Page 3 of Scarred Queen

Casey was convinced that the only reason she wasn’t dead yet by her husband’s order was because he still wanted her, despite several years of growing impotence on his part. That, and she still held value to him as a figure of beauty. Something to lord over his friends and bodyguards. She didn’t like feeling like a trophy on his arm, a pretty doll that other men could watch, but never touch. She wasn’t allowed to speak when they were out in public together because she didn’t have sufficient control over her words. Perhaps a by-product of her accident, or maybe it was just who she was; Casey didn’t have enough memories left to know for sure, but she rarely controlled the words before they popped out of her mouth and thus often chose silence. Or silence was chosen for her by Ignacio. Thus, she was a kind of broken doll, mute and frozen at hisside.

“There’s a man,” he began, his voice drawling the words, while his eyes took in every micro-expression on herface.

Panic threatened to well up and ruin her carefully controlled exterior. If there is one thing she knew to the core of her being, it was that Ignacio expected fidelity. She shook her head and quickly denied, “You know my every move, Ignacio. There’s noman.”

He shook his head and waved his hand impatiently over his desk, indicating she should shut up immediately. She closed her mouth, pressing her lips together and dropping her chin. He’d not had to follow his words with a physical correction in years. She’d learned from a young age what was expected ofher.

After a few seconds of silence, he continued. “This man is important… very important, Casey. He’s coming here, to our country to inspect my operations and make sure our association is running smooth. My business here depends on his continued benevolence.” She struggled not to frown down at her lap, to keep her expression smooth. It was very unlike Ignacio to admit that his business might hinge on another person. And since when did he discuss business with her? In front of, yes, because she was invisible to him, but never with. “He seems to have taken a liking to you, my love. My sources tell me he has even discreetly looked into you, tried to find out about your past. Of course, he has found nothing, but I’m of a mind to use this information to myadvantage.”

Casey bit her lip to stop the dangerous rush of breath that might give away an emotion. She slowly, steadily stiffened her shoulders and lifted her head to look at her husband. She forced herself to ask the question that she knew could get her killed, either by Ignacio himself or by this mysterious man that would be her husband’s equal, or worse. “And what do you want me to do about this man,Ignacio?”

He smiled coldly across the desk at her. “You will be nice to this man, Casey, and make him happy while he’s inMiami.”

Chapter Four

She’d had a bad night.Emotionally.Physically.

In every possibleway.

She knew what was waiting for her when she opened her eyes. She wanted to be grateful, but fuck them all, she wasn’t. It was their fault she was a pitiful wretch of a human being to begin with; a frail ghost who was too useless to function without an army of prescription pills and vitamins. Speaking of which… she managed to crack an eye open to survey the dim lighting of her bedroom. Oh, thank goodness, the maid had left the blinds closed. Alonzo must have warned her about Casey’s terriblenight.

She shifted carefully under the blankets, as much as she dared, and snaked an arm out, reaching for the plastic cup on the table next to her bed. Just as her fingers closed around the smooth surface, slippery with condensation, Alonzo’s voice rumbled from the doorway, interrupting her peace, “Take the meds as well, Mrs.Hernandez.”

Casey flinched and nearly lost her hold on the precious drink. She slapped her other hand over the cup and hauled it into her chest, just barely managing to save her cherry Cola flavoured Slurpee from ultimate doom. She sighed and pulled the blankets further over top of her head, covering both herself and thecup.

“Please, just leave me alone,” she mumbled, propping herself up on an elbow and sipping from the straw. The cool rush of frozen drink soothed the raw pain in her throat from vomiting and crying the night before. She held the cup against her aching head and closed her eyes inpleasure.

“Take the pills, Casey.” Alonzo’s insistent voice came from directly beside the bed. She heard him pick the tablets up off the side table where either he or the maid had left them at Ignacio’s orders. “If you don’t, then I’ll be forced to report to Mr.Hernandez.”

And she would bepunished.

Casey stuck her hand out and felt two small pills fall into her palm. She pulled them under the covers with her, but he yanked the blanket abruptly back from her face. Her already tousled hair went flying. She didn’t bother flipping out at him. There wasn’t much point since this was their usual Casey-had-a-bad-night morning after game. She glared at him through red-rimmed eyes, stuck her tongue out and flung the pills in her mouth so he could see her swallow them. Then she took a long pull on herdrink.

“Happy?” she asked fake-sweetly.

He grunted in response, turned away from her and began tidying the room. It was a weird chore for him to do considering it definitely wasn’t his job, but occasionally he seemed to enjoy going above and beyond his usual duties. She tilted her head to the side and listened for a moment. Then she shoved the covers to the side and struggled off her big bed with one hand still clutching her Slurpee cup. She ignored the way Alonzo straightened quickly from where he was collecting stray clothes littered across her floor, his eyes averted from the mistress of themansion.

“I think I’ll go for a swim,” she announced, heading for her closet. “It’ll help wake me up. Please call the kitchen and order a mimosa,Alonzo.”

“But it’s raining outside, Mrs. Hernandez,” hemuttered.

“Even better,” Casey replied, slamming the door of her closet behindher.

* * *

She appearedlike some kind of apparition. One minute he was gazing absently out the patio doors of Ignacio’s office toward the pool, wondering if it ever stopped raining in Miami at this time of year, and the next she appeared. She was by herself, arms down at her sides, shoulders slightly slumped and head bent. She wore a white silk robe that clung wetly to her tall, willowy form as though embracing her like a lover. Something inside him, an invisible pull, desperately wanted to see her face, wanted to know if the same magnetism he felt before was stillthere.

As though hearing his silent summons her shoulders suddenly jerked back and she lifted her head, those strange eyes turning slowly toward the window. He knew she couldn’t see him through the darkly tinted window panes and she would soon be completely obscured from his sight by the rapidly increasing rainfall. The thought was both unsettling and untenable. Under normal circumstances, if she were his woman, he would have one of his men bring her inside and warmedup.

But there was something wrong with her, this perplexing woman that captured his attention in a way she shouldn’t. Her eyes held a glazed, faraway look in them and she wasn’t shivering as she reached up to gather her hair loosely in one hand, wrap it around her wrist and drag it over her shoulder. She took a few steps forward, but stumbled, nearly falling on her too-high heels. Her bodyguard lunged forward, seeming to come out of nowhere. The hulking giant snapped at her, but didn’t so much as lay a finger on his delicate mistress to aidher.

Reyes frowned, anger and confusion growing as he watched her crouch and place a palm on the stone pool tiles while, what he suspected was, a severe bout of dizziness passed with absolutely no help from the man that was supposed to be her protection. Reyes had to squint now to see what she was doing, his muscles locked against the urge to stalk out the door, sweep her up and cradle her against him. Eventually she picked herself up and made her way slowly to a patio set where she collapsed into a seat with a hand against herhead.

“Beautiful, isn’tshe?”

Reyes’ lips began to pull back in a snarl and his hand twitched toward his gun, a primal reaction to Ignacio Hernandez coveting what washis. It didn’t matter that she’d belonged to the other man first, that she had, in fact, exchanged vows with the fucker. Reyes saw her and he wanted her, end of story. She would become his. The thought of Ignacio’s hands anywhere near such a perfect creature enraged him to the point of instant, blind homicide. Reduced him to the feral beast he so often unleashed when faced with anenemy.

But he could not attack Hernandez. Not yet. He must remember that he, Reyes, was in control. Not this half Cuban, half American fuck. He needed to remember that he ruled entire regions through calm, cool logic. By maneuvering his enemies into the perfect position for a fall. And then he unleashed his fury. Neverbefore.

---