The Fearless King (The Kings #2)
Katee Robert
To Kesha—thanks for an amazing soundtrack for this book, and for never letting the bastards get you down
Acknowledgments
It always feels a little strange to be thanking God for the inspiration and creativity that results in some seriously sexy books, but the ideas just keep coming and I am forever grateful for that.
Huge thanks to Leah Hultenschmidt for helping me make Frank and Journey’s story the best version of itself. You always know what I’m trying to accomplish even if it doesn’t show up on the page in the first draft, and it’s been an amazing experience working with you!
Thank you to the art department at Forever for an amazing cover. You captured Frank in all his glory, and I couldn’t imagine a better cover for this story.
Special thanks to Timitra, Diane, Jessica, Sheri, and Brooke for reading through and helping me get both Frank and Journey’s experiences and history just right. Your thoughts and comments were exceedingly helpful. Thank you!
Writing a book is a strange process sometimes, filled with up and downs and the occasional spiral. Big thanks and hugs to Piper J. Drake, ?sa Maria Bradly, Kristen Nave, and Hilary Brady for always being there to give me the kick in the pants or the encouragement I needed to keep on keeping on. You’re all rock stars and I don’t deserve you!
Last but never least, all my love and thanks to Tim. Thank you for listening to my frustrations, celebrating my successes, never letting me get too down on myself—and always being willing to share the lime-flavored Otter Pops. Love you like a love song.
Chapter One
Our father is back in Houston.”
“That’s hilarious. You should be a comedian.” Journey King sat down in the chair across from her brother’s massive desk and waited for him to laugh. But the devastating sympathy in Anderson’s blue eyes told her that he wasn’t joking. She cleared her throat, trying to speak past the sensation of it closing off her ability to take in air. “Oh God. No, he can’t do this.” She shivered, then cursed herself for showing even that much reaction.
“I’m sorry, Jo. I would’ve told you sooner, but I just found out thirty minutes ago he’s on his way here.”
Journey had always felt safe in the Kingdom Corp offices, totally in control, knowing she had her family at her back. But recent events had turned their world topsy-turvy and shaken some of that innate trust. With so many skeletons dancing in their closets, she should have expected her own personal one to come calling at the first available opportunity.
He’s just a man.
The lie was as substantial as smoke. Elliott Bancroft charmed everyone he met, masking the truth until up was down and down was up.
The silence threatened to suck her under. No. “No.” She spoke aloud, trying to break the spell already weaving around her. “I will not let him win.”
That battle was fought a long time ago. He won. You lost. You all lost.
Stop it.
Anderson rounded the desk as she shoved to her feet. “Jo…” He grabbed her hands, easily encompassing them in his own.
There wouldn’t be time to run. Running and hiding had never worked with Elliott Bancroft anyway. She sank back into the chair, her body a marionette whose strings had been cut. “I’m okay.” She wasn’t, but if their father was on his way, Anderson needed to be focusing on the coming confrontation and not on her. She lifted her chin. “I’m okay. You should sit behind your desk. Start this off from the right position.” The posturing wouldn’t work, but it was something.
The door to Anderson’s office swung open, and she tensed at the familiar footsteps even as she forced herself to twist and face him.
Elliott. Father. Monster.
Journey folded her hands in her lap. Breathe. Just breathe. Do not react. If he knows you’re afraid, it will make him happy. “Elliott.”
It had been…five years? Five years since she’d seen her father last, though she would have happily gone fifty more. He’d aged in that time, his skin darkened from too many hours in the sun, his dark hair shot through with silver. The blue eyes were the same, warm as a summer day…if one didn’t know what lurked beneath. He’d turn more than a few heads in any room he walked into.
Except this one.
His smile widened when he caught sight of her. “Since you stopped taking my calls, sweetheart, I thought it was time to come to you.” He spread his arms wide to encompass both Journey and Anderson. “Things are changing here at Kingdom Corp.”
Journey forced her hands to relax. It didn’t matter what he said or her reaction to it—the only thing that mattered was the truth, and the truth was that her mother would throw herself on a literal sword before she let her estranged husband anywhere near her company. He was bluffing. He had to be. “You don’t have a say when it comes to Kingdom Corp. It’s our mother’s company.” Or it had been. It belonged to Journey and Anderson and their other two siblings now. “She gave it to us when she left town.” The paperwork still hadn’t been completed because of all the red tape, but that didn’t change anything.
It shouldn’t change anything.
Elliott smiled. “Actually, the company isn’t hers to give.”