Page 12 of The Queen's Denial

Mara’s smile falters, and her gaze wanders. “Yeah, I’ve considered that. There are two different ways to think about it, though. You can think of it as them using their expertise the best way they know how to protect the things they care about. Or you can think about it as them not trusting us enough to help out or take care of others and ourselves in any way. It feels like a balancing act.”

Now it’s my turn to look off and think. “I guess that’s true. Andy is so flippant, though. I can never tell if he really thinks I’m incapable of anything or if he’s just making a joke. And I’m going to be head of the fucking Yakuza. I’m not just a delicate ornament. I’m going to be the Queen of it all one day.”

Mara looks at me in a way she never has before. “Honestly Chi, I knew that but… I never really thought about it like that.”

I already realized that Mara doesn’t think of me as head of the Yakuza or head of anything in this life we live. She also treats me like I don’t know things a lot of the time, even though she likely knows far less than I do. I’ve always been interested in this lifestyle, while she has always wanted out. She just started learning secrets a month ago when she met Cas, which led directly to her getting shot at every five minutes. At least, that’s the story her internet persona told, but I always knew there was more to her. I guess my internet persona doesn’t scream, “Capable Yakuza princess destined to be queen,” either, come to think of it.

We both decide to move onto more mundane things: what’s going on in the social media world, our bitchy-frenemy’s last post explaining without using Mara’s name why some people just can’t handle the pressures of billionaire life, and her ex-boyfriend Derrick’s pending engagement. Andy doesn’t give us very long before he’s at the car, coercing me out of the driver’s seat.

“I know how to drive,” I say, rolling my eyes as he opens the passenger’s side door for me.

“Should a girl recovering from a concussion drive, or should the capable, sinfully handsome bodyguard who has sped his way through multiple car chases with no loss of life drive? Hmmm. Let me really think hard about that one.”

I clench my hands into fists to stop from smacking him upside the head. Mara laughs before he pulls her to Massimo’s car. “Don’t kill him, Chi. He’s probably not really this much of an asshole. Just trying to impress you in all the wrong ways.”

“I don’t need to impress anyone, Mara. I’m a fucking Scutari. My name does that for me.”

I pretend to gag, although I agree from what I know of the Scutari organization that the name is impressive. They were rich and well-known, although not affiliated with mob life. I’m still surprised that Cas took his mother’s last name, because his father’s name carries even more fame and power, but he and Andy have made it just as formidable as his father’s once was.

Andy gets back to the car and looks at me, his eyes glittering, and cites the gagging noises I made earlier at his display of arrogance over his family name. “You pretend you don’t think my background is hot, but you do. The princess always wants the knight but gets stuck with the prince instead.”

I sigh again as he puts the car into gear, this time in frustration. He’s fucking right, and he’s said it so eloquently, too. I do want the knight. I want the capable badass, not the sheltered, rich, pretty boy. I feel the need to pretend this isn’t true, but in my heart, I know he realizes I feel this way, too. And there’s nothing I can do about it.

I might as well just accept the circumstances. We sit in silence for a while as he drives, until we’re crawling up the driveway to the mansion. I adopt my best meek yet coy gaze. “You know what, Mr. Scutari, sir? You seem to just have it all figured out. You might as well just take whatever you want from your innocent little Chee-chee while you can.”

He jerks to a stop in the expansive garage attached to the mansion and hops out of my car without even putting the top up or opening the door. I watch him with a smirk as he strides over to my door to open it. He unbuckles my seat belt and wrenches the door open, pulling me out and nearly carrying me into the house. “I’ve been planning on it, Chi. You have no idea what I have in store for you.”

Finally, this is going to happen. We can wipe away all this tension between us that has been building for days.

He yanks me toward him as he inputs the code to open the mansion door and pulls me in by my waist. I giggle into him, at his enthusiasm and haste. He so rarely shows these emotions that it’s fun to think he feels them with me. That he needs it right now and can’t wait another minute.

Just as we get to the stairwell, his phone rings. “Fuck!” he curses, but digs it out of his pocket, his grip on me loosening when he sees the caller ID. “Mara?”

I hear Mara’s voice on the other line, sounding panicked. I know he’s going to have to leave again before he says it. I drop my arms and hold myself back from grabbing his phone and throwing it out the window.

“Shit. Are you sure? Yeah, he looked like hell the last time I saw him. Well, that’s fucking Cas for you. I’ll be there in 20 minutes. Call Doc Kane.”

He clicks his phone off and looks up at me, dark brown eyes swirling with cloudy black worry. “I have to go, Chee-chee.”

“I know,” I say, turning around and walking up the stairs by myself. “But ya know what, Mr. Scutari, sir? I’m sick and tired of playing games.”

I keep walking without turning around, leaving Andy to suck on those words for a while and see how he likes the taste.

Chapter 6

Andy

I think Chi knows I have to go, or else she would have fought me on it. I have no choice. When Cas or the business need me, I have to be there. I’m the only person he trusts, so for all intents and purposes, if he is out of the picture, I’m the head of the Scutari Organization.

And once I get to the safehouse, I see that this is certainly the case.

I’ve never seen Mara cry, not even when her sister was killed. When I get to the house, she has tears on her cheeks and holds a rag to Cas’s head. “I took his temperature, and it’s really high, Andy. Over 105, and I don’t even know if that was a good reading because those forehead thermometers are shit. He won’t wake up. I called Doc Kane, and he’ll be ready for us, but I can’t move Cas myself.”

I rush over to Cas and smack his cheek. He just groans and tilts his head. I’m sure he barely even felt it, and honestly, he probably wouldn’t even flinch if someone did it while he was awake anyway. “You fucking idiot. I knew you were sick.”

“He can’t hear you,” Mara points out, grabbing his legs.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m saying it now. Because I have to say it while he has no idea what’s going on, or he’ll kill me.” Mara doesn’t even crack a smile.

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