Page 10 of Fierce Monarch

“That was disrespectful,” he said, bowing his head as if that was enough of an apology. Yet he didn’t say it was wrong.

“What’s your point, Joaquin?” The longer he talked, the less patience I had, and I was already running low on it.

“What if we come up with a plan that gets us all what we want?” Joaquin rolled his eyes like the words were hippie bullshit as he helped me rerack and add more weight. “We want you as our new leader, and you want Mari alive.”

“And do you think you can make both those things happen?”

Joaquin’s smile was all vain confidence.

“How do I know this isn’t a trick? That you won’t just kill her as soon as I agree.”

“You don’t,” he said simply. “You also don’t have a choice. It’s either take the offer, or become part of the problem. Which would you prefer?”

It’d been a while since I’d had a full-blown threat lobbed at me, but that was an almost elementary one to figure out. “How would you get Mari to agree to abdicate her throne?”

It was unheard of in the Marcosas, and I knew for a fact that my mariposa wouldn’t willingly hand over her crown. Especially not now.

“We wouldn’t, but in this family, the husband rules the roost.” Joaquin moved to grab his things, not looking for me to answer. Which was good because I didn’t know what to say to that bullshit.

A forced marriage, even to Mari, was not on my agenda, and I knew it would kill her just the same as a bullet. She deserved to choose her husband after everything. In spite of it. Even though I knew she loved me, I also knew that letting this happen would be the death of us.

“Don’t give us an answer yet. Just think about it. We’ll be in touch.” Joaquin watched carefully as I racked the bar for the last time before disappearing with his minions, leaving me alone in the gym and more confused than ever. I hadn’t had nearly enough of a workout, but I couldn’t avoid going upstairs any longer. Mari had to know what just happened.

As soon as I was sure the uncles weren’t waiting, I sprinted to the stairwell and up until I shoved onto the penthouse floor with a heave. Tennessee’s hand rested on his gun, and he sagged against the wall seeing it was me. “Christ, Dominic. Was that necessary?”

“Sorry,” I said absently, pulling out the keycard to get into the suite. “I just—sorry.”

What else could I say when I needed to tell Mari and Greyson first?

Tennessee’s eyes, which were normally happy and laughing, were sad for the first time since I’d known him. It hit me then that Nate’s treachery wasn’t just a surprise to us. There had been far more casualties than I expected. “I’m sorry about?—”

He immediately waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. Just take care of the boss.”

“I’ll try.” I slipped inside, not quite sure I could promise that.

I beelined for Mari’s door, knocking again and again and again when she didn’t answer. “Look, I know you want to be alone, but it’s important. It’s about Joaquin.”

I heard the click of the lock and ignored how much it hurt that she was physically locking us out of her life. Then the door opened, and there she was.

Mari in the hospital bed had been heartbreaking. She’d looked so small and vulnerable that when I’d seen her, it had been like being transported back to our teen years again when she was fragile and needed protection.

This Mari, though fragile, was not the same. There was no warmth, no laughter, no love or joy. Everything about her was just full ice queen, and when she spoke, it gave me chills and not in a good way. “What do you need, Dominic?”

Her tone didn’t give a single indication that she had any feelings for me, and it made my pulse race. “I just ran into Joaquin at the gym. He’s making moves against you.”

Her face didn’t show a hint of surprise, which was understandable, but the slight tick of resignation bothered me.

“We have to stop him,” I said, trying to get her to understand, needing her to agree. The silence dragged on for one second, two, three.

Finally, she spoke. “He’s the least of our problems right now.”

Disbelief filled my whole being. “The man who lives two floors down and has access to the security of this building and you at all times is the least of our problems?”

Her flat look was enough of an answer, and I was baffled by how to proceed. Had the thing with Nate screwed up her brain so much that she wasn’t seeing what was in front of her? Did I need to call in Grey to explain things to her or take shit off her plate so she could get her head on straight? Did kingpins have therapists? “Mar?—”

“We’ll deal with it later.”

Then the door was closed, the lock clicked, and I was on the outside again.

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