Page 41 of Queen of Vengeance

Crimson dripped out and slowly dribbled down my shin.

I grabbed a cloth from my side and wiped the blood away.

If I can’t go to BPR, who can I turn to? I might have to handle this on my own.

16

JAX

That day, Jax didn’t return home after school. How could he when his future hung in the balance?

“How could Lea do this to me?” The thought ceaselessly ran through his head until he had reached his uncle’s lair.

The place didn’t seem quite as imposing as before.

Jax hated admitting he was beginning to feel at home in his uncle’s shadows. He waltzed inside without needing to talk to the guards. It was like he belonged there now… A thought that used to disgust him.

“Uncle,” Jax called out. He was already sick to his stomach, thinking about how Lea must have made it to the BPR Headquarters by now. He imagined with disdain Lea spilling black ink all over his name.

“My nephew has returned so soon! To what do I owe this pleasure?” Diesel came up from a basement area while wiping blood off his hands. Then he threw the rag into the hands of some of the men following him and reached out, placing his hand on Jax’s shoulder. “You look as white as a ghost. What happened?”

Jax licked his dry lips, breathing past the shaking fear in his chest. “We have a problem.”

Diesel’s face changed in an instant. He had never seen Jax look this frightened before. “Well, speak on it, boy.”

“Aleandra Nadir. She knows I was involved in the robbery.” Jax’s eyes burned with trepidation.

“She shouldn’t be a problem, right? Isn’t she obsessed with you? I doubt she’ll put you in harm’s way.” Diesel waved his hand, dismissing the conversation.

“That’s what I thought, but she said she would still turn me in. She’s probably on her way to report me if she’s not already there.” Jax panicked and forgot for a moment who he was talking to.

“Then we’ll have to take care of her, won’t we?” The man standing before Jax was the same person who murdered her parents in cold blood just for refusing to pay him a bit of money.

In a moment of fear and self-preservation, he might have just gotten Lea killed. He couldn’t say he ever thought twice about Lea aside from her potion-writing abilities, but having her killed seemed harsh.

Jax’s stomach felt like it was turning inside out. He didn’t even want to imagine it. Was he the kind of man that allowed something like this to happen? That would make what Lea said true. “Wait, maybe I can change her mind! I bet she hasn’t even reported me yet. After all, she is in love with me.”

Jax flashed a pearly white smile at Diesel, hoping he couldn’t see the apprehension in his eyes.

“What do you plan to do?” Diesel didn’t look convinced in the slightest.

“I’ll seduce her.” Jax was sure that was the answer.

Diesel scoffed, “And what do you plan to do with Chika?”

“I’ll still be with Chika, of course.”

“So what you would do is create a jilted lover that would have every reason to ruin you. Try again.” Diesel was growing impatient now.

Disillusionment filled Diesel’s eyes, and Jax knew he was losing faith.

“I could plant an illegal potion on her—have the authorities catch her. Once I have tarnished her name, no one will believe a word she says.” Jax reasoned with himself that it was a foolproof plan. He even convinced himself that it would be harmless.

Lea would be a first-time offender, after all. She would probably get a slap on the wrist and a few hours of communal labor. How bad could that be?

“That would be even more devious than killing her. If you insist.” Diesel shook his head with pride in his eyes before walking away.

Jax wasn’t entirely sure what Diesel meant by that, but he was too afraid to ask.

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