Page 127 of Coerced Queen

I swallow.“We have twenty minutes to get there.”

Livy marches over and yanks the phone from my hand.She studies the address pinned in my maps app.“It’ll take us fifteen minutes to get there if nothing slows us down on the way.”

“Fuck.”Nicole drops her hand to her side, looking defeated.“What do you need me to do?”

“You’ll let Saverio know where we are five minutes after we leave here and not a second earlier.”

“Do you have a tracker?”she asks.“He’ll confiscate or destroy your phone, and he may decide to change locations.”

“Of course I do.”I try to smile.“I don’t make half-assed preparations.”

“Where can we hide it?”Livy asks.“You heard him.He’s going to search us.”

Nicole rubs her eyes with the heels of her palms.“You better hide it in Anya’s vagina.”

“That’s such an ob-gyn way of thinking.”A crack of a smile breaks through Livy’s lips.“You can stuff it into a tampon.Just color it red with a little wine.That way, he won’t want to touch it.”

“Let’s hope so.”Nicole checks her watch.“You have three minutes.”

“Livy.”I take her hand.“We’ll go in two cars.Keep your gun in yours.The moment you have Claire, you drive out of there, do you hear me?”

Understanding washes into the midnight blue of her eyes.No matter what happens, whether I make it out or not, I want Claire to be safe.I’m telling her to leave me behind, to take my baby and to run.I trust her to honor that wish.

She consents with a terse nod.

“Okay.”I squeeze her hand.“Let’s get ready.”

“What if he kills both of you and Claire when you get there?”Nicole asks.

“He’s not going to kill us,” I say.“Elena dealt him the ultimate blow when she left.He wants to find her more than anything, especially as she’s pregnant with his baby and his heir.”

“Are you going to tell him where to find her?”Livy asks in a small voice.

“No.”

Nicole’s eyes flare.“He’ll torture you until you tell him.”

I say on my way to the door, “By then, Saverio will be there.”Hopefully.

Eighteen minutes later, we park on the outskirts of an abandoned factory.Livy gets out of her car and leaves her key under a nearby rock in case Raphael takes her bag, which I’m certain he will.I do the same.Then we walk to the gate.

The thick chain that held the gates together are broken.We squeeze through the narrow gap.A lock isn’t even necessary.The gates are stuck in the thick grass tussocks and mud.We trot over a fissured parking lot to the corrugated iron building in the distance.When we’re a few yards away, a man opens the door and steps outside.

It’s not Raphael.

My stomach bottoms out.

Livy and I share a look.He walks toward us with big strides, grabs my arm, and drags me over the parking lot before yanking me inside.Livy follows.The metal door slams shut behind us, basking us in light.

A battery-operated lamp flickers.I blink a couple of times for my eyes to adjust to the brightness.

Shit.

Five men are posted around the open space with Raphael standing in the middle.

“Welcome, ladies,” he says, taking a wide stance.

He’s dressed in a white shirt and tailored black slacks, but the clothes look shabby on him.He lost weight.His stubble is days old, and his hair needs a cut.

---