Arranged: An Array Series (Book #1)(10)

Shouldn’t have said that.

“No,” she agreed, pausing for a moment. “It just made things worse. So, your plan backfired.”

“A lot of our plan seemed to backfire, didn’t it?”

She didn’t answer. Not only did I have to live with the mind-numbing regret of not being able to be there for her, but I was also busy keeping my ass from being murdered. In reality, keeping her away was in her best interest. It was a sacrifice that needed to be made, and I’d deal with it somehow.

“What’s wrong, George?” Ava whispered, her posture easing.

I gestured toward the sofa. “Sit down, please.” I paused. “I want to—need to—talk to you, about everything.” She didn’t hesitate to take a seat. Sitting down beside Ava, I turned to face her, my back aching from riding for the last several days.

“Three weeks ago,” I began, “I was attacked by one of my personal guards. It was another assassination attempt.” Ava’s face drained of color, and she clasped her hands together. I noticed her body stiffen, and I clenched my fists to keep from touching her. Instead, I said, “I’m okay.”

She glanced up at me. “Why didn’t you write me and tell me?”

I paused for a moment, rubbing the back of my neck. “For a week, the doctors claimed I wouldn’t make it. I had been stabbed in the chest, close to my heart, with no hope of waking up. But since I’m a stubborn bastard, I fought through, and here I am, trying to save my best friend’s life.”

Ava covered her mouth and closed her eyes tightly. Without thinking, I clasped her forearm, bringing my hand down to hers. She squeezed firmly. “Why didn’t someone let me know?” she asked, anger lacing her tone. “I should have known.”

“A message would have indicated we were still linked.”

“But you could’ve died,” Ava growled, her voice breaking.

“Ava, please, don’t cry. I’m all right.”

Head drooping, she shook it. “How many?”

“How many what?”

She looked back up at me, tears brimming her eyes. “How many times has someone tried to take your life?”

I glanced away. “This would be the fifteenth time altogether.”

Ava ripped her hand out of mine, slammed a punch into my arm, and stood. Her jaw twitched, and she was back to clenching her fists.

“Of all the mindless things you’ve done, George, this, by far, takes first prize.” She threw her hands in the air. “How dare you just show up here, all calm, and tell me that you’ve almost been killed fifteen times. Fifteen! After all the tricks and tactics you and I used to plan as children, you couldn’t think of one way to get a message to me?”

“Calm down, Ava, I’m here now, and—”

“Femme Fatale and everything holy on these lands, George...” She pressed her fingers to her temples and paced the floor in front of me. “You have a damn army at your disposal, figure it out.”

“It’s not that easy,” I growled.

She stopped to look at me. “Why?”

“An assassin could have followed me back here,” I countered, “and killed us, taking out both of the heirs at once. I wasn’t chancing it.”

“You kept this from me, and I would’ve been the one to deal with your death, while you were home, in danger, on your own.”

“I’m not going to burden you with shit that you don’t need to be worrying about,” I barked.

Ava advanced on me. “Stop acting like you know what’s best for me,” she retorted. I rose and towered over her. She didn't flinch, even though she looked like an angry mouse.

“I do know, and you need to come back with me.”

“No.”

“Ava, this is serious. I need—”

“I can’t. I can’t go back to—”

“You won’t go back to there.”

“I don’t want to be cooped up. I want—”

“I know what you want,” I cut in. “You won’t be caged there. You can do whatever you want, and I’ll be there. We can go riding, and—”

“As lovely as that sounds,” she sneered, “my life is here now. Papa’s business is thriving. I just can’t up and leave.”

“We can find a solution to all that. You won’t be there long.” I bit my tongue, I couldn’t promise that, but her safety was more important than falsehood.

Ava huffed. “Long? These rogues...radicals...whatever you want to call them, they’ve been on our lands for almost a decade. No one has come for me, I’m not going to worry about it.”

“You won’t need to,” I objected, “when you’re dead.”

“I’d rather live my life the way I want, and die, than be held a prisoner in that castle,” Ava shot back, glaring.

“You won’t be a prisoner. I will be there, and—”

“You said that already. What will I be able to do? Will I be able to leave the castle when I want?”

“With an escort, yes.”

“No,” she said in a firm tone.

“If you don’t start taking this seriously, you are going to be waltzing your ass back to the palace, as the new heir.”