Page 31 of The Broken Queen

I stood there like a goddamned idiot for what seemed like hours before I finally made the decision to call someone. As I kept one hand on the rag, I reached in my pocket and grabbed my phone to call Lewis.

He picked up on the first ring.

“I need you to come to Raven’s room now.Alone.”

A gruff reply, “On my way.”

Everything was fine. She was falling into my trap. I could tell she was surprised to see me here. My mission was to break into her room, pick her brain and then punish her. I wanted her to suffer for what she did to me. While I loved her at one point, thebitch had really done a number on me. Sending me to prison and keeping me away from my daughter was the final straw.

I didn’t expect her to do this. I knew her Father had fucked her up when she was younger, but I wondered what he did to her currently. She easily lost her shit and just sliced her arm wide open like it was no fucking deal. The only people who did shit like that were the ones who were tormented on a daily basis. Whether it was from abuse, bullying, or addiction.

The door burst open and Lewis came in like someone had set the place on fire. A lady with frantic blue eyes came running in behind him and basically shoved me out of the way to get to Raven.Must be the estate’s doctor.Lars refused to have any medical care off site. He and the royal family never went to the hospital. They always had a doctor onsite and if it was a more serious issue, he would fly people in. He refused to be normal. Where if it were up to Raven, she would’ve been treated in the hospital like a “commoner”. That was one thing Ididadmire about her.

“I thought I told you to come alone,” I said through gritted teeth. I didn’t need her spilling information that I was on the grounds.Lars couldn’t know. It would ruin everything.

Lewis shut the door, came to stand beside me and rolled his eyes. “This is the Queen you’re talking about. The next ruler of this kingdom. I don’t trust you enough to come alone.”

Smart thinking on his part. If I didn’t respect him, I could’ve easily killed him as soon as he entered and just let Raven slowly bleed out until she was no longer my problem. That’s what Ishould’vedone.

“What happened? And more importantly, why are you here?” Concern laced his voice, and a part of me felt guilty for even letting this happen. Lewis cared for Raven as if she were his daughter. She would’ve been better off with him as a father than her real one. Half the King’s staff wondered why the Queen stuckwith him as long as she did.Maybe she really did love him. I guess the heart wants what it wants.

I raised a brow, challenging him. “That’s none of your business, remember?”

“When it comes to Raven and her daughter, they are my business. I could care less about the King and what happens to him, but I swear Slade, if you hurt that woman or her daughter, I’ll kill you.”

Where have I heard that before?

I raised my hands, “You have my word.”For now.

The doctor tended to Raven’s wounds, and I tried to figure out what my next point of attack was. I was already in the building, but getting past the King’s guards would be difficult. Doable, but difficult.

“Oh, dearest bride, where are you?” a voice called out from the other side of the door. My brows scrunched inward.Who the fuck is that?The guy sounded like an absolute prick. Someone who wanted everyone to be at his beck and call.

Lewis’s eyes went wide. He looked at the door and then back at me. “You need to hide,” he whispered.

I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest.I wouldn’t be hiding from anyone, much less the asshole who thinks he can ruin my plan.I was the farthest thing from a coward; I had run into worse in prison.He didn’t scare me.

“If you want your plan to work, then you can’t let him know you’re here. He sees one red flag, and he’ll harmbothof them. Fortheirsafety, you need to fucking hide!”No one harms my daughter and gets away with it.

Clenching my fists, I moved from my position and went towards the long drapes and hid behind that and her desk. He wouldn’t be able to see me, and if the fucker knew what was good for him, he wouldn’t try looking for anything out of the ordinary.

I kept my breathing steady as I hid behind the curtain like a coward.Lewis is going to pay for making me do this.

I was able to see between the crack and watched as that smirking jackass walked in. My hands clenched at my sides and my jaw ticked. I didn’t like this guy. I normally didn’t like any guy that tried to move in on Raven, but this one gave me a bad feeling. Like he was plotting something...something evil.

His cocky tone quickly disappeared when he saw Raven being tended to by the doctor. “What happened?” Concern laced his voice, but it was fake. His whole facade was fake. He was trying to prove that he cared about the Queen so he would gain bonus points from everyone around. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t buy it though.

Lewis’s face was set in stone. He clearly didn’t care for the dick. either. He cleared his throat, “Nothing you need to worry about.”

The future “King '' was standing in a relaxed position, but became ramrod straight after Lewis’s comment. “She is to become my wife, I would think that gives me every right to know what’s going on.”

It was the first time I’d seen Lewis laugh in a while. “When she walks down the aisle and says I do, then you have the right. For now, she is undermysupervision and neither you nor the King will get in the way of that. So, I would suggest you vacate this room if you know what’s good for you. I’ll send her to come find you when she’s well.”

His face grew to be the color of a tomato. The guy was pissed, and I was surprised Lewis went off on him like that. Maybe he was tired of putting up with all the bullshit.

“You don’t have any right to talk to me like that. If you don’t watch your tongue, I’ll fire your ass.”

Lewis shook his head, “I’d like to see you try.”

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