joke.

Ransom did not look amused. He did, however, look like he was going to break the steering wheel, the way he held it in a chokehold.

Finally, he spoke.

“Your parents hired me to monitor your whereabouts and to ensure your safety. This was their chief goal. However, there is a side goal, and that is to bring you to relative independence and teach you the value of money. They would also like to see you taking more responsibility over your life, and find a profession that requires more commitment than posting pictures on TikTok.”

“Instagram,” I corrected him. “I wish I could break into TikTok.”

“Whatever.” He slid the vehicle into my garage.

“So, basically, you’re my parole officer.”

He killed the engine, got out of the car, rounded it, and opened the door for me. I had a feeling it was a safety measure, not a statement of gallantry.

“Correct.”

Ransom turned, making his way to the house, the crumpled leaflet still in his hand.

“And what happens if I fail?” I trailed behind him, fascinated. He seemed to have had a very long conversation with my parents, something I couldn’t say for myself in the last three years.

I was experiencing a moment of epiphany. Or maybe—God forbid—self-awareness. What if my family had been avoiding me in a bid to make me do better? Should I try? I mean, Hera did invite me to her rehearsal. And paid for everything. I should be trying, too, shouldn’t I?

“Not my problem, not my fight. I guess they’ll find another, less expensive way to make your life miserable until they bend you into shape.”

“They don’t seriously expect me to work, do they? An actual real job, I mean.”

“Is your blood too blue for manual work?” His pointed expression was a punctuation mark.

“No,” I weighed my words carefully, “but I’m useless. I’m not good at anything.” I couldn’t believe I’d let these words get out of my mouth. I was usually so private about my shortcomings.

“Most people aren’t,” he said. “Averageness is humanity’s greatest common ground. You’ll find your way.”

“Great pep talk, dude. You should be a motivational speaker.”

“What, and neglect my new aspiration to become a politician?” he quipped.

When we got back inside, he double-locked all the doors, checked the windows, and splayed an impressive (and terrifying) collection of guns on my counter, which he began to clean.

Without lifting his eyes from the guns, he said, “Pack up, Princess. We’re going to be in Texas for a while.”





Calm. Stay calm. You’re The Robot. The impenetrable every VIP would love to have. You’re…

Fuuuuuuuuuck.

And a few more times for the people in the back—fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck.

When I accepted the Hallie Thorne gig, I imagined the most challenging aspect would be putting up with her mind-numbing chatter. Now, less than a week into the post, I’d received a letter from the Bratva informing me that they knew my whereabouts and did not appreciate my presence in SoCal again.

Good to have you back.

Looking forward to carving new memories with you.





—K


Luckily, Brat’s shopping interest seemed to vanish with her credit card. I doubted she’d even read the contract I’d given her. Maybe her interest had vanished with her purchasing power.

Now, if I were flying solo, I would take the news as a personal invitation to rip Kozlov a new one. The issue was—I was on a job. And right now, the only threat to Brat’s life was being associated with my ass.

Logic dictated I call Tom to let him know about this, then make the next call to Anthony Thorne, informing him of my immediate resignation, my reason for it, and referring him to another security company.

Logic, however, could suck it. Now that I’d started this assignment, I had my eye on the prize. I was getting that meeting with the former president and milking the connections I got out of it to the max.

By the time I was done with Brat, she was going to be enrolled in an Ivy League school, working full time, and volunteering at a shelter.

All I needed was to ensure that Brat was far away from her natural habitat.

Los Angeles.





The next few days passed in a daze.

Ransom did not leave my side. Barely even gave me privacy when I went to the bathroom. I counted down the days, the minutes, the hours until we flew to Dallas. He was obsessed with keeping me safe, and it obviously got to his psyche, because after four days, he called Max and asked him to bring a backup to my house.

“Make sure you patrol the place and don’t leave her alone for one minute,” Ransom ordered. “I have to get some fresh air.”

Oh, did he now? Funny how it never occurred to him I might be needing a breather, too.