Page 67 of His Broken Queen

“She was innocent. She had a family. You didn’t have to hurt her.”

“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He sighed. “But once she saw us, I had to take advantage of the situation. I had to use her presence as an opportunity.”

“You’re an animal.” My body shook when I thought about how scared Stella must have been as she faced her attacker.Being in this house made her a target.

“No more than your husband or Rocco or Gio.” He shrugged. “We all do what we have to do. I had to shoot Stella. I had to make Romero suffer.”

I took a deep breath, trying to think like a rational person, but it was as if I wasn’t myself. With his confession, I stepped outside of my body. Nothing mattered but getting justice for Stella. In that moment, I finally understood who I was, and where I had come from. My family’s world, Romero’s world made sense.

“She knew her fate, Lu.” He laughed. “She was brave too. She told me to go fuck myself right before I pulled the trigger and blew out her brains.”

I didn’t remember grabbing the knife as I ran around the island and lunged toward him. When the blade connected with the front of his shoulder, I pushed it in as he screamed out in agony.

“You fucking bitch.”

“No!” I let go of the knife, still embedded in his flesh, as he came toward me.

“I was going to make your death quick, but now you’re going to pay.” He gritted his teeth and removed the knife from his shoulder, screaming like an injured animal caught in a trap. I ran to the back door, and tugged on the handle.Locked! I turned the brass lock, but he slammed his hand against the door, preventing me from opening it.

“Leave me alone!” I screamed.

“I’ll leave you alone when you’re dead.” When he reached for his gun, I punched his bleeding shoulder, knocking him back. “Fuck!”

I hustled down the hall, slamming into Jag on my way out.

“Jag?” I pushed him toward the door. “We have to get out of here.”

“Are you okay?” He lowered his gun, and looked me over. “Are you hurt?”

“No, but how did you find me? Is Romero here?” I reached for the door. “We have to get out of here. Vincent is here and he’s lost his mind.”

“Let’s go,” he said. “The car is…ahh!”

“Jag?” I screamed when a loud firecracker sound vibrated off the walls, and then he fell to the floor. “No, no,” I dropped to my knees. “Jag?”

“Get up.” Vincent grabbed me by my hair and flung me into the staircase, knocking the wind out of me.

“What did you do?”

“What do you think I did?” He waved his gun in front of me. “You’re next.”

I scrambled to my feet, holding onto the banister, trying to get my footing.

“I’m not going to make it painless.” He shoved me back, causing me to fall on the steps.

When he came for me, I kicked him as hard as I could where I had stabbed him.

“Fuck! You bitch.”

As he staggered away from me, I got to my feet and ran up the stairs, and to my bedroom. I turned to shut the door, but he was already up the steps and coming toward me, aiming his gun at me. Slamming the door shut, I locked it as quickly as I could. I reached in my pocket to grab my phone, but then I remembered Vincent had smashed it.

“Luciana!” He pounded on the door, causing me to jump. He began kicking the door, shaking it from the frame. It was only a matter of seconds before he busted it open. “I hope your short-lived marriage with your scumbag husband was worth your life.”

As he gave the door one final kick, I snagged the large crystal vase from the dresser. When he came through the door, I advanced him as fast as I could and smacked him in the head with it. The impact was hard enough to make him lose his balance and drop his gun.

He stumbled into the hall, pressing his hand against his head.Blood gushed from the gash.

I moved forward, trying to retrieve the gun, but he came at me, taking me down to the floor. I kicked and thrashed, rolling myself onto my stomach. He yanked my head back by my hair as I stretched as far as I could. My fingertips grazed the gun, but I couldn’t get it.

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