Page 4 of Tarnished Queen

“If that’s true, why aren’t you leading it?”

He glances over at me. “Why is ‘your woman’ with Xena instead of you?”

“Watch your fucking tongue,” I snarl.

“Sorry,” he says. “But I’m just making a point. You know Xena. She knows how to get what she wants. And she wanted the mafia. She always wanted it. It’s why she killed my father.”

“She is the one who had him killed?” I ask in surprise.

“‘Had him killed?’ As if. She did it herself,” he hisses. “If I didn’t want to rip her spine out with my bare hands, I’d almost admire that she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. He trusted her, and she cut his throat.”

“Fuck.” That’s brutal even for Xena. The least she could have done was surprise Giorgos from behind. Give him a don’s execution. But no, he had to watch his own sister gut him like a pig.

“It’s not even the first time she’s murdered her own family. It’s old hat for her at this point.”

I snap my gaze to Christo as I infer what he’s saying. “Xena killed her parents,” I mutter. “It wasn’t Giorgos. Fuck me.”

He nods. “Everyone thought my dad killed my grandparents, and neither of them cleared up the rumor. My dad thought it made him look stronger, and Xena knew it made her look like less of a threat. It worked well for both of them… until it stopped working.”

“Was she calling the shots the entire time?”

Thinking back, I can see it. Xena sat in meetings with Giorgos. She spoke up without being asked. She made demands without consulting her brother. I assumed Giorgos was a pushover, but I never assumed he was the false front of Xena’s operation.

But that was my own failure of imagination.

“Yes. Whether my father accepted it or not, she wore the crown,” Christo says. “Your engagement is where things started falling apart. I think it might be the first time in her life that Xena didn’t get what she wanted. I’ve never seen her so unhinged. She ran into that club you and Arslan were in by herself, armed with nothing but a pistol.”

“She shot up the club?” I curse under my breath. “If I’d caught her that night, none of this would be happening.”

“No, it would still be happening. My father would have declared war on you. His men wouldn’t have stood for anything less.”

“Yeah, but Belle would be safe.”

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I realize that she is all that matters. Getting Belle out of Xena’s hands and back in mine is the only thing I care about.

Christo hits a bump in the road, and I hiss in pain.

“You need to get that looked at,” he warns.

I press my hand to the wound. There’s a squelch of wet, sticky fabric and another shot of agony ripping through me. “No time. It’s a graze. I’m fine.”

“Yeah, a graze of an internal organ maybe,” Christo snorts. “You can’t fight like this.”

“I got your gun away from you, didn’t I?”

He glances over at the gun still in my hand and sighs. “Yeah, but I’m not Xena. And I wasn’t trying to kill you.”

“Is that her goal now? I thought she wanted to marry me.”

“So she could kill you,” he says. “Marriage or not, your death was always in the plans.”

I grimace. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“My aunt is ruthless when she sets her sights on something. And right now, she has her sights set on revenge.”

“Which is why I need to find Belle as soon as possible. That’s where you’re taking me, right?” I ask. “To Belle?”

He nods solemnly. “Xena stopped trusting me once word of my father’s death got out. So I only have the plan up to twenty-four hours ago. But as far as I know, I’m taking you to Belle. Where she’s supposed to be, at least.”

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