Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Crown Resort Group

Damien returned to his office after a meeting. He cracked his neck as he walked to his desk, unbuttoning his coat and then hanging it on a rack. There were several papers and envelopes neatly filed in the middle of his desk, all addressed to him. The first six envelopes were event invitations, the seventh was a high school reunion invitation, and the papers below them were documents he needed to review and sign.

He picked up the blue and gold envelope—the colors of his high school and read the content, loosening his tie and rolling his sleeves up to his elbow before sitting on his chair. He didn't attend all the reunions in the past. The last one he went to was three years ago. He didn't really have any interest in seeing old faces from high school as he could easily call his friends for a drink in the city. But he thought it would be nice for Katherine to attend a party with him that wasn't business-related and maybe even introduce her to some high school friends. Mulling over the idea, he put the invitation on the right corner of his table where he could easily remember. He could decide on it later.

The buzzing on his phone caught his attention, and he looked at the coat on the rack, realizing it was still in his inner pocket. Taking it out, his jaw ticked before he answered the call when he saw that it was Felix. "How did it go?" 

"It was quick. About twenty minutes at the bar. She left as soon as she handed him over to the police," answered Felix.

Damien let out a sigh of relief. He sat on his chair again and leaned back, letting his head rest. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She's physically fine. Went and left some money at the family's house just like the previous ones."

"Where is she now?"

"She's with Alianna at a cafe a few blocks from your office."

"Okay." Damien was just about to end their call when Felix spoke again.

"Are you going to keep letting her do this without telling you—and hide it from her that you know? I normally don't mind doing my job, but...Katherine's already like a sister to me. I just keep thinking about how she'd feel if she'll find out she's being watched."

"I'll think about it. Thanks, Felix. As you were." Damien swiped his phone off and tossed it on his desk. His gaze landed on a frame he put on the left side of his workspace—it was him and Katherine in Onyx Mountain Resort last year—one of the best nights they shared after she remembered a piece of her forgotten memory.

He knew about her secret activities in the past few weeks. He found out after her therapist called and informed him that she didn't visit for a session. He was initially upset when he learned about her whereabouts after some digging and planned to confront her about it. But after giving it a thought and recalling a couple of nights when she had nightmares, he opted to visit her therapist.

Patient-Doctor confidentiality prevented him from knowing specific details of Katherine's sessions, but he was given suggestions on how he could help her. There wasn't much he could do except just be with her. Everyone has different ways of dealing with grief and moving on. It wasn't just about the guilt for Chris's death or Gus's disappearance. It was about Shadow and Parker. Two things that were bound together and were part of her for so many years. It's only been a month and she was honestly doing well.

Damien could see why she couldn't let go of it just like that, even after being reassured that Parker was already arrested and paying for his sins in a windowless room. Katherine wanted Parker's blood—that he knew. It sounded dark, but he knew that's what she wanted to truly feel safe, that Parker would truly be gone from this world.

He then decided to let her find her footing her own way. This was her way of moving on—of making herself feel that she was still in control of something, even if it's just as little as putting some criminal behind bars.

Katherine was dangerous. Reckless? Maybe at first he thought she was. But after seeing how she calculated her actions and even avoided spending too much time tracking down the criminal, Damien believed she moved with strategic thinking. 

And no matter what, she's a badass who liked to kick ass. She would always be like that. Katherine had always been that way ever since, and that's part of her that he couldn't change. In fact, he didn't want her to change. She's a strong woman with a golden heart. So even though he worried for her, he learned to trust her.

But...of course, he'd still keep Felix around just in case she needed back up.

The phone in his hand buzzed again, interrupting his train of thought. His brows raised when he saw the caller's I.D.

"Detective," he answered.

Detective Donovan exchanged a few pleasantries with him before he got down to business. "I've been swamped with work, and old cases just aren't that easy. However, I may have a lead. I heard from one of the retired officers that one of his colleagues used to work in the same precinct where your father's accident was recorded. The one I talked to didn't know much about the accident because he was working in the homicide department. But he could vaguely remember the police officer who responded to that accident had a huge argument with their chief in the office. Two days after that, the officer resigned and was not heard of since."

Damien straightened his back. "What happened to that officer?"

"No one knows, really. I just heard about this when I met the retired officer at the city hall an hour ago. He was a friend of my mentor back in the day. I'll ask around, but he told me that as far as he knew, that officer quit, and they didn't hear if he moved to another precinct or something."

"What's the officer's name?"

"Joseph Bennet."

"Will you forward me his information once you get it?"

"Of course. I'll send over what I can get. I know you have people who can probably make my job easier. My work isn't like what we see on the TV, you know. I don't have just one case at a time. Right now, I'm up to 19 cases, 20 including yours, which I kept off the book for now as we discussed. I wish I could have commercial breaks just like in the series." The detective sighed.

"I understand, Detective. Thanks a lot for your hard work. I appreciate it."

After ending the call, Damien called Styles and asked him if he could help track down the officer. This was good progress in their investigation. It wasn't a promise, but it was better than nothing. 

Right after his call with Styles ended, he received a message from Katherine.

[ My Queen: Are you done with your meetings? Busy? ]

Damien began to type his reply but decided to just call her instead. "Hey," he greeted when she picked up.

"Hey, you…" There was a happy tone in her voice, and it made him smile. She seemed to be in a chipper mood than this morning. Maybe her little detour helped.

"What's up?" he probed. "Where are you?"

"I'm with Ali at a cafe near you. Nothing, really. We were just wondering if you wanted to join us for coffee—if you're not busy, of course."

He looked at the work on his desk and saw all the papers he needed to go through. There's at least an inch thick on a pile. He would probably have to do overtime. But nothing's more important than Katherine right now.

Before he could respond, he heard his cousin Ali shout at the phone, "Don't think about it, you workaholic. Just come and bring your wallet. I saw some really exciting pieces in the women's luxury boudoir across the street. Not for me, of course, Caleb can buy for me—you know what I mean." 

He heard Katherine laugh. Shaking his head, Damien got up from his seat, grabbed his coat, and strolled towards the door with a smile on his face. "Work can wait. Coffee sounds good right now, actually. I'll see you soon."