Page 36 of Devil's Queen

With that, I leave her office. It’s not until I reach the bottom of the stairs that I hear her loud sobs. Everything inside me tells me to turn back, but I know going back up there will only make it worse.

If I have any chance of getting her to see reason, barging back in there isn’t going to help matters.

The only thing I can do is give her space, even if that space will kill me.

REMY

My phone buzzesfor the fourth time since I arrived at the shop this morning. Peering over at it, I see another message from Rex on the home screen.

You can’t keep ignoring me, Rem.

The hell I can’t. I shut off the screen, doing just that.

My phone buzzes a fifth time. I don’t want to look, yet my resolve breaks easily.

We need to talk about what happened last night.

As I stare at Rex’s messages, my heart pounds. The memories of last night flood back, and I feel a mixture of regret and confusion. How did I let myself slip up like that? I was up all night after he left, trying to come to terms with the fact I’d slept with him. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve had sex, but I never thought I would be desperate enough for a release to sleep with the last man on Earth I needed to be involved with romantically. We have too much history and secrets between us, and then there’s Beaux. Letting him in means he’d find out about Beaux. After all these years, I don’t know how he would take the news. Risking Beaux isn’t worth letting Rex in.

I take a deep breath, trying to collect myself before responding. It’s clear Rex won’t let me avoid this conversation any longer. Reluctantly, I type out a reply.

We don’t need to talk about it. It was a mistake.

Seconds later, another message appears on my screen.

Bullshit. You have never been a good liar.

It means something. You just don’t want to admit you still feel something for me.

His words cut through me like a knife. Of course, it wasn’t just a mistake for me. Last night meant something. It awakened emotions I had suppressed for so long, but I can’t let Rex know that. I’d let my guard down for the first time since Skyler. Rex had come up against those brick walls and shattered them without even having to try all that hard.

Look, we both know this can’t go anywhere. We’re better off forgetting it ever happened and moving on with our separate lives.

I press send, hoping that he’ll understand the gravity of the situation and drop the subject. But minutes pass without a response, and anxiety starts to bubble within me. What if he doesn’t see it the way I do? I know he wants more. He was clear enough about that last night, but I can’t give him that.

As I stare at my phone, waiting for his reply, I don’t notice Maya and Cheyenne enter the meeting room.

“You look like you want to murder your phone,” Cheyenne remarks as she stalks over to her seat at the table and slides into it. She kicks up her riding boots onto the wooden tabletop with a thud. Maya settles in next to her, retrieving the laptop from her satchel draped across her body.

I force a smile, trying to appear nonchalant despite the turmoil brewing beneath the surface. “Just some personal stuff,” I mumble as I quickly pocket my phone and turn my attention to Maya, who seems preoccupied with her laptop. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

Cheyenne, however, is never one to let things go easily. She leans back in her chair, eyeing me suspiciously. “You sure? You look like you’re about to implode.”

I exhale heavily, contemplating whether to divulge the details of my complicated situation with Rex. Cheyenne is one of my closest friends, and she’s always been there for me through thick and thin. But this is different. It involves secrets and past mistakes I’ve spent years burying.

“Wouldn’t you be on the verge of explosion if you’re on the hook for a missing half-a-million-dollar motorcycle?” I fire back, attempting to redirect her away from my personal life. My phone buzzes again, and despite wanting to see it, I shove it under a stack of papers out of sight.

Before I can respond, Maya looks up from her open laptop and chimes in. “Leave her alone, Chey. If Remy wants to talk about it, she will.”

Cheyenne glances between us, sensing the tension in the room. With a sigh, she lowers her boots from the table and leans forward. “All right, fine.”

I nod gratefully, relieved they’re respecting my boundaries for now. The truth is, I’m still trying to make sense of everything myself. One reckless night shouldn’t unravel the carefully constructed walls I’ve built around my heart.

A few other girls stroll in and take their seats before I call our meeting to order with the heavy bang of my gavel.

“Where are Harlow and Tinley?” I ask the ladies in the room.

“Harlow is at the club. Auntie Kay is still out sick,” Maya offers. “Tinley got held up at work. Emergency case came in.”

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