Page 12 of Tarnished Queen

I hang up the phone.

Christo starts talking immediately. “I’m sorry, Nikolai. I wanted to tell you, but I thought we’d find her and stop the plan and it wouldn’t matter. But since they weren’t here, I had no choice but to tell you before you could—”

I hold up a hand and he falls silent instantly. Then I hand him his gun. “Come on.”

His eyes are wide. He grabs the gun like it might be a trick. Then he slides it quickly into the back of his pants. “What’s the plan now?”

A moment ago, I had a plan. I was going to get my woman away from the psychopath I was engaged to, take her home, and keep her with me forever. I was going to make sure no one ever laid a hand on her again.

But now, that plan is shot to hell.

And Belle herself is the one responsible.

“Belle is at the hospital. She said she needs me there.”

Christo huffs. “But she’s lying to you. She’s working with—”

I hold up my gun and arch a brow. “She said she needs me there… so that’s where I’m going.”

It takes the man a second, but he gets it. He looks solemn. “Oh.”

5

BELLE

I want to scream, but I have no idea how many people this awful man could kill. If I scream, how many nurses and doctors will run to my aid? How many of them would get gunned down in their rush? I’m picturing bodies stacked like Lincoln Logs, red blood staining green scrubs and running in sticky rivulets down the cracks where tile floor meets baseboard. A horrific massacre.

Even if I survived, I’d never be able to forgive myself.

“Don’t be stupid,” the man repeats, his voice a low threat in my ear. “Come with me. Make this easy for both of us.”

The elevator still hasn’t moved off of floor one, and I’m hoping it never will. Because once I’m out of this hospital, I’m lost. Right now, there’s a chance Nikolai could hunt me down. Arslan can probably track ambulances, knowing him. Maybe he even knows where I’m at right now. If I stay here, they could find me.

But out there? Xena could take me anywhere. I’ll be lost in the ether. And dead, more likely than not.

Then a realization occurs. “Is Xena really right down the hall?”

The man makes a low, laughing sound in the back of his throat.

Of course she isn’t. He was just saying that so I’d be willing to leave the room with him. So my fear of Xena might override my common sense.

“So stupid,” I whisper. “I’m so stupid.”

The elevator dings. I look up as the floor number shifts from one to two and then three. My captor’s escape hatch inches closer while I sit here completely helpless to do a damn thing about it.

“Yeah, but you’re being smart right now,” he croons like he’s consoling a wild animal. “Saving lives by staying quiet. Just a few more minutes, and you can scream as loud as you want.”

Is he trying to comfort me? Because it is absolutely not working.

The elevator creeps closer. It feels like watching a guillotine lower against my neck. Like having a physical countdown to my own demise.

Four.

Five.

DING.

When the doors open, the man starts to push me into the elevator, but there are people inside. We’re forced to back up and wait for it to clear out.

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