Page 44 of Broken Queen
He raised a brow. “Your late husband wasn’t my first kill, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I didn’t take Hazard to be a serial killer, or even an assassin, but someone who took advantage of opportunities when they came to him. Recklessness penetrated his soul to his barest instincts, almost like everything about his life was pure violence.
“It’s all about indulgence,” he said. “Pleasure. And if that brings you pleasure, then why not take it?” He shrugged. “None of it really matters, does it? You can’t guarantee anything, but you can control your actions at this exact moment.”
“A lot of people would die,” I interrupted.
“But what brings you pleasure, my queen? Fantasizing about it? Or making it a reality?”
Everything inside of me burned for him, wanting to melt into his body until I couldn’t figure out where I ended and he began. Hazard didn’t tell me I was insane or that I’d never be taken seriously. He accepted my fantasies.
He even believed that I could pull it off.
“I’ve always been drawn to violence,” I said. “It’s in my blood. I’ve grown up with it.”
“And that’s what makes you Zira Bloom,” he said. “Take control of that need, love. Show the world who you really are.”
His hands flinched at his sides, then he slowly curled each finger into a fist. He always had to be moving. That was one of the things I could rely on when it came to him, and part of why I had expected him to be lying when he said he was staying in tonight. But Hazard didn’t lie to me.
So why was I lying to him about who killed his sister?
“You’d do it with me if I asked you, wouldn’t you?” I asked, squinting my eyes, trying to figure out where he was hiding his lies. “You’d kill all of them, just for me.”
He nodded. “And you’re going to bring me my sister’s killer.”
I nodded too. I might have been hiding a secret, but I knew I could do what I had promised. Eventually.
“But for now, my queen, tell me,” he paused, grabbing my shoulders, “am I your Marked Bloom Husband now?”
A swell of surprise burst through me. I was opening up to someone, more than I ever had, and it was chaining me to him. But Hazard focused on me, never letting his gaze slip. Like he knew exactly what was inside of me. It was as if we were actually teammates, side by side, because he knew how much it meant for me to change things. To tip the balance. To find my power. To get my fucking revenge.
But in the Marked Blooms Syndicate, there was never any balance between a husband and a wife. A contract was made, and the one who signed over their lives became an object to be used until they were discarded.
Hazard thought that being a Marked Bloom Husband would help bring balance, and that made me realize I could follow him into a deep hole where neither of us would ever find our way out. My heart ached for him, and it had never ached before.
But a Marked Blooms Husband wasn’t what I wanted. Hazard would never fit that role for anyone, but especially not for me. He was so much more than an object, and I didn’t deserve his loyalty.
And yet, I had it anyway. Soon, we would have to present ourselves to the Syndicate, and I knew we’d do it together.
“No,” I said. “I want you to be my king.”
CHAPTER 13
Hazard
“Do I have to do this?” I asked Zira. The suit was like being stuffed inside of a cardboard box. Supposedly, it was an expensive ‘designer’ outfit, but I couldn’t tell the difference. I hated pretentious shit like this. It made me itch to do something to fuck it all up.
And damn it—part of me didn’t want to fuck it up for Zira.
She tightened my tie. “The closer you are to the members of the Syndicate, the closer you will be to the board. And trust me, that means you’ll be closer to your sister’s killer.”
We were getting ready for some sort of event, an impromptu dinner that Daddy Bloom had put together, so the other members could get to know me. But her words stuck with me: if I was closer to my sister’s killer, then this was something I could tolerate.
“What did you find out about my sister?” I asked.
“Only that she was here when she died.”
I let those words sink in between us. It seemed odd that the daughter of a secret society’s director wouldn’t know everything she wanted to know about a murder that was directly related to her daddy’s group, but there was shit I didn’t understand about the Marked Blooms Syndicate. When it came to her, I was ready to roll with it.
