Page 43 of Scarred Queen

She nodded, her eyes on the man responsible for the murder of her family. “You weren’t careful enough, were you Benito? You didn’t clean up after yourself; didn’t make sure I died with the rest of my family. Shame on you for being sosloppy.”

He grunted. “Stupid mistake; allowing Hernandez to keep you when you didn’t fall with the rest.” He collapsed back into his chair, staring at her with some hostility, but mostly awe, as though he were seeing a beautiful ghost conjured from the pits of his deepest memories. “So much like your mother,” he mumbled, then seemed to catch himself and straighten. “Ignacio begged me to allow you to live when you pulled through the initial surgeries. It was a stupid sentimentality, but I was superstitious too, you see? Figured if you survived a bullet to the brain, maybe it was meant to be. Perhaps you were not meant to die with the rest of the Palmieri’s. You were always a truly stunning child with those strange eyes; the way you could look right through aperson.”

She blinked slowly. “I don’t remember you,” she murmured almostabsently.

She placed her hands on the table, listening to his story with rapt attention. Her gun clinked against the heavily polished wood. She’d had weeks to come to terms with the death of her family and indeed with his words, the replay in her head came slower, less like the mad rush of a movie clip that wouldn’t stop and more like a slow replay of a black and white film where all the players knew their places. A beautiful ache built in her chest as he spoke because she finally knew how the movie began and how it ended. It started as a horror film, but somehow ended in romance. Her eyes drifted to Reyes where he watched her with rapt possession, his attention unwavering. He’d brought her to this moment and he would carry herthrough.

Her gaze shifted back to the demon in the shadows, the man that had orchestrated her suffering and brought about the downfall of the Miami Palmieri’s. He looked so much smaller in real life than she’d built him up to be in her imagination. He wore a suit, like most of the men at the table. His was light-coloured, she thought, open at the neck and collar with a pocket kerchief. He was likely in his sixties or seventies; his build was slim and he was balding. Now her man, her beautiful Reyes, he could easily carry the mantle of monster with his bold, broad and bloodthirstypresence.

“Go on,” she encouraged, “tell us what happened after you allowed Ignacio to keepme.”

Benito glared at the beautiful blond apparition and then said viciously, “I ordered the death of any in your immediate line. Though Ignacio begged for children, I told him to make sure there were none. That one or both of you be rendered sterile. I didn’t care who as long as there were nochildren.”

She nodded. “You ordered the death of my baby, didn’tyou?”

“Of course, I did,” he said, some of his smugness returning. “I couldn’t have a Palmieri spawn rise up and come after me one day. In fact, a few months ago, I’d decided you were too much of a risk. One of my Miami contacts brought me the news that you were beginning to fight against your chains, refuse your medications and talk back to your bodyguards. I couldn’t havethat.”

Casey had begun to suspect the truth of what had happened to baby Jack. His confirmation, though a knife twist to the heart, didn’t cause her to so much as flinch in surprise. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She took her hands off the table and began walking around the seated men, who were watching the proceedings apprehensively, helpless to do anything but sit and witness the drama unfold, Reyes’ surrounding men ensuring compliance. Before she could reach Benito the lovely blond at Reyes side stood gracefully from the table to intercept Casey. No one moved to stopher.

Casey’s face softened and she smiled holding her arms out. “Gina.”

Gina side-stepped the gun held carelessly in Casey’s hand and went easily into her embrace. Though they’d had barely a few days to get to know each other, Sotza had gifted the two women with each other’s existence. Ten years earlier when the mafia world had been rocked by the brutal deaths of the Palmieri family, a single living relative, a teenaged cousin, had been whisked off the continent and into safe-keeping, essentially forgotten since she had no other family and had never been considered a direct threat. Except for Sotza, few even knew of her existence. She had been living an uneventful and lonely life in central America and was overjoyed to reconnect with a cousin she thoughtdead.

“If you don’t mind, cousin, I’d prefer to leave for this part,” Gina murmured, pulling away from Casey with a grimace. “Much as I’d like to see this little worm squirm, I’m afraid I’ve never really developed the stomach for this sort ofthing.”

“Of course, I’ll wait until you’re safely away,” Casey said kindly and, indeed waited for the other woman to make her way out of the dining room before she continued along the table. She stopped next to Reyes and placed her free hand on hisshoulder.

Reyes wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in tight against his side, breathing her scent. It had been a long few days without her, trusting Alejandro to keep her safe while they gathered reinforcements among cartels loyal to Reyes, ones that were willing to make a move against Benito. Now it was hell watching her stand tall against the man that had destroyed her family and not take the gun from her and kill every disloyal man in the room. But this was her moment, her time toreign.

She was staring down at the jewel encrusted skull with a sort of fascinated horror, before lifting her gaze to Benito’s. “The eyes, Reyes… what colour arethey?”

“Green,nena,” he toldher.

“Like mymother’s.”

She lifted the gun and pointed it at Benito’s head. Reyes knew she was a damn good shot. He’d made sure of it before they’d come intoMexico.

“Say her name,” shedemanded.

Benito glared and for a moment and it looked as though he would refuse, but finally he mumbled. “Sandra.”

Tears glittered in Casey’s eyes and she sniffled and said, “Sandra Palmieri.” Then she turned the gun on the skull and pulled the trigger sending shards of skull and jewels flying across the table. Her bullet went right through the skull and struck the man sitting on the opposite side of the table right through the heart. He slumped in his chair without making asound.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Casey gapedat the dead man,stunned.

“Holy crap, I didn’t mean to do that!” she squeaked and turned horrified eyes on Reyes. “Was he one ofours?”

Reyes chuckled darkly and gave her hip a reassuring pat. “No,nena, my guys are all standing in position.” His eyes cut to Benito and lingered in disgust. “Real professionals expect an ambush at any moment, especially when hosting an unknown. All these motherfuckers belong to the head of the table. This party belongs to you; shoot atwill.”

A slow grin spread across her face and she flung her arms around Reyes. He swung her into his lap and kissed her hard on the mouth, slipping his tongue across her lips, demanding access to the treasure within. She opened eagerly and pressed herself against him, heedless of theiraudience.

Reyes pulled back slightly, his hand tangled in her hair, gripping her hard. “I missed you, Casey. Was the longest three days of my fucking life. Don’t you ever fucking leave me again,understand?”

She smiled against him and nodded, ignoring the painful tug in her scalp. “Yes, Reyes. Never again.” She was about to kiss him again when a loud bang startled her and she jumped in Reyes’ lap and craned her head around to look at Benito who’d brought this fist angrily down on thetable.

“Get on with it, whatever this is,” Benito sneered. “I don’t intend to watch the last Palmieri bitch whore herself at my table. I’d rather go tohell.”

---