Page 33 of Regal Queen

Besides, Bourbon deserved my respect. And he deserved her.

I averted my gaze, not wanting to look at them, and made my way towards the front door. "Well, fuckers? Let's do this."

"She is not a fucker," Bourbon growled and I just shook my head, putting in the code that would call the elevator.

They walked towards me, stilling as we all waited. I ignored the way she leaned into him, pushing down the burning resentment and waited impatiently for the elevator to arrive. When the doors opened, there were two guards inside, waiting to take us up to Luca. They didn't have weapons in their hands but the guns on their hips were enough of a promise of violence if we didn’t behave.

It was only a short trip to the penthouse and, when the doors opened, it was if we'd stepped into a whole other world. Black marble and grey accents ruled the space, with occasional splashes of bright color.

The guards led us through the large apartment to an office, where Luca sat behind a large and imposing mahogany desk. On his lap was a woman, one I'd never met before but that I recognized. Her name was Penny, the woman whom Luca’d recently acquired as a 'not-so-willing' wife.

Except now, she was clearly comfortable with him, nestled in his lap like a sated kitten. She was beautiful, but I didn't keep my eyes on her long because Luca’s eyes bore a hole into me, the message on his face clear.

Keep looking at my wife and I'll rip your eyes out.

Rose was uncertain beside us, and both Bourbon and I leaned in closer to her, protective to the point that it was overbearing.

Luca eyed us both, then twisted his lips up in a cold smile. "So. This is the infamous creature who’s revealed the weakness in the Vegas outfit.”

Both Bourbon and I straightened, and the room was suddenly tense. Penny though, eyed us curiously, a smile trickling at the corners of her lips. "Welcome, Rose."

Rose didn't answer for a long moment, and the air remained pregnant with tension. Finally, she spoke, and the tension sizzled and burned out at her response.

"Thank you for invitation. And for your protection. I'm sorry for the men who died to keep us safe.”

There was no reaction from Luca, he couldn't show weakness even if he was hurting for his men, but Penny frowned, concern clearly in her gaze.

“Thank you. That means a lot to us."

“And they will suffer for what they've done." Luca finally spoke, and the fierceness in his answer spoke of the promise of retribution I knew he would inflict. "But we're not here to talk about that," he continued, extending his hand towards the chairs placed before his desk. "Sit down."

We sat with Rose between us, and Penny snuggled closer into Luca’s chest. I didn't doubt that this show of affection from her was a show of his trust in us.

Men like us couldn't reveal our greatest weakness, the women who managed to bring us to our knees, and by having her here in this room, by allowing us to the see the sentimentality between the two of them, was a great sign of his confidence that we would never exploit his weakness.

Though, the cold stare on his face as we settled in promised retribution if we dared hurt Penny.

"Now," Luca began, "first things first. You've maintained about ninety percent of the men commissioned, with almost all of them agreeing to continue to work with you, if you wish to keep them."

“Thank you,” Bourbon nodded. “I gratefully accept your offer.”

“Good. The others would prefer to keep working with you but their injuries are too grievous, and I’ve decided to keep them in our stronghold, for now, until they recover." His eyes fell to Bourbon. "Per Bourbon's request, Torian will be permanently transferred to work directly with your group. HIs suite is one floor down from yours, next to Knight and Dante’s suites."

"Thank you," I said.

He nodded. “I need to know, what’s your next move?”

“To take Dimitri down.”

Luca nodded. “I figured as much. You come from a weak position since Nero has turned his back on you.” He paused, letting that settle between us before he continued. “However, you may have intimate knowledge that you’re unaware of that can help take him out.”

Both Bourbon and I were nodding but his eyes had fallen to Rose. She stilled, her upper teeth coming down to bite on her lower lip nervously. "You think I know something that can take Dimitri down?"

"She was kept in a prison," Bourbon interjected, "tortured. It's not like she was allowed to walk about the estate poking about his things."

"Regardless,” Luca’s eyes fell to her finger, the one Dimitri’d cut off, “there may be something she knows that could help you.”

Rose straightened, clearing her throat. "It’s true. I may know something."

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