Page 152 of The Kingpin's Call Girl

“Your ring. It was beat up, but the stone was always shiny. But now it looks so dull. And wait... it had a chip on the side of it?—”

Orton grabs his glass, effectively moving his ring out of my sight. “The men need you to speak. Some of them need reassurance you won’t be angry. They moved to kill you when they thought you were not true blood.”

“Is that even your ring?”

He stiffens. “I think I’d know my own ring.”

I grab his arm. “That’s not your ring. It’s a fake.”

“Stop.”

I look into his eyes. “What have you done, old friend?”

“Nothing.”

I squeeze. “What. Have. You. Done?”

Orton puts his hand over mine. “I serve the kyre. You are the kyre.”

My heart pounds in my chest as the pieces of the puzzle fall together.

“You faked the test?” I hiss.

Orton frowns. “How could I? I had no access to the test. The results were certified and sent all over the place.”

“No, the samples. You broke your ring to get at the ancient hair. You offered that ancient hair to Bender.”

“Madness,” Orton hisses.

“You told him that the ancient hair from your ring was myhair.” Orton rolls his eyes, but I know I’m right. Bender said that one of my own men offered up my hair for use in DNA testing.

That man was Orton.

Orton pried open his treasured heirloom relic ring and took it from there. His relic ring that was passed down through generations.

He probably ended up destroying his beloved ring to get the hair out.

“Orton,” I say.

Orton fixes me with a hard gaze. “I serve my king. I am loyal to my king. You are the true king.”

Chapter Fifty-One

EDIE

I’ve loosened one of the bars that the handcuffs are attached to. How did Luka even get free?

And he did it without my noticing. I’ve been wailing away on the cuffs, fueled by angst and worry and terror and rage, and it makes a lot of noise.

I’m ragey that he chained me here.

Ragey that he said he loved me and then left to go be all alpha and honorable and shit, marching to his death. I hate him for it—I really do. I love him and hate him.

And he loves me.

And I could lose him just when we found each other. He could be dead right now, but I’m trying not to think of it. I’m channeling my anger into getting free.

I’ll figure out where he’s meeting Orton. I’ll somehow get in there and then... I don’t know what.

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