Page 23 of Scarred Queen

She turned away from him, unwilling to examine their connection further. She just wasn’t in the right state of mind to deal with everything that had happened to her. Ignacio’s body was barely cold and she was being escorted to a new home by his killer, a man who was going to claim her as soon as they arrived at theirdestination.

His arm tightened around her when the tires of the plane touched theground.

Casey was allowed to once more freshen up in a hangar washroom at the airstrip before she was rushed to a helicopter. There were two helicopters waiting for them. Reyes and his men split into two groups, Reyes leading her toward one of the helicopters with a hand at her back. They seemed to have organized already as no words were spoken. Casey slid into the seat Reyes pointed at and lifted her arms while he buckled her in. He placed a headset over her ears and adjusted the pieces until they fit her. She clearly had a smaller head than the person who’d used the headset before her. She also had zero experience with such things and made no fuss about his taking over for her. Reyes placed one over his own head and tested it to make sure she could hear him. She nodded, staring at himseriously.

This was it. There was no going back home after this. No way she could get away from a mountain fortress high up in the Bolivian Andes. Not that she had much of a chance of escaping in La Paz, but she had a better chance of hiding out in a city of over two million people than she did in the wilds of the mountains. As the helicopter lifted off she watched her last hope of escape recede and wondered if she shouldn’t have at least tried. Then she forced her body to relax into the cushionedseat.

Of course she shouldn’t have tried. It was an absurd thought to begin with. Where exactly was she going to go at a private airstrip surrounding by a dozen of Reyes’ armed men? And if she had managed to get away, she’d be the only pale, blond woman for miles attempting to catch a lift into a city filled with unknowns. A very unhappy Reyes would’ve been on top of her within minutes. Which would have made the intimacy of their first moments in his home that much moreworse.

No, she was doing the best thing for herself in the long run. Measuring the situation and taking the best course of action open to her. One day, eventually, there would be an opening and then, on that day, she would seize it with both hands and start running. Until then, she would take in as much information as she could about her new home and her newjailor.

Chapter Nineteen

The final flight to Reyes’home took about forty-five minutes by helicopter through treacherous mountain passes and valleys. Occasionally he pointed out volcanoes to her, glaciers and lakes. She shivered and craned her neck, staring in open-mouthed awe at rugged scenery she had never even thought to hope to see in herlifetime.

When they finally landed, Casey was surprised at how energized she was despite her lack of sleep. Her body felt as though it were on some kind of high. She managed to unbuckle her own belt while Reyes tugged the headset off her head, careful not to catch the long strands of her hair. She turned her head this way and that trying to catch a glimpse of his home, but she was frustrated in her efforts when she only saw more mountainpeaks.

“Patience,nena,” he chuckled, catching her chin and forcing her to look at him. “The house is lower into the valley. I keep what is mine well protected.” She easily caught both the innuendo toward herself and the implied criticism of her latehusband.

He took her hand and helped her step down off the helicopter. The other one was still landing, but he didn’t bother waiting for it. He tugged her toward a rugged looking SUV, followed by two of his men. Another man stood next to the vehicle, opening the back door as they approached. He cast a curious glance toward Casey, but looked away immediately when Reyes gave him a hardlook.

As soon as they were buckled into the back of the vehicle, Reyes snapped at the driver. “Take us home.Now.”

She blushed at the impatience in his voice, hoping she was the only one that knew the reason for it. Then she forgot her embarrassment in her eagerness to catch sight of her new home as they crested over the top of the landing pad and took the winding road down into the valley. She had no idea what to expect and was completely shocked by the sprawling size of Reyes estate. It looked more like a town than a home with the amount of buildings nestled within the valley. She could easily see from the way they were structured that they’d been designed with fortification and security in mind. But the overall architecture wasbeautiful.

As the vehicle drew closer to the main gates she was able to discern which was the main house; it was a truly stunning structure. It was a classic two-story mansion with historic columns and arches. It could have been gaudy, but instead had a truly elegant feel to it. Somehow, she hadn’t pictured a man like Reyes, such a tough, sinister man, in such a lovelyhome.

She wanted to say something, to tell Reyes how beautiful she found his house, but she couldn’t find the words. It didn’t matter. When she turned her eyes to his, she knew he saw everything he needed in her expressive face. His own transformed into easy lines of satisfaction, the scars easing as his face softened. The vehicle curved around the driveway and stopped in front of the house. Reyes got out first and reached in to help her slide out afterhim.

They walked through the front doors of his mansion together, past the many watching eyes of his security and staff. For Casey, the entire scene felt both eerily familiar and entirely foreign. She was tempted to cling to Reyes as a source of comfort, but knew she needed to ignore that impulse. It would be like reaching for the tail of a lion, hoping the lion might lead her to safety rather than turn around and devour her whole. Reyes was not her savior; she must never forgetthat.

“Come,nena, it’s time for us to get some rest,” he said, his voice a deep rumble for her ears alone, though she knew he didn’t care whooverheard.

He turned and snapped several orders to a man standing beside him. He spoke in rapid Spanish, but Casey knew the language well enough to catch the general idea of what he was saying and became quickly aware that the man, named Nicolas, was Reyes’ head of security for the compound. Reyes was arranging a time later in the evening when they would meet to discuss anything that had happened during his absence. They would also discuss a security detail for his new… wife? For a moment Casey went ice cold and then hot with fury when she thought he was married and bringing her into the mansion as a mistress. Then it hit her, he was referring toheras his wife. Casey’s mouth fell open inshock.

Reyes finished his conversation with Nicolas and turned to his housekeeper, Serana, and ordered food and drink sent to the master suite. Then he took Casey’s hand in a firm grip and strode impatiently through his home with her in tow. He walked so quickly, she barely had time to register any of the beautiful furnishings or the people who gaped after them and jumped quickly out of their master’s path as he progressed toward his bedroom with her hand held firmly in hisgrasp.

“Reyes!” she gasped, digging her heels into the carpeted hallway as they approached a set of beautifully carved double doors on the second floor that could only lead to the mastersuite.

“What?” he snapped, shoving the doors open and flinging her inside by thewrist.

She stumbled into his bedroom and turned to look at him, eyes widening in dismay. She backed away from him as he advanced slowly toward her his eyes gleaming with dark, predatory lust. She licked her lips nervously. “I-I’d really like my own bedroom, Reyes. P-please get someone to show me where I can sleep. I’m verytired.”

“I told you that you wouldn’t be leaving my bed once I had you, Casey,” he said, drawing the words out slowly as he stalked her around the bed. “You need to start believing the things that I tell you. It will be better for you in the long run. More... comfortable,perhaps.”

She turned to look at him warily, tearing her eyes away from the bed that seemed nearly as barbaric as he, huge and piled high with dark coverings and pillows. “I didn’t think you meant quite so literally, Reyes. People in our positions don’t share bedrooms. Women like me... they get summoned when they’rewanted.”

He stalked a few steps closer, his eyes taking on that dark glow when he was pissed off. God, why did she always have to let her tongue have freereign?

“Women like you?” he asked, his voice menacinglyquiet.

She nodded miserably. “Yes,” she whispered. “The wives and the whores. The women, Reyes… we’re nothing to men like you. Men withpower.”

He stared at her and she could see something moving behind his eyes, a creeping darkness. She desperately wished she knew what it was. He clearly didn’t like her talking about herself this way, but if she had to guess... she’d just hit the nail on the head. She’d described a world that he was used to living in just as much as she; and he didn’t like it. Not one fucking bit. And if she had to guess again, she’d guess that no woman had ever been summoned to share his room for longer than a few hours at a time, if even that. His room was probably his sanctuary. He likely fucked his women somewhereelse.

“Come,” he finally bit out. “We had a long flight and I want to wash your dead husband’s blood off my body before I fuck you for the firsttime.”

Casey’s mouth fell open and she couldn’t help the look of horror that passed over her face at his blunt words. She knew the harshness of that statement was meant to shock her back into her place. To tell them both exactly where she belonged. Maybe her little speech had reminded him that he shouldn’t be elevating her beyond what she actually was. The pathetic widow of a dead, degenerate ex-businessassociate.

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