Kingdom: The Complete Series Read Online Free PDF Page A

images of Jamie struggling out there in the smeared grey city
with soldiers flooding the streets.
    Interrupting their
silent thoughts, a silver phone buzzes and lights up on the desk. Chloe jumps
and suppresses a gasp. The King lifts the sleek mobile phone to his ear whilst
keeping his dark eyes on Chloe.
    "Yes?"
    Chloe hears a garbled
voice filter into his ears like water. His emotionless face cracks into a grim
smile.
    “ Send
him up immediately.”
    He places the phone on
his desk, making sure it is at right angles to the pens and pencil laid out
like sleeping soldiers. Leaning back in his leather chair, the King steeples
his fingers. The cold light offered by the desk lamp seems to pass through him,
leaving nothing but a silhouette.
    "Guess who's
here?" he asks her.
    Chloe refuses to let
her fear show. Beneath the desk, her knees are shaking and she has crossed her
feet to stop them tapping on the wooden floor. Her thin jawline is clenched to
stop her teeth from chattering together.
    “ Jamie?”
she asks through clenched teeth.
    The King gives her a
curt nod and hums to himself.
    “ He's
on his way up.”
    “ Good,"
she says, trying to avoid being drawn into a conversation.
    “ He's
very early, don't you think?”
    “ He's
good at his job."
    “ Is
he? Is he so good at his job, that he can get four cars to the garage without
my man at the garage seeing him or the cars?” The King leans forward
into the light. "He hasn't gotten me one car let alone four, Chloe.”
    The realisation sets in
and Chloe feels her stomach go cold. The King smiles, satisfied by the fear in
her blue eyes.
    “ On
the plus side,” the King whispers, "I hear they pay quite well for blonde
girls. Maybe we can find you a buyer with more vanilla tastes -"
    “ This
isn't right," she feels the dam burst and the outrage comes pouring out,
her voice shaking. “He's a good man, he worked himself to the bone for you. All
he wanted was to get away from all of this."
    “ For
me? On the contrary,” the King cocks his head and smiles, “I believe that he
did this all for you. You should be blaming yourself for your current
predicament.”
    There is a muffled
knock at the door before she can reply, and the King holds her gaze. Chloe
fights against the overwhelming urge to turn around and look; she locks eyes
with the King and holds his stare as footsteps fill the room behind her,
feeling the ice in his eyes seeping into her chest like pneumonia. 
    “ My
King,” a coarse voice announces itself. "This is your man."
    “ Take
the hood off.”
    The King motions behind
Chloe, and there is the sound of fabric tearing, followed by a deep gasp.
    “ Chloe.”
The name slips out of Jamie's bloodied mouth like a secret.
    She hears her name and
can no longer help it. Twisting in her chair, she turns to see him -
    On his knees.
    With a gun to his head.
    Her smile fades to
fear. “Jamie?”
    Behind him stand a
firing squad of men with shining black pistols and sub-machine-guns. They have
all clasped their hands around their guns, giving them the air of respectful
professionals.
    Jamie, his jacket gone
and his white shirt stained with flecks of blood, smiles at her as a single
droplet of claret fluids runs from his right nostril and stains the top of his
lip.
    “ You
made it,” the King says, scraping his chair back with a cutting whine and
standing at his full height. He walks past Chloe, letting a dry, cold hand
brush over her neck, making her shudder away.  “Vince at the front door said
that you needed to see me. He said you had a 'game-changer' for me.”
    Jamie nods, saying
nothing else. His hands have been tied behind his back with something and his
head lolls with his shoulders – he seems out of breath, his hair wet and his
face shiny with perspiration as if he had ran a marathon. He just nods.
    “ Our
man at the garage hasn't given us the all clear yet,” the King says, standing
over Jamie and looking down upon him. “You haven't gotten me my