When Empires Fall (58 page)

“I don’t see why not,” he countered, reaching for her hand so she would stop cutting, making her look at him again. “I love you, you love me. Just marry me, Lynette. What are we waiting for?”

She hesitated, something haunted in her eyes as she pulled her hand from his and turned away to grab some fresh spinach from the fridge. She was purposely buying time, intentionally trying to give her heart a chance to slow down and stop fluttering so damn much. But the truth was that he just had this way about him that made her want to run off with him on all of his crazy dreams. But she was a realist, and realists always looked at all sides of a decision before making it. In this case, well, she just needed more time. Time to arrange all of the pieces neatly in her own head, to figure out how they were going to fit in her carefully structured life.

But he wouldn’t understand that. How could he? He was a spontaneous creature, while she was a cautious one.

“I don’t know, Linc.” She turned and set the spinach down on the counter, then reached for his hand awkwardly. “I just need more time.”

He stared at her, wondering just how many more times he was going to have to hear those words from her. “Alright. More time it is, Lynette. You know I would wait a hundred years for you, but please don’t make me do it. I’m not a patient guy.”

“I know.” She leaned in to kiss his lips softly, sweetly, before backing away with a quiet smile. “I need to grab something from the bedroom, I’ll be right back.”

She raced off, leaving him standing alone at her kitchen island, lost in thought. But when her cell phone beeped from an incoming text message on the counter beside him, he couldn’t help but glance over and take a look at it out of curiosity.

What he read had his heart freezing stone cold in his chest.

We need to talk. Stay away from the Vassers.

It was from her father, the senator, and as quickly as shock had frozen his heart, his temper flooded in to set it vibrantly aflame. It took all he had not to snatch up her phone and text her father back with a nasty reply, demanding to know what the hell he meant by ordering his daughter to stay away from his family.

When she swept back into the room, she noticed the glare of heat in his eyes and blinked once in surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“You got a text message,” he growled, nodding his head in the direction of her phone. She hesitated, then carefully walked past him to her phone, lifting it to read the message. Her eyes widened and her heart sank as she read the words from her father.

“Did you read it?” she asked dully, her hand shaking in a quick spasm at the look on his face. He only nodded, then rose to his feet to approach her, the worst of his anger fading and regret replacing it. He didn’t like the look on her face, the obvious embarrassment and bewilderment. Softly, he ran his hands down her arms, making sure she looked up at him.

“I don’t want to get between you and your parents like this, Lynette. I know you said that you wouldn’t let them control your life, but this is causing you pain. I can’t live with myself if I know that being with me ruined what you have with them. I don’t want to make you choose like this.”

“They’re the ones making me choose, Linc.” She shook her head slowly, sadness in her eyes. “Not you.”

Just then, her phone went off again with another text message from her father. She stared down at it, her brow creasing in anger and shock. “Dear Lord.”

“What?” He grabbed the phone from her, reading the text himself.

Hell is coming for the Vassers. You must not be there when it does.

“Jesus, what the hell does that mean?” Linc growled, thrusting her phone back at her and turning around to pace, his hands diving into his hair restlessly. “This is getting ridiculous.”

“I don’t know what it means,” she managed, tears filling her eyes now as she watched him. “Really, Linc, I don’t.”

He sighed and turned to face her, violent storms racing across his features.

“I know. But if he says anything to you, if he’s planning something, you have to tell me, Lynette.” His eyes hardened dangerously as he stepped closer to her, planting his hands on both of her shoulders, needing her to understand. “This isn’t just about us now. It’s about my family. And if he shares something with you, I expect you to betray him and tell me. If you won’t do that for me, then this is done.”

“What?” she gasped, cringing as her own temper sparked. “How dare you?”

“How dare I what? Try to protect my family?” he snapped, throwing up his hands in frustration. “Either we’re together in this or we’re not. And if you’re with me, then you’re a part of my family. And if they go down, if I go down, you fall with us. That’s just how it works.”

“He won’t do anything, Linc, he’s just angry.” She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, avoiding his eyes.

“Somehow I don’t think it’s that innocent.” Scowling, he crossed his own arms and leaned against her kitchen island, considering the situation. “He’s the one making waves here, and all I can do is look out for me and mine. I want you to be a part of that list, but it looks like you’re going to have to choose after all.”

“Choose between you and him,” she stated flatly, her eyes oddly cold and level as she met his. He nodded, and she inhaled deeply to settle her furiously beating heart. Indecision waged a ferocious battle inside of her then, weighing all the pros and cons and testing all the angles, searching for compromises, ways out of the inevitable. But there were none, and Linc was one hundred percent right. Her father was making her choose.

For that reason alone, she knew she could never choose him.

“Well then I choose you, Linc,” she said simply, eyeing him with raised eyebrows and a haughty frown. “If you’ll still take me.”

He let out a long, slow release of breath, relief coursing through his veins even as regret raced beside it. He didn’t want it to be this way, had never wanted this. But her father was giving them no choice.

“Come here.” He beckoned her towards him, his arms held out. She went to him, letting him pull her close, against his chest. When he held her there, could feel her heart beating against his own and smell the scent of lilacs in her hair, he nearly broke down with wild relief.

“Let me finish this,” she said softly, breaking away from him and grabbing her phone, typing in a message to her father. After she sent it, she held up the phone for him to see. “He won’t bother us any longer.”

Linc read the words and had to steel his heart against the guilt.

I choose him. If you can’t handle that, then I guess this is goodbye.

“You’re sure about this?”

She attempted a smile as she tossed the phone aside and went to him again, kissing him slowly, deeply. “I love you.”

“Good,” he grunted, dragging her closer against him and savoring her mouth. “That’s all we need, Lynette. Just trust me. We’ll be okay.”

Her grandfather’s favorite
motto had always been:
The King’s name is a tower of strength.

Madison felt now that she fully understood just what he had meant.

Cyrus had always strived to make the Vasser name as prominent and powerful as he could, understanding that image and reputation came first before anything else. It didn’t matter what happened behind closed doors, only so long as it didn’t interfere with public perception. Because the public could make or break you, and keeping them on your side was essential to survival.

When he had been a much younger man, he had let his ambition drive him to disposing of his own brothers, knowing he was better suited to running the empire than they were. Then he had let his unbridled arrogance reign the night he had murdered his own father in cold blood, knowing that his secret would die with the old man and then he would be crowned king.

But despite all of that, he had gone on to lead the Vasser Hotel company through the greatest fifty years of its one hundred and twelve year history. With his sharp and ruthless mind, he had cut and chiseled and perfected the empire to form what she and her family enjoyed the fruits of all these years later. It had been due to his tireless dedication to the hotels that they had survived recessions, political turmoil, government regulations, and more. The company had been his life, his very heart and soul.

And yet all of the years he had been structuring and managing the empire as he saw fit, he must have known that his own actions would eventually threaten to be the downfall of all he cared about.

Which was, of course, where she came in.

The will and confession had been read to the entire family earlier that day in one of the largest conference rooms at the hotel. The family’s attorney had done the task, explaining in cold, businesslike fashion what the terms were to all those present.

It had not been a pleasant scene to witness. Very few outside of her immediate family had been informed of Cyrus crowning her as his replacement, and so the news sent rippling shockwaves of anger and mortification throughout the group. Nearly all of them were older than her, most of them stemming from lines that had come before her own line through her father. So no one could understand nor comprehend the blatant favoritism being thrown her way.

But it was done. They couldn’t change it, no matter how hard they fought, kicked and screamed about it. She was in charge, and that was that.

Grant, Linc, and surprisingly Marshall had stood by her side, for which she was undoubtedly grateful. Their cooperation would ease back some of the hostility and eventually the rest of the family would lie down and accept the cold hard truth.

And as for her, well, she had always been fabulous at making the best out of a tough situation. This would be no different.

She sat at her desk in her quiet office, darkness claiming the sky out the window behind her as the city lights came on to replace what little sunlight had broken through the storm clouds. Occasionally, lightning sparkled in the distance, thunder absent as the storm moved eastward towards the sea.

A stack of mail lay on the desk before her and she grabbed the top envelope without glancing at its face, tearing it efficiently open with her letter opener. She pulled out the letter that lay inside, unfolding it hastily as her eyes perused the paper.

She froze, her eyes narrowing as her brow furrowed with alarm and fury.

The paper she held was simple and pure white, with a single line of plain black text in twelve point font. There was no header, no signature, and no date.

It simply read:

When empires fall, what becomes of the Queen? Everything will burn, and so will she.

Nausea settled in to mix with the disgust and anger in her stomach as she read and reread the words over and over again a dozen times, her heart thundering in her chest.

Unable to do more, she replaced the letter in its envelope and threw it in the top drawer of her desk, then proceeded to lock it away.

She didn’t have time to waste on foolish threats. She had work to do.

I have no spur

To prick the sides of my intent, but only

Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself,

And falls on th’other

-
William Shakespeare
Macbeth -