Page 94 of The Broken Queen
My hands began moving as a cry broke from my chest. I tugged at his vest first, ripping off the Velcro and trying to get it over his head. Right as it came free, I noticed another firearm tucked into the waistband of his jeans, along with a few throwing knives.
“Presley, we’re leaving. I’m giving you this one kindness before putting a bullet in his head,” Scotty yelled, but right as he did, I grabbed the gun from Gio’s belt and aimed for him. My finger brushed the trigger when there was suddenly a shot ringing through the room. It was so loud it felt like something burst inside my head. There was so much pain, I dropped the gun and began screaming.
No, Scotty was screaming. He was angry with Henry, who was still aiming at me. Had he shot me? Something wet trickled down my cheek as Scotty continued yelling, and then he aimed his own weapon at the man. Gio held me to his chest protectively as I watched Henry get shot down. Within a blink, Scotty appeared next to us.
“I’m sorry, Presley. Are you okay? Tell me you’re okay.” He gently touched my ear, and that’s when I realized something burned my cheek.
“Just grazed you.” He looked relieved, and I realized two things in that moment.
One: I could only hear out of one ear.
Two: Scotty was distracted.
I had begged my father to spare his life when he wanted to kill him last year. I always gave him the benefit of the doubt. Not this time.
This time, I slid the knife from Gio’s belt, and I lodged it into Scotty’s chest with all the force I could muster.
His face twisted in confusion first, and I hated how I focused on the green tint to his eyes. How they reminded me so much of my father. I hated how familiar they were.
“You just keep trying to break me, and I’mdone,” I whispered while he gaped down at his chest.
His hand gripped the hilt, where he began to pull. The blade clattered to the ground in a bloody mess as Scotty struggled to his feet. Kingston had come down and had a gun trained on my uncle, but so did my father. He’d cut through his ties and found a gun.
Scotty’s eyes widened as he took the gun being aimed at him by my father. “You’ve taken too much this time, Uncle.”
I closed my eyes as the shots rang out, and when Reaper’s wet nose touched my hand, I sank my fingers into his fur. We’d both lost him. The version of who Scotty once was to us.
Now he was gone.
Chapter 34
Gio
Sometimes I dreamt of my childhood.
I’d dream of being on a trampoline, staring up at a sky full of stars while my best friend lay next to me, searching with me. I’d dream of a time when I’d watch my best friend create crowns made of twigs so that my brother and I would be made into little kings while she was the queen to us both.
Those dreams were always something I craved when I was away from Presley, but now that she was next to me every night, I didn’t care for them. I wanted the reality so much more than any memory I ever had of her. Yet, when I woke up this morning, I knew there was this strange wall between us as if our reality had been altered and our future threatened.
Now, as I lay here, staring up at her tear-stained face, I wondered if I’d merely go back to the dreams I had of her. Or if I’d get to stay here with her…if I’d ever get the chance to wake up on a random Tuesday and see how the sun highlighted her freckles and soaked into her lashes. I wondered if I’d ever get to see her rock a baby of her own, or if she’d smile at me and ask for me to take a turn.
It used to bother me, this idea that I’d have to share her and all of her future, but now as pain spread through my chest and things became colder, I realized it didn’t matter.
None of it did. I’d been so fucking childish about her and her needs. She’d been through so much, a thoroughly broken queen, and instead of the king she’d needed me to be, I chose to be a fool.
My hands reached for hers, but I couldn’t make them wrap around her.
“Kingston, why are his lips turning blue?” Her voice shuddered, and I knew she was afraid. I knew she’d lost one love, and I knew she couldn’t lose another. There wasn’t room in that greenhouse for any more graves, and I didn’t want my brother to expand it just to accommodate another broken piece in Presley’s life.
So, I dug deep and fought as hard as I could to stay lucid.
“My left arm…did the bullet go through. I think it might still be in there.”
I heard my brother curse, and Presley sniffed. “It’s okay, Gio. We’re going to get you to the hospital.”
“We need someone to fly the chopper.” My brother pulled out his cell phone, but who was he going to call? El Peligro had abandoned us.
He looked at Presley, who shook her head. “All my dad’s men belonged to Scotty. They’re gone.”
