Althena Book 2

43. Shoot The Tree

I wake up in the morning somewhat ok. At least I'm awake. I rub my face and stagger down the steps. Conner is walking out the door. He kisses my head. "Thank you for last night."

"I needed it as much as you did. I love you."

"I love you too, babygirl."

Mike and Cyrus walk by me next. Mike gives me a real kiss. "We'll be on the boat if you need us."

"Thank you for making this go away. I can't wait to actually use the boat. It's beautiful."

"It is that. I can imagine waking up and looking out over the water."

I nod. "Nobody gets that bedroom. Burn it."

"I'm not burning the bedroom. We'll turn it into something else."

"Good deal. I will never go there."

"We'll figure out something."

"Thank you."

Drogon is sitting at the table. "Morning, babygirl."

"I guess I'm going to work with you."

"Let's give you a bath and get you dressed first."

We make it to his office a few hours later. Then we have lunch. After lunch, the boys and advisors join us.

"Is my boat clean?"

Cyrus nods. "It is completely stripped. Nothing else was weird. We put in the orders for new stuff."

"Wonderful."

Mike smiles. "We went with the light blue crystal theme. We know you like that, and it'll be good on the boat."

"It really will. That's perfect. Did you remember to order sunchairs?"

"Yes."

"Did you empty the pool?"

"Yes. Emptied. Sanitized the whole thing. Then refilled it."

"You boys are on it. Thank you."

Mike smiles. "Anything for you, babygirl."

Cyrus chuckles. "And the room you'll never go in is now the workout room."

"Oh, that's a good one. I won't go there."

"We know."

Drogon stands up. "The queen received a letter yesterday. From a friend of her father. He said he was sorry for her loss. He gave her a boat her father visited often. His name was Edwardo Nordin. Have you heard of him before?"

I go over and get some water.

"Yes. Edwardo would donate to Deriston's charity events. They seemed to be friends. I never met him, but her father would go to visit his lake house every few months."

I turn and throw up all over the floor. Then I stare at the table of people. "Glad nobody was standing there. Go on."

"The man doesn't live in Darkburn. They were old friends. Possibly someone he went to school with. The lake house isn't in Darkburn. I forget where it was. Mary would say Deriston was on a boys' trip when he went there."

Another advisor nods. "Oh, I remember that. I never met him either. He would donate quite a bit to your father's charities though. I think your father donated to a few of his, a time or 2. He gave you a boat?"

"Yea, he said my father loved it. He would spend time there when he needed time away from his royal duties."

"Makes sense. It is stressful being king. Edwardo was sending his condolences. I see no issues with t3his. He knew it was something your father liked and wanted you to have it."

"From what we know about him, he's a very wealthy man. Don't offend him. He may donate to your causes in the future."

I rub my face. These guys are so stupid. "Good to know."

"Why did you throw up?"

"I really hope he doesn't invite me to the lake house. That's all."

Cyrus jumps up. "She was drinking last night. The boat is beautiful. We had some wine. That's all."

Mike nods. "I guess that's all."

"When do I get to see the boat?" Conner crosses his arms.

"Let them get the carpet in at least." Mike checks his phone. "They're installing it now. We can go over when we get out of here."

"It didn't have carpet?"

Drogon rubs his face. "We're upgrading some things. The carpet was a bit worn. Beautiful boat. Just needs a few updates."

"That's understandable." The advisors nod at each other.

I rub my face as I sit down. "Glad they got that sorted out."

Cyrus leans towards Mike and whispers, "We should figure out where the lake house is and make sure nothing else surfaces."

I point at him and whisper yell, "Don't you make me puke again."

One of the advisors stands up. "We put together some things for the casino. We also found a few companies in Eldervale that make slot machines."

"Y'all have fun. I'm gonna go visit granny."

I land in Mystical Moon, and it feels like the weight of everything lifts off me. It's so peaceful here. The park. The trees. The air. This place feels like it doesn't even belong on the planet. It's simple.

Monte motions me over. He's doing some training with the warriors. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see granny."

"And?"

"I want you to teach me how to use a gun."

"Yea, take a walk with me."

We walk way out on the property and there's a table. He takes his gun apart and tells me the parts. Then has me put it back together a few times.

"What's really going on, woman?"

"Nothing. Everyone else carries them. I figured I should learn."

"2 hands. Point it." He steps behind me and grabs the gun over my hands. I shiver. He's so warm and wrapped around me. "See how to aim?"

"Yea."

"Aim at the tree and pull the trigger."

-BANG-

I jump back into him. "That was loud, and it damn near flew away."

"This has a lot of kick back. Try again." I shoot a couple of times. "So, you just happen to be taken by the biggest drug cartel. You had a nap, saved a baby during war, and returned. You don't remember anything else. Then you receive a very expensive boat 3 days after you get back?"

"The timing is odd."

He reloads it for me. "Try again."

"He was my dad's friend."

"You knew what was in that envelope. It didn't shock you at all. You knew it was coming, you were trying to hide it. Talk now."

"They'll kill you for knowing. Just teach me how to shoot a gun, Monte."

"Are you in trouble?"

"I'm always in trouble."

"What happened?"

I sigh and put the gun down. "My dad was working with them. They're sending me his stuff. I can't tell, and you can't either."

"How much are they trying to transfer?"

"Billions."

He nods and watches the trees. "Casino."

"As far as I know, my dad didn't own much stuff. A boat. It's all money. Now I have to..."

"It's alright. Do you have contact with them?"

"I have Akley's number and his lawyers. I work with the lawyers basically. I shouldn't have to have contact with Akley anymore."

"Good. Do they know about the casino going in?"

"Yes. I talked to them yesterday. They told me then that they sent the boat. Now it's a waiting game, I guess."

"I'm right here. I'll help you with anything. I know your dad put you in a weird spot with this. We'll figure it out. You're not alone."

"Thank you. But you can't know."

"I won't talk about it. I will never bring it up with anyone else. But if it gets to be too much stress, you come to me and talk. I will listen and help you as much as I can."

"Why?"

"I don't want you to get in over your head."

"I think I'm in over my head already."

"Do they want you to do anything else?"

"They said if I start a charity, they can donate to it. Or a non-profit organization. I forget how they said it. They said they'd work on some ideas for me."

"You concentrate on the casino and school for now. I'll read about these organizations. Try to figure out the surrounding laws."

"Thank you."

He kisses my head. "You're welcome. Just relax for now. We'll get it figured out. Now shoot that squirrel."

"No." I give him a dirty look.

He chuckles. "Fine. Shoot the tree."

I spend the afternoon shooting trees and listening to him talk about gun safety. It's a very boring speech.

Then my boys and Cyrus show up. The speech starts over. But they all seem to be ok with me having a gun.

We go to the dock next. I stand on the dock and stare at the boat.

Cyrus smiles. "Welcome to your brand-new boat. Everything is new. And it was washed from the top to the bottom."

Mike nods. "They even ran air purifiers for you."

"My brand-new boat."

"Hi, I run the dock. Do you have permission to be here?"

Monte hands him the title.

"Wonderful. The docking fees were paid for the next 10 years. Welcome home."

"How much are docking fees normally?"

He looks at Monte. "100k a month."

"Good to know. Thank you."

"I'll need a list of anyone permitted access when Althena is not here."

"Monte can visit my boat."

Mike crosses his arms. "Woman."

"You're not having a party boat, Mike. Just forget about it. Monte, if you..." I point my finger at him.

"I won't. It's a start. Let's start with this. She can add more later. I'll keep an eye on the boat for now."

"Fine."

Clayton comes roaming down the dock. "Where the hell are we?"

"My brand-new boat."

"Let's check it out." He pulls me over the ramp.

"Why are you here?"

"I was bored. Figured I would see what you're doing. I saw you're building a casino."

"Where did you see that?"

"Law change list. It's public."

"That's good to know."

He nods. "I want to have my after party on this thing."

"After party for what?"

"Birthday party. I have to do the royal party. Then I can run away. I can invite sexy girls to sit around in swimsuits."

I smack him on the back of his head. "No. This is not a party boat."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He walks off rubbing his head.

Monte bursts out laughing. "It's not that kind of party, woman."

"I'll think about it. It is a nice boat."

"And you know your brother's not going to do anything that stupid."

"True. I guess he can have a party here."

Conner comes up and rubs his eyes. "How the hell do we drive this thing?"

"The wheel is up a level. I have no idea." Monte shrugs his shoulders. "I think we're tied to the dock."

Conner goes up, and the engines kick on. Mike and Cyrus go by us so fast, they're nearly a blur.

Clayton yells, "WE'RE GOOD." up the steps.

Then we pull away from the dock.

I smile at Clayton. "You can have a party here. But you can't move the boat and Monte or I will have to be here."

"That works. But I want to take it out on the water. Who do I bring for that?"

"I guess Conner." We're pulling away from the dock very gently.

"Sweet."

"Oh, hell no. You need Mike or Cyrus for that. Conner will end up drunk and falling overboard."

Clayton and I crack up laughing.