Page 11 of Regal Queen

The only part of my mind that had an ounce of control whispered the words that made my heart squeeze in my chest. Words that were right. Words that I hated with all my being but that I knew to be true.

I'd almost lost everything that mattered to me, and I didn't want to risk loosing it again.

I wouldn't fight with Coulter anymore, I would give him what he wanted.

Even though it would kill me inside, I would take a step back and let them be together.

He'd stepped in front of a wall of bullets for me, stepping up to be the brother I'd always wanted, and I owed him for that.

He'd been willing to give his life for mine, and the least I could do for him was to let him be happy.

And maybe when all this was finished, when we'd killed Dimitri, I would share the plans Grant and I had made for them: a new identity and a place to live, far from this life.

"Bourbon." Dante's voice interrupted my thoughts, speaking to me from the doorway.

“Tell me.” I didn’t turn to look at him, keeping my eyes glued to Rose and Coulter.

“Knight is awake."

“Did you talk to him?”

“Yes. But he wants to talk to you.”

I took one last look at the two, then turned on my heel, pushing away all emotion as I walked towards the door.

We all hoped that Knight might have information about Dimitri, anything we could use to find the bastard who was going to die by my hands.

Dante followed behind me to the room down the hall, where Knight was resting. We'd had to amputate two of Knight's fingers and one of his toes, they were swollen and completely black from severe frostbite. He'd been kept in solitary confinement in a room so far apart from the others that it had taken us an unusually long time to find him.

By then, Dimitri’s men were beginning to push us out, taking back their stronghold on the estate. We were lucky enough to find Knight and escape with our lives intact.

"Knight, you look like shit." His easygoing, flirty look was gone, replaced with dark circles under his eyes and cuts and bruises all over him.

His lips twisted up in a half smile and when he spoke, his voice was ragged. "Thanks for coming to get me."

"We would never leave you behind." Dante's voice was fierce behind me, and I turned to give him a stony look. At this his held up his hand in surrender and took a step back.

Satisfied, I strode to the other side of the bed to stare Knight down. Gone was the permanent flicker of amusement in his eyes, replaced with an emptiness very similar to the first time I returned home from my first father-son trip in the desert.

"We would've burned that place down to find you," I echoed Dante's sentiment, and I meant it.

His gave me a surprised look but quickly recovered, pressing his lips together in firm line, his eyes revealing the guilt he felt inside. "I'm sorry."

I furrowed my eyebrows, turning to pull up a chair so I wasn't hovering over him like an overlord. He shifted, his face wincing in pain as he turned to me.

"Get him some more pain meds," I snapped to Dante but Knight shook his head.

"No, I don't want any pain meds, I need to get this out."

I gave him a curt nod, indicating him to go on.

His throat bobbed and he exhaled a tortured breath. "They tortured me. Wanted information about the King empire.”

This somewhat surprised me, seeing as how Dimitri and Nero were working together, but everyone knew there was no honor between them. I wouldn't be surprised if Dimitri was looking for a way even now to betray Nero.

He shook his head, continuing. “I'm sorry. I tried to hold out."

I was silent for a moment, studying him. Any information Knight had given up was probably already burned anyway. We had plans for things like this, contingencies. Times and locations were constantly changed up, easily moved for security purposes.

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