Page 20 of Fierce Monarch

“We are not taking on the guilt for what he did.”

“Amen.” Ash pulled out her phone. “I think this deserves wine.”

“I think it needs something harder,” Shara muttered, stomping over to the kitchen to grab three shot glasses before pulling an entire bottle of booze out of her bag.

I glanced at the label, noting it was top-shelf. “Did you take that from Gilded?”

She turned her most innocent look on me like I didn’t know she practiced it in the mirror. “The boss was in trouble.”

“Of course.”

Ash laughed and Shara winked, pouring the shots and handing them to each of us. “To men who ain’t shit!”

“And the women who survived them,” Ash added.

“Hear, hear.” We clinked our glasses and took the shots, slamming them onto the table with a shared laugh.

No more wallowing. I had given myself a day, but I had to move forward and move on. My people needed me to be strong, put this behind us, and end Cash. So I would drink myself stupid, talk shit about my ex, and when morning came, I would put on my big-girl pants and reenter the world for good.

Come hell or high water, the queen was back.

Chapter Six

Nate

The call came in the middle of the night as I stared up at the ceiling. Ava had long since gone to bed, giving not one, not two, but three rounds of earsplitting orgasms loud enough for the entire fucking city to hear. Even after I turned on my noise-canceling headphones as high as they could go, her audio porn leaked through. I was desperately in need of brain bleach.

Every part of the charade made my fucking skin crawl, but she’d been right. No one would’ve believed the silent night I’d planned. The fact that she was in my suite again was even more annoying, but Cash’s digs over text made it apparent that Ava’s first performance wasn’t enough. We needed a steady stream of simulated sex to prove I wasn’t “whipped by that Marcosa pussy.”

It had taken every ounce of self-preservation not to kill him for that, but I knew it was another loyalty test, one I couldn’t afford to fail. Not when so much rode on my surviving and more than my life was at stake.

Thankfully, Ava was more than fine with a little break from her usual nightly activities, especially when the cash was good, the food was free, and I gave her all the space she wanted. If I never had to be in a room with her again, I’d feel like I’d won the lottery.

It wasn’t her fault, truly. I just didn’t want a woman in my space. Or, a woman who wasn’t Mari.

I hadn’t even been gone for a day, and my chest ached at being away from her.

Get over it, I told myself. She’s never going to let you come back.

That was the fucking truth. Had Cash done his reveal in private, I might’ve had a chance, but he publicly humiliated her. More than that, he revealed her mistake, her weakness, to a group of wolves slavering at the chance to destroy her.

Even if she still loved me, she’d never admit it again. The ringing continued as I rolled over and grabbed my phone from the bedside charger, only to frown at the dark screen. No call, but there was definitely ringing happening.

If it’s not this phone, then it’s…

My heart jumped into my throat, and I threw off the blankets, leaping for my backpack. I never let the thing out of my sight, so not even a second passed before I was yanking open the hidden pocket at the bottom. I had a few burners scattered around so I could make calls without Cash tracking me, but the one in this backpack was the only one I wanted to keep safe. Had to, really. I’d even lied to Cash about breaking it just so he wouldn’t get his hands on it.

Filled with pictures and videos I’d taken of Mari, even some of Dominic and Greyson, the phone was the most precious thing I owned. It was everything to me. There was nothing scandalous, just moments of us together, Mari’s softness when she slept, the look of love Dominic and Grey gave her when she wasn’t looking.

My family.

I had to walk away from them in the present, but I’d do whatever it took to keep the memories with me.

Knowing I couldn’t keep the phone out for Cash to find, I’d bought a battery pack, using that to charge it whenever I was alone. Since it was the only number Mari had for me, I refused to turn it off, but I’d meant to at least put it on silent so it didn’t go off at the wrong time.

Too late now.

I flipped over the flashing screen, and my heart thumped harder. It was her.

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