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“My family?” Lucas didn’t have any family Really, he never had

“Us Elskov,” she said “You can’t just walk ae need you”

He sat the glass back on his desk untouched “I’ll think about it”

The queen nodded “I know you’ll ht choice You always do”

“And Bendtsen,” the king said “We really are sorry about Ruby I can’t even ih, but we’re here for you, even when it may not seem like it”

In that heartbeat he knew he couldn’t leave He was as much a part of Elskov as it was a part of hiht at dinner when he’d asked her why she hadn’t just walked away from her family and started fresh He finally understood—you couldn’t leave family behind, not even if you physically walked away

“Thank you, Your Majesty”

“It’s Doruff smile “And there’s no need for thanks That’s what family does”

…

Later that evening, Lucas sat in the sitting roolass of akvavit and another and another He should be drunk by now That’s what he wanted, to finally fall into oblivion so that he couldn’t even remember Ruby’s name or hear the soft moan she made or smell the exotic scent of her perfu out at the garden and the chairs sitting out in the field of lavender barely visible because of the clouds blocking ht from the new moon

Staring out, his eyes tired and unfocused, he nearlyworked when the rest of hi metallic The sudden silence The extrasensory awareness creeping up the back of his neck

A holdout from Hendriksen’s camp?

A rogue Macintosh operator?

He was a man with enemies It didn’t matter who had finally tracked hi to lose and he was itching for a fight, for someone to bear the b

runt of the fury burning a hole in his gut There was nothing erous