Page 116 of Thunderstruck
Cole rolls his eyes. “Right now, I don’t thinkanyonehas a shot with Freya. I’ve never seen her this stressed.”
“Can you blame her?” I think back to this morning when we arrived at the castle and Freya practically kicked us out as soon as we walked through the doors. I know she’s happy to see us, but today’s election will decide if she actually gets to be queen. Apparently it’s not as much of a done deal as she would like.
With a yawn—neither of us has slept in almost twenty-four hours—Cole checks the time on his phone and gathers up his jacket from the back of the chair next to his. “We should probably head back up. Derek has probably landed by now, and someone needs to wake Liam up.”
“Not it!” I say, putting my finger on my nose just in case. We’ll probably make Derek do it regardless, but I need to cover my bases. “The last time I tried to wake Liam up, he wrote an angry song about me.”
I actually kind of love that song, and Liam has become a de facto big brother to me over the last few months. He says he likes my energy and the fact that I managed to keep his and Kasey’s elopement a secret until he got back from his tour and broke the news to Bonnie and Derek.
It helps that I was a bit distracted by my new boss.
Taking my hand, Cole helps me to my feet and presses a kiss to my knuckles. Since we landed in Candora this morning, he has become quite the romantic. I don’t know if it’s the setting or something else, but I’m not mad about it. That’s not to say he’snotromantic most of the time, but there’s something different today.
Giggling at his gesture, I curl myself up against him and soak up the warmth he offers. It’s like fifty degrees today, which is way colder than what I’ve gotten used to in Los Angeles. And maybe I just like cuddling with him. “I kind of wish we could keep exploring Invem together.”
“I kind of wish I’d followed Liam and Kasey’s example and taken a nap.” But he kisses the top of my head and wraps me up in a proper hug. “We can explore tomorrow, and the next day, and the next…”
We have a whole week in Candora before Cole needs to be back to introduce the Thunder to the new head coach he hired, and I fully plan to take advantage of this time we have together. Once training starts up, we’re both going to be incredibly busy. Next year is the year we’re going to win the championship; I can feel it.
Even if we don’t, I’m going to be right there at Cole’s side, where I plan to be for the rest of forever.
By the time we get back to the castle and shower and change after our morning adventure through Invem, everyone has gathered in theantechamber off the press room, where Freya is pacing and running her hands through her blonde hair. Her hair was in an intricate updo earlier, but now it runs down her back in thick waves and gives me serious hair envy. I thought my hair was thick, but Freya is reaching Rapunzel levels.
“Oh boy,” Cole says as soon as he sees the princess’s wild look. “Peach! You need to calm down.”
“Already tried that,” Derek mutters. He’s standing next to Freya’s most recent bodyguard, Elliot, and watching Freya with a grimace. I wonder how long he’s been trying to talk her down. Leaning to the bodyguard, he mutters something that makes Elliot chuckle.
“I’m not going anywhere near that,” Elliot says, nodding toward Freya.
Freya throws him a glare. “You are on thin ice, Mr. Reid.”
“Good thing I know how to float,” he replies lightly and raises his glass in a toast.
Freya groans and keeps up her pacing vigil.
It seems Derek was right about the American soldier, and Elliot has managed to keep his position for almost a month now, which apparently is a good sign compared to some of her other bodyguards. Despite that, Elliot drives her crazy. Cole is shocked Freya has kept Elliot around this long, based on some of the things she’s said to us, and Cole has been nothing but barely civil to Elliot since we got here. He doesn’t like how easily Elliot gets under Freya’s skin, and he’s clearly pulling out the protective brother moves on this trip.
“You should probably stop glaring,” I whisper to Cole.
He grunts. “Not until he proves he deserves otherwise.”
“How much longer?” Hank asks. He and Bonnie are sitting with Liam and Kasey, the four of them barely awake from the looks of it. They got in yesterday and are struggling with the jet lag that hasn’t hit me yet. I can feel it lurking in the corners of my eyes, but I’m too excited to be tired. Besides, Derek recommended that we stay awakeas long as we can so we can reset our body clocks, and I am determined to follow his advice.
Mostly because Derek looks wide awake and refreshed even though he arrived just a few hours ago.
“Any minute now,” Derek says.
“Coleman!” Freya says, suddenly altering her trajectory and coming over to where we’re standing. “I need a distraction. Tell me about the Badgers.Someone—” she throws another glare to Elliot, who smirks “—won’t let me on the internet, but I have heard that that sports reporter released a story about your corrupted teammates.”
Cole narrows his eyes. “Did you just saywon’t? Like, an actual contraction?”
“Distraction!” Freya growls, pointing at him. Then she softens, looking wearier than I’ve ever seen her. “Please.”
Smiling, he puts a hand on her arm. “Tamlin Park managed to dig up proof on everyone involved, and the FBI is launching an investigation into the entire league. All signs are looking good that there will be a purge before the season officially starts. It’s going to shake things up, but I think in the end it will be a good thing for football.”
Freya’s eyebrows rise high. “You think there are other teams doing the same thing?”
“I don’t know, but Tamlin wanted to be sure.”
