Page 22 of His Retribution

“No, my sweet little lamb can not be involved.” I snap. It’s too late. Clay planted the seed and now my guilt is eating away at me. Quinn has proven herself against my wishes, but she has done it. Maybe I owe her some recognition.

Myhandsworkquicklyto secure the military grade explosives into the trunk of the car. My ride just achieved death trap status. One at a time, the three explosives are stowed away carefully. Selena’s point man is handling the wire transfer. Once the trunk clicks closed, I make the call and we wait for confirmation.

“Pleasure doing business with you, gentleman,” the man on the docks says, waving us off.

Clay and I climb inside. His face is pale as a ghost. It should be. One small hit and this car is blowing into a thousand tiny pieces. I shrug it off as he steers our car away from the docks and towards our final destination.

“Christian, why are there three?” Clay asks, his voice trembling as sweat visibly forms around his hairline.

“The first one is insurance, the second is just in case we miss, and the third,” I let out an evil laugh. “The third is because that motherfucker thought he could creep into my house, while I slept with my woman in my arms, rip her from me, murder most of our closest men…” I clench my fists. “And then to add insult to injury he dared blackmail me into an exchange for the love of my life. All the while maintaining a plan to double cross and murder me.” My knuckles are turning white. “ I plan to set this one off at his main house once we destroy the safe house. There’s a second team of men who we will rendezvous with here shortly. When the clock runs out, the house goes kaboom. We will call it the icing on the cake.”

“Boss, what about the casualties? Won’t this start something even bigger?” Clay asks, wiping sweat from his brow.

“It might,” I reply. “It’s like I said though, Clay. This city will show us some damn respect and if they don’t, well, we can’t concern ourselves with those consequences. They’ve all been given free will. It’s only a matter of time before the order is restored and I can present the Don with my gift of divine retribution.”

Clay looks at me. There’s a hint of a smile drawing at the corners of his lips. “What is it?” I ask.

“Nothing, it’s nice to have you back to normal, is all.” Clay replies.

“Losing Quinn, and all those people that night took a lot out of me. It may actually be one of the hardest things I’ve been through with Arkham. Not because of the mayhem, or the destruction, but because Le Manchot waltzed right in and took from me, the one thing I care about most. The only way I’ve deduced he could have succeeded at any of that means he has an inside man. Which leads me back here, to the stress and unusual behavior. I haven’t wanted to believe it all this time, but I must face the truth. There’s a traitor walking among us, calling us his brothers, and I have no idea who it is.” I explain.

“I know, boss, but don’t you worry. I’ve got your back and tonight the traitor is all mine. We lost too many people, and disloyalty is an unforgivable act. This person intended to harm you, Quinn, and probably even the Don. They are a poison to Arkham and deserve the same fate as Le Manchot. The pair can rot in hell together. I’ve been working on a list of possibilities.” Clay answers, catching me off guard.

“You mean you knew, Clay?” I ask.

He nods his head solemnly, “I had my suspicions, but I also knew you had a lot going on and since it’s my job to have your back now, I made it a top priority on my side.” He says.

“Thanks, Clay.” I clap him on the back, relishing in the proud moment. “Let’s take these mother fuckers down. Tonight, they both die.”

“I could drink to that,” Clay chuckles.

“There will be plenty of celebrating after we send them to their early graves.” I give Clay a hard stare. Our pact is solid. Tonight is about revenge, not just retribution.

I type the address for our quick rendezvous into the gps and fall back into my seat. Clay and I settle into a comfortable silence. His focus is on the road and driving with extreme precision. He doesn’t want to disturb our precious cargo, and neither do I. I stare out the window at the passing streetlights. On the dark streets, change is coming. Tonight they will go about their normal business, but tomorrow the streets will be consumed with whispers. I’m taking back the city. No one can stop me now, and those who can don’t dare to stand in defiance. With the help and cooperation of the Peacocks we are stronger than ever. Fate can be such a fickle thing the way it brings two people together in the wake of destruction. It’s just like me and Quinn. Fate brought us together to be the light in one another’s darkest moments. She doesn’t know it, but she gave me a reason to live, a reason to fight. She gave me my purpose and then I fell in love with my forbidden muse.

I sigh. I need to make things right with her before we do this. After this next exchange, I will slink back to my Queen and offer her my heart once more. Hopefully she’s had enough time to cool down and will at least be reasonable. I can’t imagine going into things, leaving everything the way it is between us. I owe her more than I’ve been willing to acknowledge. My girl has done well for herself. It was always her father and I, both who never wanted Quinn to succumb to the darkness of being a hard criminal, but we wanted her to be something she’s not. We wanted her to be our soft little jewel. A Queen, hidden away from her entire kingdom. It was never our choice to make. This battle for her identity is not one I can fight for her, but I will stand proud beside her the way I should have all along. She is my Queen and I only live to serve her.

Chapter 14

Badass Bitches

Quinn-

Theonlywayweare going to know where to find Le Manchot is if I track Christian’s phone and the only way for me to do that without getting caught is to text him. I really don’t want to go crawling back to him right now. I want to show him I am a lioness and I don’t need him to rule my kingdom. Technically, the Arkham Mafia still belongs to me. If anything were to happen to my dear sweet daddy, the control would divert to me. Christian hasn’t been named as successor and until that happens, its bloodline rules. That’s how Selena came to be the Queen of her kingdom.

I pace the room dramatically, trying to think of what to say to him. I can’t just be like hey bae, all deep voiced and sexy. It needs to be perfect; it needs to be sultry and dangerous. My phone dings in my hand. It’s an opportunity knocking.

Christian: Mon lionne, tu me mets á genoux,my lioness, you bring me to my knees. I’ve made you an enemy instead of an equal. I will stand faithfully by your side from now on. You deserve all the credit. I know it’s long overdue. Please forgive me.

Fuck that man. The only man I’ve ever met who can melt my icy heart. I can’t stay mad at that man. The way he cherishes me with every ounce of his soul, the way his eyes roam my body with both hunger and concern, and the way that filthy French mouth of his brings me so much pleasure and praise. Christian is the kind of man fairytales are made of only, he’s a thousand times rougher around the edges and that’s just how I like him.

Me: My love, I’m so glad you came around to worship me properly the way I deserve to be. I expect no less when we return home.

Christian: Don’t you worry little bijou, my cock will worship you the way you deserve. It will fill up all your holes if you let it.

A shiver runs up my spine. I need to refocus this conversation or I’m going to lose it. I tap the tracking app on my phone and wait while it searches.

Christian: I take it you’re speechless. Let me tell you more. I’m going to spread you open wide and allow my tongue to whisper all of my apologies into you until you flood my mouth with your forgiveness.

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