Page 124 of Coerced Queen

“Twenty minutes, no more.”

I nod at Dante.He leaves to pull the street camera recording so we can hopefully get a license plate.He’ll also send out a search party to cover the radius a vehicle can travel in thirty minutes at the maximum speed limit.He knows the protocol.

“Now get me a fucking doctor to stitch me up,” she says.

Stupid after all.

I lean in closer, getting a real good look at her eyes.I take in everything, how she catches on with a slight flare of those bloodshot pools, the knowledge that settles in their depths, and how a sardonic smile curls her upper lip even as fear dilates her pupils.

“I hope she fucking dies,” she says, laughing and then stopping to grab at her belly.

Yeah.That hurts.Let’s see how much morethishurts.

I fist my hand and push it against her wound.Her eyes grow to the size of saucers.I take it all in as I plunge deep and grab a handful of slimy intestines.I enjoy the pain that burns brightly in her irises before the light in them dims.I twist my wrist and rip, my fist making a suction sound as I pull it from her body.A wet noise follows as her guts spill through the cut, turning the room into a slaughterhouse.

The man with the torch drops it.He makes a gagging sound.I don’t miss a second, not the faintest of breaths that fans over her lips or the disbelief that taints those muddy browns before her eyelids droop.The best moment of all, the one I savor the most, is when the light in them goes out.

ChapterThirty-Eight

Anya

“Here,” Livy says, handing me a glass of water where I sit behind Saverio’s desk in his study.“Drink this.”

I shake my head.The sight of the water alone makes my stomach convulse.My empty belly protests even though there’s nothing left to expel.

My mouth is dry, but the water won’t help.Just as sitting in Saverio’s chair doesn’t help.I don’t feel closer to him.The familiar worn leather seat doesn’t give me a sense of comfort or safety.

Nicole took over my pacing.She walks to the fireplace and back to the desk.“Why aren’t they calling?Shouldn’t they be there by now?”

I check my phone again.No messages.

“They’ll call when they can,” Livy says.

She changed into her nondescript, unbranded gray tracksuit and pulled her long hair into a ponytail at the base of her neck.Both the hairdo and the attire mirror her state of mind, which says she’s utterly depressed.Hopeless.Which is how I feel despite doing my best to stay positive.

Nicole wears a pair of my leggings and one of my hoodies.I changed into jeans and a sweater.

“I better go check on the guests,” I say.

“They’re fine.”Nicole stops in front of me with her hands on her hips.“Logan is taking care of them.You better stay here in case Sav calls.”

“Remind me to thank your husband.”I scrub my hands over my face.“I don’t know what I would’ve done without him.I never knew he could be such a drill sergeant.”

Nicole’s smile softens.“Mr.Wade is great.I don’t know what I would’ve done without him myself.”

I jump when my ringtone cuts through the space.

Nicole rushes around the desk to look over my shoulder while Livy freezes where she’s been wearing the thread of the carpet thin in front of the gate-facing windows.

“It’s an unlisted number,” Nicole announces for Livy’s sake, her voice tense.

Maybe Saverio is using a burner phone.

I put the phone on speaker and swipe the button to answer with my heart beating in my throat.

Everything inside me turns to ice when the caller says, “Hello, Anya.”

Raphael.

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