52. Garrett

52

GARRETT

I stood behind Belliani, listening with growing disbelief. At first, I thought I must have gotten it wrong. I wasn’t used to all this double-talk and subtlety. But when I saw the look on Kristina’s face, I was sure. This bastard was talking about bedding her. He was the opposite of her: he was everything I hated about politicians, playing with soldiers’ lives just to get what he wanted.

My hands curled into fists behind my back. I wanted to grab Belliani by the neck, ram his head into the wall, and shake him until he apologized. But she was The Queen. I had to let her deal with it her way. As soon as she’d given the bastard a dressing down, I could enjoy throwing him out.

But she didn’t yell at him. She sat there staring... and then lowered her eyes. She can’t be….

She was. She was considering it. She was going to sacrifice herself for the good of her country.

No way. No. Fucking. Way. I had to stop her, even if it meant we lost the war. I stepped forward to grab Belliani.

But then, suddenly, I didn’t need to.