Command My Heart ~ Book 2 - The Royal Blood Collection

Chapter 14

I was almost at the gate when Nisha caught up to me. As much as I could try to ignore her, I really didn't want to. A part of me hoped that she'd change her mind and open her arms to me. I was a fool to hope for anything because like I'd been told a thousand times before, I was born in the gutter and I'll die in the gutter. Alone and unloved. From a street kid to a thug, I might have made a deviation into civilization but the streets would always call me back. Well, maybe it was a case of dragging me back.

Stopping, I waited for Nisha to reach me. She looked poised and ready to give me hell. That was okay, I was already there so a little verbal berating was something that I could deal with.

"Are you done? Are you satisfied with yourself?"

I frowned as I turned to look at her.

"You cannot be serious." I snapped back. "I came here to see you and Otanawa again, to make the wrongs right, to apologize for what happened. As an added bonus, I learned about a threat against you and your family. And here's a newsflash, princess, you can't beat Ceroni. He will keep coming after you until he has no one left in his ranks. On that day, he'll hire a professional hitman to do it and trust me when I say that he's got a list of worthy ones. I hope your guards are good at their job, otherwise, you're not going to survive for very long."

"We've gone against gangsters. He's just another one in a long list of people that want us dead."

I laughed, shaking my head in defeat.

"Whatever. If you have a change of heart and want to protect Otanawa, send her my way."

A grim smile crossed my face as I stepped back, slowly making my way to the gate.

"But I know you, even after such a short amount of time. You're stubborn and you think you're right, a deadly combination. You'll dig your heels in, determined in the thought that no one can get to you and before you know it, this place will be under attack. Just know one thing, Nisha. When I see it on the news, I will say I told you so."

Usually, when I had a moment to feel supreme, I'd strut away like I was king of the world. This wasn't a strut, I barely lifted my feet from the ground. Rocks skittered over the gravel path, dust billowed over my shoes. With my hands in my pockets, I made a dejected path to the gates.

"I suppose you think that you're up for the job."

Out of everything that Nisha could have said, I never thought she'd say that. Hey Oliver, I'm sorry. Hey Oliver, you're a jackass and I forgive you. Hey Oliver, I believe you and I'm going to take you seriously. Any single one of them would have been fine, I wasn't fussy.

I stopped and turned to Nisha. Her hands were on her hips, defensive in her posture.

"And what job would that be?"

"Protecting me."

I couldn't help it but I laughed. As I shook my head, I rolled my eyes and turned back.

"What's so funny?" Nisha snapped.

Ignoring her was for the best, I don't know why but it's what I was going with. Nisha didn't like it, ordering me to stop. I ignored that too. There was only so far I could get when the princess was ordering me around. Faced with a mountain of guards and their muscles, I had no choice but to stop.

"Her Highness asked you to stop." One grumped at me.

Frustrated, I turned back to the glowering princess.

"Well?"

"No, I am not going to do protection work for you. Can I go now?"

"Technically, you're still a part of the army even if you deserted your posting. It's not such a big deal now that you're here, we can pretend that you've changed your mind and came here to apologize to your leader for your misbehavior and want to return to the army. For us, it's merely a form to be filled out and as your commanding officer, I can still do that. Of course, we have to have our assurances that you will behave yourself and not run off again."