Queen Regnant ( Ace of Queens #3)

Ch.7 Badges

Chapter 7

Mavi was relieved to find her room empty when she entered. Adam and Alec and disappeared. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. But Owen seemed to understand that, he didn't try to strike up random conversations just to fill the empty air between them and Mavi was grateful for that.

Taking off her sundress, Mavi slipped on a pair of denim shorts and a black hoodie. She also ditched the heels for some tennis shoes and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Just as she had finished, Owen knocked on her door.

Mavi's eyes immediately landed on the baseball caps he was holding.

"White or blue?" Owen asked holding the caps up.

"I'll have to go with the name sake," Mavi reached for the blue cap.

"Mavi is blue in Turkish," Owen smiled.

"Yes,"

Owen watched Mavi put the cap on and pull her hair through the little hole.

"Ready?" He asked.

Mavi nodded. She quietly followed him through the halls and down to the lobby. When he headed for the main entrance of the hotel instead of the basement parking lot, Mavi spread next to him.

"We're not taking the car," Owen said when he saw Mavi looking around. He was afraid she might change her mind any minute and request to return back, but the light in her gray eyes shone too bright for any of his doubts.

Mavi stepped out into the warm September air and sighed. She looked around the street at the hundreds of people passing by. The whole city was buzzing with excitement and life. Her eyes landed on the bike rental shop across the street and she secretly hoped Owen would head towards that direction. But instead, Owen touched her elbow to gain her attention and motioned towards the subway. Mavi almost squealed in excitement.

With an extra bounce to her feet, she followed Owen down the steps and into the train station. The loud tunes of a man playing the saxophone greeted her as they waited for their train. Mavi quickly pulled out her phone and handed it to Owen.

"Can you please take a picture of me?" She asked.

Owen looked around, "Here?"

"Yes," Mavi nodded. "I've never taken the train before. My mom did when she was in high school."

Owen opened the camera and took a burst of photos, "The queen grew up in New York?"

Mavi nodded, "Yeah, she was raised in Queens."

"I grew up in Brooklyn," Owen handed the phone back to Mavi.

"That's why you don't sound Russian," Mavi said.

"No," Owen looked down at his shoes as he kicked one o the loose tiles on the floor. "We left Russia when I was five."

"Was that...." Mavi didn't know if she should bring up the topic. But the question was half way out her mouth and Owen wasn't dumb. He knew what she wanted to ask.

Mavi tried to think of some way to derail the conversation and ask something else, but her mind was blanking.

"Yeah, it was when my father brought you home," Owen answered without Mavi completing her question.

Mavi didn't know what to say. She had no memories of the events other than a scar to show for it. She heard the stories many times from her grandmother or uncles, but it always seemed as if they were just stories.

The train finally arrived and Owen stepped aside to let Mavi enter. He stood behind her as she held onto the metal pole. As they train journey down, it became more and more packed. At one of the stops, Mavi had to shuffle back to let a mother and her baby carriage into the train. It left her pressed against Owen's chest as the woman shoved the stroller in.