Page 7 of Queen of Diamonds

A perfect 48.

But that wasn’t true.

My blood chilled.

There was one that didn’t belong. It had a black back instead of the faded red, and it was brand new.

I reached for it, blood roaring in my ears. For every small clue of paranoia, the Rose Royale, the headless bundle of thorns on the side of the road, I’d convinced myself over and over that I was seeing ghosts.

Overreacting.

Paranoid.

And in one heart-stopping moment, I felt an incongruous, chilling relief as I looked at the black card. I hadn’t been seeing things at all.

Until the truth of what that meant hit me like a freight train. Until the tremor in my hands left half the deck spilling from my grip. Before I turned the card and saw what was on the other side.

One of the four that I’d removed from my perfect 48.

That I’d ripped to pieces and burned.

Because on the other side was an ace of diamonds.

3

GLADE

Idropped the card as if it had burned me, frozen in terror.

They’d found me at last, playing games and sending taunts just like Ace. But he never sent those until he was sure he’d won the hunt, and neither would the men outside.

Ace Maverick didn’t often get his hands dirty. Instead, he made it a game—offering rewards to the Brotherhood to catch me. And one pack, it seemed, had finally caught up. I didn’t recognise the Alpha at the bar, either. New to the Brotherhood, perhaps? Trying to make a name for themselves?

But he was all I’d seen. The others—they could be anywhere.

How many were here?

My mind flashed to the pack waiting for me on the third floor.

Could that be them?

But… Why would they be on the third floor? Unless they just wanted to get me alone. To whisper blackmail I couldn’t ignore.

My mind was spinning.

The club didn’t allow weapons, but those checks weren’t enough to truly keep a determined Brotherhood member down, just like it didn’t stop me from wearing knives beneath my dress.

But if I made a scene, people could get hurt, and the moment I tried to leave, they’d be there.

What the fuck was I going to do?

“You all right?” Tallow’s voice had me spinning on my heel.

Shit.

How long had I been in here frozen like a trapped mouse?

“Sorry…” I could barely focus. All I knew was that I couldn’t panic him. Not him, not security. No one could get involved.

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