Fall and Rise of the King (Kings Duet) Read online

  Contents

  Title

  Tattoo

  Author's Note

  Disclaimer

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Epilogue 1

  Epilogue 2

  Acknowledgements

  Fall

  And

  Rise

  Of

  The

  King

  By

  Ruby Wolff

  Author's Note

  This is the second book in The King’s Duet.

  Read Book One First:

  King’s Revenge

  Disclaimer

  Copyright © 2019 Ruby Wolff

  All rights reserved, worldwide, and on any multiverse that is known or unknown. No part of this publication may be reproduced in, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, including electronically or mechanical, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction.

  Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Published by Ruby Wolff

  Edited by Sheree Gladden

  Book cover design by Dawn Doyle

  Formatting by Dawn Doyle

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold, uploaded, or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Chapter 1

  Angel

  A strong smell hits me. I struggle to open my eyes, and when I do, my vision is blurry. It’s the smell of disinfectant that finally wakes me. The room’s silent for a moment, then beeping from a machine hits my ears. It’s the only sound in the room aside from my own breathing.

  Blinking a few times to sharpen my blurred vision, I look around the empty room.

  How long have I been here?

  Why am I here, and not with Doc?

  Closing my eyes, I try to remember what happened, but the details are fuzzy.

  I got hit twice.

  Elijah got shot. Elijah?

  I shoot out of bed. Pain shoots through my chest. My gaze is pulled down to the two bandages wrapped around my chest.

  Where the fuck is my family?

  I yank the wires off, and the beeping gets louder.

  “Mr Frost, you can’t—”

  “Where’s my family?” I shout, or at least I try to. My throat hurts. It’s so dry right now, it burns. I need something to drink. Grabbing the cup from the side table, I down the water, and it gives me a little relief.

  “They had to leave—”

  “How long have I been here?” I cut her off again.

  I might sound like a fucking dick right now, but I don’t care. I need answers.

  “A week.”

  “What time is it?” I ask. When she tries to get me to lie back down, I shove her away.

  “One in the morning,” she answers with panic in her tone.

  “Get the fuck off me!” I shout, making her take a step back.

  My fucking body hurts. My insides feel as if they’re on fire. The last thing I need is someone telling me what the fuck to do. Standing up, I immediately lose my balance and I’m forced to quickly take hold of the bed.

  “Are they mine?” I point to a stack of clothes on a chair in the corner of the room.

  “Yes, sir.” She quickly grabs them and sets them on the bed for me.

  “Has a girl been here?” I ask. I would’ve thought Alice would be here day and night. I know she wouldn’t leave my side.

  “Yes.”

  Fuck my head hurts. So does my chest. I don’t think there’s a part of my body that doesn’t hurt right now.

  “I’m leaving.” I take a step but again, lose my balance.

  “Mr Frost, wait.” The nurse helps me to stand. “You really shouldn’t leave.”

  “Just get me to the taxi stand,” I say, fighting to breathe, then add, “And get all my pain killers.” Because, fuck, do I need them right now.

  The nurse does as I ask, grabbing my stuff and helping me to the taxi bay. As soon as I reach it, I lean on the taxi and catch my breath. “Thank you,” I groan as she opens the door for me.

  I give the driver the address to the bar and lean my head back against the seat. I have no idea where my family is. My house? My dad’s house? Elijah’s? I know Craig will be at the bar and will give me answers straight away. Rather than driving around looking for my family, I head for the one sure bet. I don’t even have my phone on me. I also have no money, and nothing to smoke.

  My head falls back on the seat, and my eyes close as I breathe through the pain.

  I replay that night in my head and wonder what went wrong. No one knew we were coming. How was I outnumbered?

  “You don’t happen to have a smoke?” I ask the driver, trying to lift my head off the seat to see him through the rearview mirror.

  The driver glances back at me. “Here you go, Mr Frost.”

  At least I got a driver who knows who I am. He hands me a box. Thanking him, I light up a cigarette and, fuck, does that feel good. Breathing in the smoke settles me.

  As I take a deep breath, I hold my chest. Taking another drag, I lean my head back down and close my eyes. My mind slips back to that night again. When did I black out? How many of us got out? My head is spinning with questions, but the most important one right now is, where’s my family?

  “We’re here.” The driver turns in his seat to look at me. “You want some help?”

  “Someone will be out to pay you.” Opening the door, I take a step, and my legs can’t even hold up my own fucking bodyweight. I move my feet slowly towards the bar. A bouncer runs over to me and puts my arm over his shoulder.

  “Pike, you need to come down,” he says as we walk into the bar. The loud music vibrates through my body.

  “Angel, what the fuck are you doing here?” Pike yells as he takes my arm around his shoulder and tells the bouncer to go back to the front of the door.

  “Where is everyone?” I ask.

  “In the office.” We walk up the stairs, each step hurting me more than the last. “You should be in the hospital,” he says as we enter the office.

  I hear Dad and Warren yelling at me, but I say nothing and stroll around my desk to fall into the chair and stare at the ceiling.

  “Have we…” I take a deep breath. “Have we finished?” I ask, not looking at either of them. Do they really think I want to hear them
moaning about me being here and not the hospital?

  “Angel, we need—”

  “Where’s Elijah?” I ask, cutting my dad off.

  I sit up and look at them when neither of them answer me. “Where. Is. Elijah?” I say a little louder.

  My dad’s eyes tell me everything. “He didn’t make it.”

  His words hit me like a tonne of bricks.

  Red. Everything around me is red. The pit of my stomach curls into a burning flame. My mind goes back to that night. One bullet. He got hit by one fucking bullet. The flames of fire rise to my chest and run through my veins. My hands close into fists, slamming them onto the desk.

  “Angel—”

  “Gwen? The baby?” I ask, holding my chest as the wound rips through me.

  “The baby is fine. Gwen…she's doing as best as she can. Ellie’s with her,” Dad explains.

  I fall back against the chair and let the hurricane run through me. Hurricane of loss, a storm of rage. I don’t even know at the moment.

  “Alice. Where’s Alice?” I ask. I could do with her being close to me right now, calming the devil within me. Not having her with me is killing my already pain-filled body.

  The three of them glance between each other, and my gaze locks with Pike.

  “She’s gone,” he almost whispers.

  “What?” I shout, getting out of my chair, holding my chest again. “Where the fuck has she gone?”

  That’s all I fucking need right now, my queen leaving me. The time I need her the most, the time I need her to tell me it will be okay, she runs.

  “Angel, calm down. You’re still injured. You just woke up after being out for a week.” Dad walks over to me and places his hand on my shoulder. “She had no choice. We had no choice.” Dad’s voice comes out calm, trying to get me to relax before I pull one of my wounds open, but it’s too late. I follow his gaze down to the bloodstain on my shirt.

  Leaning my hands on the desk, my head hangs. I’ve lost my brother, and the woman I’d give my life for in the blink of an eye.

  I don’t even know what questions to ask. Closing my eyes, I shake my head.

  “The Midlands knew she was there. We were outnumbered. Eight of us to forty of them. It was either they take her after we all die in a gunfight, or she runs. Vinny and Ben didn’t give us a choice,” Pike says.

  The fucking Midlands will die. I’m more than happy to start that war and fucking finish it. They’re getting bolder with their moves against us. The question is, why?

  “The Young family?” I ask.

  “Ross and Louis are still alive. Ronnie is dead, and Charlie is living on a machine,” Warren says.

  I look up at the door as Doc walks in. “Is there any point in me telling you to go back to the hospital?” he asks.

  “If I do, why the fuck do I pay you so much?” I bite back. Today is not a day to test my patience.

  I sit down and rub my forehead as Doc looks at my wounds. He grimaces at the blood continuing to spill out slowly.

  “I want them all dead. All but Ross. He can live knowing we went there with a truce and he said no,” I say. I extend my hand to Warren, gesturing for him to give me his cigarette.

  Elijah, Alice, Elijah, Alice. I don’t even know which one I should be focusing on right now.

  “There’s a reason no one was by your bed tonight, and it’s something we need to control.” My dad sets a glass of whiskey in front of me.

  “In one week, gun crime has gone up. Not just in Sinwick, but in all of London. They all know we’re weak at the moment and—”

  “And nothing,” I shout. “Yes, Elijah is gone and I’ve been in hospital, but we’re never weak.”

  Doc pushes me back in the seat. “I’m going to have to stitch this back up,” he says.

  “Then fucking do it,” I snap.

  “We came here to work on a plan, it’s O’Reilly,” Pike tells me.

  “Fuck’s sake,” I whisper to myself. Didn’t think it could get more fucked up then it already is.

  Right at this moment, I have nothing but blackness swirling in my head, a darkness so black I don’t even see a glimpse of light breaking through.

  I pull the chessboard over and pick up the knight—Elijah’s piece. I shake my head and quickly swipe at a tear that tries to escape my eye. Getting my emotions back in check, I place the knight on the desk.

  “What are we doing?” Warren asks.

  “Angel, you can’t go out looking for a fight. You’ve already ruptured one of your wounds,” Doc says.

  I already knew that. I can barely fucking stand, never mind shoot anyone.

  Taking in a long breath, I look at my family waiting for me to say something. Everyone put me in charge, made me the king of this city. They all expect me to act like the king, but right now, I can’t. I’m not their king. I’m broken; I’m weak. How can I show my town, my city, that I’m strong when I’m not?

  “Elijah’s funeral. When is it?”

  “Gwen wanted to wait for you to wake up, so about two weeks if we can get the date,” my dad says.

  Gwen. How can I face her? I promised I would protect Elijah, and I let them both down. My nephew will grow up without his father, and it’s my fault. Guilt flows like gasoline through my veins. My insides slowly die from the toxicity. I want to light it, let the flames burn me, burn right through me until there’s nothing left.

  Right now, there’s nothing I can do, nothing but heal before I bring out the devil to play. The devil’s going to bring the flames of hell with him.

  I pick up my queen from the chessboard. “Find my queen. I don’t care what we do to find her, just find her,” I command. I know I can’t win this fight without her beside me. I will be checkmated in no time.

  “Vinny’s and Ben’s phones are no longer in use,” Warren says, and I look at him. “Her dad has no idea where she is.”

  I grab my pain killers and take two of them. This is fucking painful. “I want you all to leave—just leave,” I demand.

  I don’t have anything to say. I have no fucking plan, my heart is fucking shattered, and my family has no answers for anything. They all leave my office, and I sit there staring at the chess game. I’m not looking to see my next move. I’m not even really looking at the pieces. It’s something to stare at, something to take my mind off the guilt, the rage, the loss. I just need a moment to myself.

  How could we lose all this so fast? For the first time in decades, we are one step behind every other family out there.

  Chapter 2

  Alice

  "Angel's awake," Vinny says from behind me. I look out the window at nothing, focusing instead on his words.

  A rush of relief runs through me. Every day this week, I've been worried about him. Not hearing anything was beginning to feel like torture. I hate that I can't be with him when he needs me the most. I've not slept at all week. I close my eyes, and all I see is a broken Angel. Then I have nights where I see Harvey walking closer and closer to me.

  We haven't been able to put much of a distance between the Midlands and us. As soon as we left the hospital, we were spotted, and the car chase was not fun at all. We had three cars tailing us. Luckily, Vinny was able to drive with the lights off and we lost them for a while. Wherever we go, they find us, and we have to run again.

  The Midlands have joined up with a lot of other families to find me, and because we don't know who they are, we don't know who to hide from. At the moment, it feels like I'm hiding from everyone but Vinny.

  We've moved between so many hotels this week, even I don't know where the hell we are. We left London, but came back, then drove further south. There was a night we spent looking out at the sea in Dover, but when I woke up, we weren't there anymore. Right now, I have no idea where we are.

  I'm exhausted. Vinny has only just healed from his wound, and I'm feeling so lost without Angel.

  "We can go back to—"

  "Alice, we don't know who we can trust. Ben—"

&nb
sp; "Vinny, he lost his brother. I need to be there for him," I say, wiping tears away from my cheek. I want to be there for Angel. He’s going to be so broken right now. I need to help him through this; tell him that Elijah's death is not his fault.

  Vinny pulls me in and wraps his arms around me. He kisses the top of my head. "Not until we’ve proved who the mole is," he says.

  I close my eyes for a moment and remember the feeling of Angel holding me. For a moment, it makes me feel safe again.

  "We have to move," Vinny says.

  I immediately pull away from him. "Vinny, where are we going? I can't go to America. They're watching Uncle Stuart. I can't go to Angel because we don't know who to trust. Where are we going?" There’s only so much I can take at the moment. We have no plan, and we're running out of bullets. What are we meant to do?

  We're running but have nowhere to run. It feels like we’re going in a circle around England.

  "Until Ben and Stuart tell us something, we keep moving." Vinny picks up the bag and pulls me with him as he leaves the hotel room. He keeps me close and always stays in front of me.

  All this week, I've wondered who could be stupid enough to betray Angel. They've just signed their own death warrant. They must know Angel will make their death painful. I went over different names in my head, trying to figure out who it could be. People who worked at the bar? People who they do business with? That list was short, as I have no idea who they do business with. So, who would be that stupid?

  Chapter 3

  Angel

  One Week Later

  With my head tilted back on my chair, I stare at the ceiling as I let the smoke escape through my nose. This has been the week from hell, I haven't been able to think straight. Everything has been a black fog for me.

  My head aches. All I can focus on is mourning the death of my brother, the man I thought would always stand next to me—including the day I get married. Now, I'll never watch him spoil my kids with everything they want. Instead, he'll be a story I tell my children, and that's been killing me every day. I'm not sure how I see my life without Elijah next to me. How can I fight this world without him?