Page 22 of The Queen
Felix shakes his head, trying to clear the stars, which are no doubt dancing before his eyes. He snarls something vile in my direction, but I’m already moving in again. My fist connects with his jaw, and there’s a satisfying crack.
“Eliza,” James warns again as I pull back my arm for another punch. “We need him alive until after we know who else is here.”
“I fucking know,” I snap without looking at him because Felix is trying to push off the wall and go for something inside his jacket. I kick out, my foot catching his wrist and slamming it against the stone. A knife clatters to the ground.
“Pussy!” I spit out. “Can’t beat a girl with your fists, hmm?”
The conflict surges forward again, almost like a dance—James watching my back while I pummel Felix into submission.We’re in sync despite the chaos, despite the feral edge in my adrenaline-fuelled moves.
It takes what feels like seconds but might have been minutes before Felix is on his knees, bleeding and broken. But not dead, because James is right, we do need him alive—for information, for leverage.
I step back finally, chest heaving and knuckles raw from the beating I gave him. James finally steps forward, pressing his gun to Felix’s temple with a cold calmness that sets me on edge. “Don’t even fucking breathe,” he murmurs.
I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth, feeling the split lip where Felix got a shot in. The taste of blood is metallic and sharp, but it doesn’t bother me as much as it should. This is the life I was born into—the life I choose every single day.
“Eliza,” James says, his voice low. “Tie him up. We need to get back to the others.”
I nod, pulling zip ties from my pocket—always come prepared—and quickly bind Felix’s hands behind his back. He’s groaning, spitting out blood and curses with equal venom. But he’s no longer a threat; he’s just a sorry sack of shit at our mercy now.
“Where are the rest of your crew?” I ask, hauling him to his feet.
“Who needs a fucking crew?” he spits back.
James and I exchange a glance as James shrugs and leads us out through a different door where we hit daylight and the great outdoors. Scanning the area, I don’t see anyone, but then snicker as we move forward, and the rest of the guys have a handful of men on their knees. “Guess you do, little cunt,” I say, using his words back on him.
“Fuck you.”
“Back at you.”
Yeah, I can’t help it. He brings out the petty child in me. He is my sibling, no fucking doubt.
12
ELIZA
With each stride,my heart thumps in time, but my grip on Felix is steady. He stumbles alongside me, hands bound behind him, his fate sealed by betrayal.
“Move it,” I snap, my voice echoing off the surrounding buildings.
Students are everywhere, pouring out of the building after the lockdown as they rush past, eager to get on with their evenings.
For one tiny second, I wish I could just go home and chill, but no. I have to deal with my half-brother, who is a colossal dick.
Leaving the other three guys to deal with the crew, James and I pick up the pace, cutting a path through the crowd of students. I can feel their eyes on us, sense their whispered speculations. They know better than to get in our way. Felix must sense it too; he’s gone quiet, the defiance drained from him with every step towards our townhouse.
“Almost home,” James murmurs. I can hear the promise of retribution in his voice. Felix is going to talk, one way or another, and I’m going to make sure we wring every last sneer out of himbecause nobody tries to take me down—not without paying the price.
Felix stumbles as we hustle him along. Now, he’s nothing more than a means to an end—a broken link in our chain that needs mending or cutting loose.
He is either working on his own or for Lila. It doesn’t matter, but I want to know so I can knock him off this board.
Marching through the townhouse and under the stairs, the basement door groans as I yank it open, the sound echoing off the concrete walls. Light from the ground level fades, plunging us into the dimness below, where a single bulb casts a pale, sickly light.
“Sit,” I command, forcing Felix down into the cold chair with a purposeful shove.
“Are you working alone or with Lila?”
“Who the fuck is Lila?” he spits out.
