Page 228 of Filthy Royal

“Do. Not. Speak. Of. My. Mother.” Darvish bit out every word.

“Get”—Andor gasped for breath— “off.”

Another crash. More heavy breathing.

Finally, it appeared Andor was free, his voice a painful rasp as he snapped, “Fine. Do as you like, then.” There was also a note of resignation in his tone. “You always do anyway. I told you not to tip off the Brotherhood about Scarlett and the funds until we were away, but you didn’t listen to that advice either.”

“And I told you, there might be over a hundred Consortium guards surrounding this shuttle launch, but it will not be enough. Thanks to my tip, the Brotherhood believes the Skolovs are protecting criminals and has come to claim them. That means more distractions for the Skolovs. If they’re fighting the Brotherhood and the Consortium guards, they won’t be fighting us, and the two sets of armies together might just be enough to let us slip away from Damien the Enforcer and his brothers with my pet and my plans in place.”

“Hells.” Andor blew out a loud breath. “You may be right. But I want the doc tranqing her again. I want him dosing her with so much drug there’s no chance she’ll wake up until this shuttle’s long grounded.”

“That was always my intention.” Footsteps headed away from her cell. “I’ll send the doc to her straight away. Now, enough discussion. Let’s get to the cockpit, strap in, and let the pilot get this shuttle out of the Golden Dome. I’m anxious to get home.”

“Do you think”—now it was Andor who sounded sly— “your precious Zaya misses you half as much as you miss her?”

“You do not fucking say her name.” Darvish’s outrage was a near-match to when Andor referenced his mother.

“So touchy.” Andor chuckled. “I only—”

Boom. A powerful explosion rocked the ship. Scarlett’s cot shook from the force of the vibration.

“It’s begun.” Darvish sounded positively gleeful.

“We need to go.” Andor’s voice held more panic. “Now.”

The pounding of their footfalls echoed down the hall, moving farther away.

Her time was running out.

But Scarlett was determined.

It took a heartbeat to figure out how to proceed.

From an early age, she’d gotten used to keeping the less-than-pleasing parts of herself inside. Tamping down her wildness, her wants, and her rage.

But Damien had been teaching her something different all along.

So she pictured the mud, the ferocity, the taming chain, the sheer, raw freedom of being outrageous with him. Of being truly herself.

Her colors burst from her, splashing along the med bay wall. Richer. Bolder. Brighter than they’d ever been before. A cacophony of hues and patterns that wove together and overlapped, zigzagging and swirling, blending into a visual symphony.

It was dazzling.

It was her.

And right alongside those colors, framing them, cutting through them, highlighting them, were thick, jagged slashes of black. Vicious rage and a thirst for vengeance.

Also her.

Then came the rattle of the door as it slid open.

Chest rising and falling fast, Scarlett drew her gift back into herself and slammed her eyes shut.

The soft patter of feet echoed through the med bay.

She didn’t need to open her eyes to know who it was.

Scarlett waited.

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