Page 78 of The Broken Queen
I glanced up at my dad, seeing the firelight highlight his green eyes and scruffy jaw, anticipation thrumming through me. This was what I had been waiting for.
“What did he say?”
My dad sipped his drink and shook his head. “Scotty was asking strange bullshit questions as if he were just there to check up on them. But the fact that they hadn’t told anyone where they were, set them on edge. We both think it was just a message he was sending to me and you. That he could get to the people who are important to us, even if they haven’t told us where they are.”
Outrage and disgust had me practically scoffing. “But they’re his family, just like we are. Isn’t your mother Scotty’s sister? That’s his flesh and blood. He would never hurt them.”
My dad’s head shook as his chin fell to his chest. “Honey, I wish that were true, but Scotty made his own family. It consists of exactly three people. I used to think it included your mother, but honestly, I think it’s just me and you, kid. He thinks of himself like a god, and we’re his creations. He’d never destroy us, but he’d fuck with us if he felt like it made us stronger or served a greater purpose in his eyes.”
I stared into the fire, realizing my dad was right. Scotty was made up of nothing but selfish ambition and protecting what mattered to him in his own universe. Did that mean he’d ever hurt my mother? I assumed they were close, but maybe when she attempted to kill him, that broke. Smoke billowed up into the sky as we all laughed and smiled, pretending we hadn’t just been infiltrated by Scotty somehow. We all acted as though this night was merely to celebrate me, and I loved them for it even if, deep down, I had my own worry gnawing at my gut.
Scotty was always one to three steps ahead of us. He foresawevery outcome it seemed. How was I supposed to gain the upper hand and fight against him?
Maybe I didn’t.
Chapter 27
Presley
Ispent a week quietly making my plan.
Within that time, I wandered out to the greenhouse early in the morning while the fog still clung to the tips of the trees and the world was cast in shades of gray. The door to the greenhouse gently opened as I pulled it, and my eyes dropped first to the stone where Adrian was laid to rest.
Just like every time, my heart seemed to jolt in my chest at the opportunity to visit him like this. Kingston had automatic watering misters set up for all his plants, which seemed to be thriving. I realized there was something blooming around the headstone where Adrian’s name was carved, and under his name was the phrase, “Beloved Fiancé.”
I’d hung my engagement ring with a silver chain over the stone, but there, near the soil, were flowers beginning to bloom. Gently touching the small petals with my fingers, they almost looked like night-blooming jasmine. I decided to take a picture of the petal with my phone to see what Kingston had planted. The soil had been covered.
Gladiolus. A flower that represented courage andresilience.
Fresh tears found their way down my face as I began to talk to my dead friend. After my birthday, I felt a strange echo in my soul that I couldn’t figure out how to fill. It was a void that brilliant blue eyes and an easy smile used to fill. Hearing him call meBellissima. Hearing his laugh, or the way he touched me at night. I ached for him. Even with the return of the twins, I still longed for my friend.
Each day throughout the week, I’d spend my mornings in that greenhouse. I’d leave a piece of my soul and let my broken heart take refuge in visiting a man who lost his life because of his loyalty to me. By midafternoon, I’d take a different sort of refuge in feeding the cows and tending to the new chickens that had arrived. We also had two new goats that were particularly obstinate when it came to respecting their enclosure. Gio had to repair it at least three times a day just to keep them in.
Every night, the twins would hold me, and we’d fall into a routine where I’d spend time with each one individually. Gio liked to watch movies with me at night, while we relaxed in the living room. He liked to rub my shoulders and play with my hair while my head was in his lap. Kingston didn’t mind spending time with us, but our time together was always a little different. It was quiet walks along the property, or me helping him create planter boxes in the backyard. One time, I found him in the greenhouse and decided to show him how grateful I was for the flowers he'd chosen to plant near Adrian.
I dropped to my knees right there, letting the soil stain my knees while I greedily accepted Kingston in my mouth until he finished down my throat. I woke to kisses, being told how loved I was, and I accepted it. I believed it.
There were times we argued too, but I mostly did that with Kingston, and I had a feeling he did it because of the way each argument would end. Typically, me on his bed, with my ass up in the air and his fingers gripping me hard while he fucked me senseless. There were times Gio would sigh and just go to his room and shut the door when King and I would start up, likely because he knew exactly how it would end.
I’d always find my way back into Gio’s arms afterward, needing him to put me back together after Kingston would effectively break me apart. While I loved that Kingston never hid his darkness from me, without Gio, it would be too much. I needed his twin’s softness and the gentle way he cradled my heart. Gio was protective of me in a way that I felt like no one had ever been, and for that, I found a certain kind of solace in him.
Which is why having him angry with me felt infinitely worse than his brother.
I’d waited long enough to put my plan into action, so I pulled out my phone and dialed. I was in the woods, away from the house and the manor, so I didn’t bother lowering my voice when the person on the other end picked up.
“Lánya.” Scotty’s voice was firm, not curious or surprised at all that I had called.
“I told you to stop calling me that.”
He laughed but moved on. “I assume you’re either calling to threaten me or to accept the alliance. Knowing you, you’ve run the scenario through your head enough times that you know I’m right. If you stay with the twins, it’ll eventually end with their deaths, which means you need an alliance.”
“I know…” I replied, doing my best to keep my true intentions at bay. “I—I can’t lose the twins, and I don’t want to risk anything happening to them.”
He was quiet for a moment before he let out a sigh. “You’ve let them go once; you can do it again. I’m going to send you an address in New York. I’d like you to meet a new contact…he’s young, only twenty-five, but his family is powerful. Up and coming…a connection with them could be all that we need to finally have the edge we’ve needed.”
“I understand,” I replied evenly.
“I’ll send back up for you, don’t take the twins. They’ll see it as a threat.”
