Love and Decay Read Online Free Page B

and I was puzzled by it. Was he just acting tough in
front of Diego?
    Or did he really think of himself as
Matthias’s heir?
    “You have a sister,” Diego countered.
    “And she’s smart enough to know not to step
between me and something I want.”
    Diego’s gaze flicked back to mine. “You align
yourself with him? Maybe you are not so much like your Reagan after
all.”
    I started to argue or confess the truth or…
or say something, but Adela’s breathless call of “Diego,” pulled
all of his attention to the other side of the clearing.
    He spun around and stilled. He didn’t move to
her or say a word. He simply tilted his chin and she ran to him.
She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck with
a happy sob. His arms wrapped around her like a steel band and he
lifted her off the ground, spinning her in a wide circle.
    I jumped back before she could kick me and
reluctantly let go of Miller’s arm. I missed the contact. I missed
touching him. But more than that I was afraid after what he just
said, he would run away and I would never see him again.
    Or if I did, he would be sitting at
Matthias’s right hand.
    I shook my head, violently removing the
vision.
    Besides, Miller didn’t run.
    I should have known that wasn’t his
style.
    He took my hand and I let him. He walked
slowly out of the way, moving us closer to King and Harrison. “You
know me,” he said in a hard voice. He didn’t allow room for doubt
or argument. His voice was steel with conviction and truth. He shot
me a quick glance before turning a watchful eye back to Diego’s
men. “You know the truth about me.”
    Anger and impetuousness got the better of me
and I hissed, “Are you saying, you’re not going back to the Colony
so you can inherit your father’s dictatorship?”
    “What are you guys talking about?” King
asked. Joss walked next to him as they moved toward us.
    Miller didn’t answer. It seemed he was
leaving the truth up to me. He said I knew him. I should know the
truth about him.
    But the real truth was I didn’t know him well
enough to decide. He’d kept himself from me over the years. What
was I supposed to believe about him?
    Part of me knew he hated his father as much
as I did, if not more. He wanted to take Matthias’s kingdom and
burn it to the ground. He wanted to erase whatever legacy Matthias
had managed to build.
    He did not want to sit on Matthias’s
throne and become his legacy.
    He didn’t.
    I refused to even entertain the idea.
    Except…
    I shifted uneasily and said, “What’s with
them?” I nodded to Diego and Adela. Diego had stopped spinning and
now cradled Adela’s face in his hand. They leaned into each other,
talking fast and sweetly in Spanish.
    “I don’t know,” King answered. “I thought we
rescued Adela from Diego.”
    “Who’s Diego?” Joss asked. “And what were
those things? Feeders? Their eyes were clear.”
    “Cannibals,” King spit out. “Filthy
animals.”
    Miller smiled at him. “At least they didn’t
try to roast you over an open spit this time.”
    King shivered and jammed his hands in his
pockets. “Don’t remind me.”
    Joss’s jaw dropped open. “That happened? They
tried to eat you?”
    “They almost succeeded,” he growled. “And
Harrison. We’ve lived very strange lives.”
    Joss laughed. “No kidding.”
    “And Diego’s the guy over there. The one with
all the muscle. He’s our ally. Kind of.” King retrieved a hand and
wrapped it around Joss’s shoulders. She didn’t look quite as
comfortable as my brother, but I was giving her some time to adjust
to my family before I judged her.
    We were a lot to take in.
    Diego did, in fact, have a lot of muscle with
him. Armed men surrounded the clearing and spread out toward our
camp. They carried big blades, machetes, spears and even some guns-
although not many. These fierce men with angry faces and muscled
bodies were ready to kill anything that looked at them wrong.
    My feet were