Arranged: An Array Series (Book #1)(89)

The thudding in my chest restricted my breathing; something was horribly wrong.

The silence of the room was deafening as I pushed back my chair, the feet scraping against the hardwood floor. Forcing myself to move, I tried to swallow back my panic and the goose bumps that prickled over my arms and back.

“George, what’s wrong?”

He stared at the floor, no movement or acknowledgement that I was in the same room. It was as though he wasn’t there mentally. With my hand behind my back, I shooed the girls from the table, pulling George deeper in the room, so they could leave. Eve shot me a worried look before turning the corner, making me feel more anxious.

“George,” I repeated softly. His gaze came up slowly until it locked onto mine. His eyes were icy blue and filled with despair as he furrowed his brows at me. Movement behind him brought my attention to three armed guards, stoically staring at me.

Letting out a shaky breath, I turned to George. “Why are there guards with you?”

Silence.

Bringing my attention back to the men, I walked to the door and said, “If you need to speak with him, just come in.” The door clicked as I closed it, my attention immediately landing back on George.

George’s chest rose and fell in sporadic movement, which sent my own breathing out of control.

“Did something happen to...Garr?” The words scratched at my throat as I clenched my hands at my sides.

More silence.

My pulse raced as I tugged urgently at George’s sleeve. “What happened?”

George’s face didn’t change; it remained blank and distant. Pulling on his hand, I led him to the fireplace.

“George, please talk to me,” I pleaded. “Is he hurt? Did something happen?”

Placing my hands on his arms, I shook him, hard. “George! What happened? Where is he?”

My body began to tremble as tears pricked the back of my eyes. Fear had a unique way of taking control of your whole body. The unknown was something that always frightened me. Fate was an enemy against my happiness. And what scared me was that it took the one thing that promised me a life of bliss. I’d never recover from losing Garrett.

The man who saved me.

Who promised me a future.

Who took a piece of my soul.

Who told me he’d come back.

My anxiety started to turn to anger the more time that George stood silent in front of me.

“If you don’t tell me, George,” I raved, pressing my fingers into his skin. “I swear I’ll go insane. Where is he?”

George let out a breath, his hand finding mine and squeezing hard.

“My father, Ava,” he replied slowly. “He’s been murdered.”





Garrett





Chapter 34





I don’t remember riding home.



I don’t remember stopping to grab a fresh horse.

The enemy was in the castle where my family and Ava stayed and slept. Lurking around in broad daylight or within the shadows, the simple fact was, I had no idea. Nor was I any closer on finding out.

I was set up. It was written in black in my head. The moment I left the castle, my father was a dead man, his days numbered. I should have kept more of my men there, should have seen the signs that things were too quiet around the royals. The assassins, or whomever was leading them, were calculated.

I should have taken the last warning more seriously.

Edward steps down. Or more people die.

Thing was, I didn’t think of my father.

I thought of the people. The villages. My mind was boggled down with another problem, that more innocent people would die. But maybe that’s what they wanted me to believe all along. Removing my focus from the royals and placing it elsewhere.

Away from Father.

Away from George.

Away from Hara and Mama.

Away from Ava.

A sharp pain pierced my stomach; that, I do remember.

My head was dazed with the possibilities of what I would come home to face. The panic, the fear, the plan I had to set in place to protect my loved ones.

Especially her.

I needed to see Ava. To see for myself that she was safe, and that no one touched her again. That no one touched my family.

I failed my father.

But I wouldn’t fail again.

My lack of intel, and not torturing Pierce’s men as much as I should have, ate at me. I should’ve killed every single one of them, slowly and painfully, until one of the fuckers spoke. Yet, I babied the shit out of them, like a decent human being. I should’ve done what Pierce’s men planned on doing to us on that grassy field when we brought Ava back to the castle. Slaughtered them like cattle.

One by fucking one.

When John and I arrived at the castle, two of my Elite met us at the stables. Motioning for John to obtain whatever intel we had, I made my way inside the palace. Two days of traveling, worrying, and ripping my mind apart on who was behind all this made me stir-crazy. I needed my cure; the one person who could make me forget.

Striding through the castle, I stopped a guard, demanding him tell me where Ava was. He pointed to the west wing, and I proceeded in that direction. Lords and ladies stared at me with mixtures of pity and sympathy on their faces, but I ignored every one of them. Someone bellowed my name behind me, but I kept moving forward. I wasn’t about to have an hour-long conversation with some stupid ass who wanted to know what was going to happen next.