Page 6 of Scarred Queen

And still she knew deep in her gut that her “loyal” bodyguard would put a bullet in her if the boss ordered it. Because he was the one that had held her down while Ignacio had burned her hand after her single escape attempt, though she’d screamed and pleaded for mercy, finally passing out in his arms. This was why she played with him, but never crossed the line toward true friendliness. That and she couldn’t bear to get closer to another human, feel that affection and then watch as Ignacio took away something else she caredabout.

“Blue, Mrs. Hernandez,” he grunted, doing an excellent job of disguising the annoyance he must be feeling at their weekly sojourn, which included some variation of the same conversation everytime.

“Now, would you say it was more of a royal blue or a sky blue?” she asked softly as though she actually cared. She really, reallydidn’t.

He shifted next to her, barely glancing down at the fabric she was holding before sweeping their surroundings with a thorough check. “Royal.”

“Excellent,” she said brightly, tossing the dress into his arms without looking at thetag.

They both knew she didn’t care about the size, fit or price. That it was hit or miss whether she would ever wear it or whether it would end up in a bag headed for a charity clothing drive. She shopped because it was expected and because it forced her to leave the house. And because if she didn’t dress well, then she was even less useful to Ignacio. They all knew there was only one way out of the life she was in and it wasn’t through a divorcelawyer.

She held another item up and looked it over. “What colour, Alonzo?” sheasked.

Before he could answer, a deep voice startled her from behind. “It’s red,nena.”

Casey whirled around, the blouse she was holding up slipping from her grip. Long, dark fingers reached out and snatched it before it could hit the floor. His quick movement brought him a step closer to her. Casey instinctively tried to move back, used to having an entire large bubble of personal space, but the clothing rack to her back stoppedher.

Reyes’ eyes never left her as he spoke. “I do not think red is your colour,cariña.”

Another endearment from a man that was almost astranger.

“I wouldn’t know,” she whispered, unable to tear her eyes from his rough, scarred face, but knowing she should. They were in public and Alonzo was a few feet from her watching her every move, listening to every word. Ready and waiting to report back toIgnacio.

“Why wouldn’t you know?” Reyes asked, replacing the blouse on therack.

Casey forced her brain to follow the conversation and catch up to his meaning, then shrugged. “I’m colour-blind. Red, blue, green… they mean nothing to me,” she toldhim.

He looked startled for a moment, his face changing from his usual hard, difficult-to-read expression to a sudden softening. She was used to the men in her world never giving anything away in their looks. She’d adopted the same look, emulated it for self-preservation. She knew it saved lives. But she… liked the way he looked at her now when she revealed her latest little quirk. His eyes squinted a little, narrowing in laughter, his lips lifting a little as he huffed out a smallchuckle.

“What?” she asked, a small, breathless laugh escaping her throat as well. She couldn’t help herself. He looked different when he laughed and she wanted tojoin.

He studied her face, the way her bowed lips curved upward in amusement and her pale, pink cheeks flushed as he watched her. “So damn defective,woman.”

Her amusement fled with his words as a slice of pain streaked through her. She touched her chest, pressing her fingertips against her breastbone for a second. She ignored the way he watched her, like a hawk or something. She didn’t need his razor-sharp eyes or his razor-sharp wit taking her down every time she saw him. How had she let this man, a stranger, get close enough to cause pain? Where had her frozen, sleepy life gone? Why was she even telling him these things? Making herself vulnerable to men like him, men used to exploiting weaknesses in others. She dropped her eyes and turned away fromhim.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she murmured. “Alonzo and I are just finishing uphere.”

Reyes stepped around her, blocking her path. She felt Alonzo’s tension thrumming from several feet away, but the bodyguard didn’t step in. She was positive he’d had the same conversation with Ignacio that she’d had. Don’t piss off the Bolivianboss.

“I came to see you, Casey,” Reyessaid.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course you did. I didn’t think it was a coincidence that you just ran into me in a city thissize.”

She felt him stiffen next to her, saw his fingers twitch and realized he had to stop himself from grabbing her. She backed a step away from him. He followed her, his eyes capturing hers and hardening. “Do not roll your eyes at me again,nena. Youunderstand?”

Her heart stopped in her chest and she couldn’t breathe for a second. How could she forget how dangerous these men were? She hadn’t made a mistake like that in many years. She would never have dared to roll her eyes anywhere near Ignacio. She brought a hand up to her mouth and nodded quickly. Fuck, she was going to have to be morecareful.

He watched her every reaction,his hard, dark eyes narrowing with understanding. Of course, he knew. She’d been married to the mafia for nearly a decade. She knew what was expected of her. Mob wives didn’t make stupid mistakes that could cause pain, or worse, cost them theirlives.

“Come, I’m taking you somewhere else,” he toldher.

Casey glanced at Alonzo who jerked his head in a quick nod, giving his permission. Of course. Keep Bolivia happy. Before she could utter a response, Reyes took her arm, touching her for the second time. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to steel herself from feeling the warmth of his hand seeping into her skin, the tingle of another body against hers, the rush of blood through her veins clambering to wake up. Her lashes lifted and she met his dark, satisfied gaze. His fingers wrapped more firmly around her and he pulled her tighter against the side of his heavily muscled body as he led her from theshop.

Chapter Seven

Casey laughed out loud,amusement animating her features when Reyes pulled up outside the club. She waited for him to come around to her side of the car and open the door for her. She raised a pale eyebrow at him as he took her arm. “Why are you bringing me here again?” she asked with another laugh. “You didn’t get enough of this tacky place last time we werehere?”

“I wanted to have you here again, just you and me. Now we can talk like we should’ve done the first time we met. You’ll class the place up,nena.”

---