Page 30 of The Broken Queen
“After the first few attempts to leave, he started showing up randomly. He’s been careful about what he says or does around me, but his presence alone sets all of us on edge. After the dinner, where he made me—” She suddenly stopped talking, but my eyes were back on my brother.
“Made you what?” Gio practically growled.
Scotty glared at him as if he were about to hit him in the back of the head.
“Gio?” Presley’s voice was soft but guarded.
He ignored her and stepped closer to the phone. “Markos made you do what?”
“Giovanni, Presley has limited time. This isn’t catch up hour. I invited you two to be a part of this conversation because you need to know how to control your monster, El Peligro.” Scotty chastised, then pushed on, “Presley, please continue.”
She cleared her throat. “So, both of them are—they’re both there?”
Scotty brought his finger to his forehead and began to rub as he replied, “Yes. They’re standing right here listening. Now continue.”
“I was forced to execute someone. Adrian was so angry and acted so erratic, I think it tipped Markos off. For the sake of Alex, I told him that I didn’t want Markos or his brothers in the house. At first, he honored it, but yesterday he arrived and demanded to spend time with Alex.”
She was forced to kill someone.Our Presley, the ball of sunshine that made our universe worth existing in. The girl who loved pettingbaby highland cows and restoring an old farm house, all so one day she’d find peace. The girl who loved stars and digging in the soil with me, the girl who had freckles, blue eyes, and felt like home.
I didn’t trust Adrian to keep them safe. Not if Markos was now demanding shit of my sister and forcing executions. Gio’s worried expression reminded me of my promise to let her go, so I made sure my response was focused in the right place.
I stepped closer to the phone. “Presley, I need to get my sister out of there. It’s been two months. I’m done playing Adrian’s games. I’m coming to get her, and if you’re smart, you’ll come with me as well.”
“Kingston,” Scotty warned, but I didn’t give a fuck.
Presley’s voice harshened as she replied, “You have no idea what Adrian has gone through to keep us safe, and to go against his brothers. He’s doing the best he can.”
I laughed. “Isn’t he the entire reason you’re there? I mean, sure, maybe he got a taste of your cunt, and he decided not to kill you, but make no mistake, he is the reason all this is happening.”
“Fuck you!” she roared.
Scotty pressed a button, taking her off speaker phone.
Gio began pushing me away until I was heading toward the house. “What the hell, King, you heard what she’s just been through.”
I walked inside and slammed the door behind me because if I didn’t, then I’d take a knife and jam it in the side of Scotty’s head. This was his fucking fault, and I would never forgive him for doing this to her. If I were allowed to share how it impacted me to know that the girl I loved was broken in such a way, I would, but I promised Gio that she was his.
So, because of that, I’d continue being a miserable son of a bitch, no matter how much it hurt.
Chapter 11
Presley
The balcony had become increasingly smaller since being trapped here for the past two months. I’d done everything in my power to push this singular thought out of my head, to see this any other way I possibly could, but Kingston was right.
For nearly two months, Adrian had seemingly tried to get us out of here, but he hadn’t been successful. He used terminology that always made it seem as though things were right about to shift, with weeks or days, and yet months had passed. While Kingston’s hurtful words echoed in my head, abrading my chest like tiny pricks of a needle, I pushed it away as I tried to focus on the point he was making.
Turning from the balcony, I stormed inside, seeing the bedroom empty as usual. Adrian had been so stressed recently that when he did come to bed, he was only there for mere hours before leaving again. We’d had a few nights a week that he’d hold me, fuck me, or taste me. Then he’d let me go and be off again, never telling me more than a few details at a time. I knew he couldn’t share everything, and while I trusted him, I was starting to lose my patience.
Pulling out my phone, I sent him a text.
Me: Where are you, need to talk.
Adrian probably wouldn’t see it for a while, so I set off to find Alex. I missed Leon and other members of the staff who used to be in the house. Now, I felt like I was walking on eggshells, being watched and monitored by every single person in the house. Markos had ordered the clean out, so all the people now milling about surely reported to him.
Alex was sitting outside by the pool, a book rested next to her while she stared at nothing with a sorrowful expression on her face. The sound of birds flitting in the surrounding trees filled the air as I walked out onto the paved terrace. Alex hadn’t seen me yet, which allowed me a few extra moments to study her. Things shifted last night when Markos arrived and demanded to have dinner with her. I had wanted to kill him, but he’d brought too many men with him, and I refused to put Alex in danger.
So we sat through another dinner where we had to consider if we’d be forced to see someone executed or if something was going to happen to one of us. I hated the way the color had drained from her face and how terrified she looked as she stared out at the pool, seeing nothing.
