Page 17 of Regal Queen

Five

The house was too fucking crowded.It was a small three bedroom home, much smaller than I was accustomed too, even smaller than my own wing at home. It was also haunted by the memories. Everywhere I went was an assault of our simple time spent here, dredging up the past I worked so hard to forget.

I'd never shared this place with anyone, not even Coulter, and now it was filled to the brim with the men from New York, all milling around like they owned the place. Rows of sleeping bags crowded the floor at night and during the day, the kitchen was cluttered with people and plates of food, with maps and laptops crowding the kitchen table.

“He brings in most of his cocaine through this lane here,” Torian's fingers indicated a line over the map, glancing at both Knight and Dante, “but with Knight’s new information, I’ve discovered a Russian carrier ship that left China yesterday. Their paperwork says they’re headed for Mexico but I think they’ll dock in California first.”

I nodded, pretending like I was listening but I was distracted by Rose, who was seated in between Coulter's thighs. His hands were on her hips, whispering into her ear and making her chuckle. I grit my teeth against my jealousy, hating that I couldn’t easily control my emotions when it came to them together. They’d been spending the past three days in each other’s constant presence and it was driving me insane.

She also hadn’t taken off the coat she was wearing when we captured her, even though it wasn’t necessary in the warmth of the house. Sometimes I caught her stroking the edge of the sleeve unconsciously, her eyes far away and her expression dark. Curiosity filled me as my gaze drifted from the fur lined hood down to the front buttons. It was a man’s coat, dirty and well used, and was clearly Russian made. Where did the jacket come from? Why was she always wearing it? What did it mean to her? Did it belong to someone she met while she was at Dimitri’s or was it the only comfort she’d been given while she was there?

As if she felt my gaze on her, Rose turned, her eyes catching mine, and she stilled. Her throat moved and her chest Rose in a silent inhale.

"Bourbon?"

My eyes snapped to Torian, who stared at me with expectant eyes. He was Grant's replacement and the complete opposite of my old assistant. Instead of a sharp suit, dull emotions and a crisp manner, Torian was like a lethal panther. He had gold-colored skin and almond shaped eyes. He wore dark clothing, his hair tied back in one of those stupid man buns. He also had a gun strapped on him at all times, even when he went piss.

I wouldn't be surprised if he took it in the shower with him.

He was lethal in every sense of the word and, even though he clearly wasn't used to taking orders, he'd been respectful enough of my position as his boss. He'd also come with glowing recommendations from the Luca in New York and, after our battle in Dimitri's stronghold, I'd come to respect him.

He hadn't hesitated to take out the man who'd dared to point a gun at my head, and was quicker than even Coulter.

“When will they arrive in California?”

“At the speed they’re moving, I would say ten to eleven days.”

I nodded, making a low sound in my throat. Eleven days wasn’t nearly enough time to prepare, but Torian believed that this was the first large shipment Dimitri was sending to Nero.

If I did this, made the choice to attack, I would officially be declaring war on my own father.

Not that I cared about him, per se, or my relationship with him. I just wasn't sure if we were ready for it yet.

I wanted to take them down one at a time, instead of going against them both at once. Combined, their powers would be an unstoppable force.

If we attacked, I was pretty much guaranteed to be living on the run for years. If we somehow failed, they would hunt us down until they'd either killed us, or until we destroyed them enough to bring them to their knees.

Nero would never surrender willingly, but I had to admit, the thought was enticing.

I would love to see him on his knees, begging me for forgiveness before I shot his bra—

I forced that thought to end, needing to keep some kind of my humanity. Was I really that emotionless, that I was plotting my own father's demise?

It was hard to admit to myself that I'd been dreaming about it at night, of his head exploding, his eyes begging me for mercy.

That, combined with my sadistic thoughts of peeling Dimitri's skin from his body was feeding the burning, raging monster inside me.

And that's why I was staying as far away from Rose as possible.

I didn't want her to be exposed to the evil, violent thoughts I was having. If she knew what kind of man I really was, she’d run for her life, probably with Coulter by her side. And by the way he was holding her close, his hand on her waist, his lips at her neck, he would follow her to the end of the earth.

I shut down the raging thoughts that accompanied me every time I looked at them.

I wanted them to be happy. To move on from this shitty life.

If may be too late for me, but they could still have a happy life outside of this world.

I forced my gaze back to the map on the coffee table.

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