Page 13 of Bloody Kingdom

“This isn’t a negotiation, Miss Page.”

“Well…” She frowns. “I’m making it one. Even if this were a normal job, under normal circumstances, I would need a break. I’m not asking for a long break, just a couple hours to walk away and maybe make some cash.”

Her request isn’t unreasonable, but I’m not feeling in a generous mood right now.

“You will quit your job at St. Sin,” I tell her, leaving no room in my voice for debate while I stand from my chair. “Tomorrow, you will be taken to the apartment you’ve been staying at and you will collect all your things. You will tell your friend that you will be away for some time. After that, you will start repaying your debt to me.”

Her arms cross tightly across her chest and her powder blue eyes glare at me. “I don’t like you.”

“I’ve found that most don’t.” I smirk. “But I’ve also found I don’t give a fuck who likes me. I care only about who fears me.”

“You want me to fear you?”

Moving around the desk, I grab the back of her chair as I lean down. The way she stops breathing and her eyes widen appease me. “I don’t want it,” I answer lowly. “I crave it.”

“Idon’t understand.” Lucy sits on the cracked and chipped kitchen counter, a bowl of cereal in her lap. “You got a job, but you can’t tell me anything about it?”

The traitor who shall not be named, dropped me off at the small apartment complex I’ve called home for the past two months a little while ago. Lucy had lost her mind on me when I first walked through the front doors, asking where the hell I’d been all night while threatening me with various levels of bodily harm. She’s calmed down since but the skepticism and worry remains in her eyes as she watches me pack up. I’m still tempted to hide the knives from her though.

Duke—the traitor—is waiting downstairs for me in one of Laurent’s fancy SUVs. The same kind of SUV I saw the other night when I felt like I was being watched. I don’t know if I should find comfort in the knowledge that it was Silas and not Gallo stalking me. Honestly, neither option is ideal.

“All I can tell you is I got a job as a private nurse.” Not a total lie. “I can’t tell you who my employer is because I signed a nondisclosure, Luce. All I can tell you is I’ll still be in town; I just won’t be able to see you.” Okay, I won’t exactly be in town, Laurent’s home is thirty minutes away. From what I saw leaving the estate, his large home with its antebellum-style architecture sits on multiple acres of land. I didn’t see another home or building for miles. His driveway is surrounded by oak trees, Spanish moss hanging from the branches.

If I wasn’t looking at it as my new prison, I would be drooling over the property. It’s something straight out of a magazine.

“This whole thing is so weird to me, Q.” Lucy waves her metal spoon at me, droplets of milk falling to the floor as she does. “Were you even looking for a nursing job? I thought you told me you were done with that for good?”

I shove the sparse amount of clothes I still own into the battered suitcase as I look around the small space. Lucy’s apartment is a one-bedroom, so her living room became my bedroom. Meaning I’ve been sleeping on her lumpy, old couch for the past couple of months. We talked about hanging a curtain or something to create more privacy, but we never got around to it. Not that it matters any longer.

The room I will be staying in at Laurent’s is bigger than Lucy’s whole apartment, but still, I’d rather be staying here than in that tastefully decorated hellhole.

“No, I wasn’t looking for the job. They sought me out,” I tell her, trying desperately to keep it as vague as possible. The NDA I signed was no joke, I’m pretty sure I may have signed away my firstborn child in that document somewhere. Besides, as much as I don’t want him to, Laurent still scares me. I wouldn’t put it past him to feed me to the gators in the swamp if I broke the contract.

“What? How did they even know about you?”

One of the few good skills I learned from my parents is my ability to lie. “My boss back in Boston recommended me when she learned someone here was looking for a private nurse.”Lie like your life depends on it, because right now it does.

Lucy gives me a look that tells me she’s not buying it. “Yeah, but how did someone in Boston know—”

I cut her off. “Look, Luce, I can’t pass up the offer.” Nope, I’msuperstuck. “It’s only for a couple months.”Tops. Ira’s condition is only going to get worse by the day. “I’ll be back pouring drinks with you in no time.” I hope the smile I give her puts her at ease because it’s the best I can muster right now. I didn’t sleep at all last night. My body is physically exhausted, and my mind is a mess.

“Okay, fine.” Lucy hops off the counter and grabs the hoodie I’d left thrown over one of the barstools. “I just want you to know that I think this whole situation is suspect and I’m not buying it.” She drops down on the floor next to where I sit with my suitcase open in front of me. “But I’ll play along.For now,” she relents as she folds the hoodie and places it in my bag.

I grip the shirt I hold in my hand tightly, my fingers digging into the fabric. “Thank you, Lucy.”

“You just have to promise me you’ll send me a text every single day telling me you’re alright,” she bargains. “If you go radio silent on me, I will lose my absolute shit and we both know that’s not a pretty sight.”

Laurent hasn’t said anything about me having access to my phone, but I promise Lucy anyway. “I’ll make sure I message or call you every day.” I lay my head on her shoulder and soak up the small amount of comfort my friend gives me.

While I want Lucy nowhere near Laurent, I still wish I could take her with me. The situation wouldn’t be so bad if I knew I had someone in my corner watching my back. Instead, I feel like I’m walking into a wolf’s den with a target on me. I don’t even feel like I can trust Ira. He may be my patient, but he’s an ally of Laurent’s first and that instantly makes him undependable.

And Duke, well I still want to hang him up by his toes and beat him like a goddamn piñata. I cannot believe he drugged me. Yeah, the sensible part of me realizes he was just following his devil of a boss, but I still feel betrayed. I make a note to make sure Duke knows to stay away from Lucy.

It doesn’t take me long to pack up my stuff even though I was procrastinating and trying to prolong it as long as possible. The hour passes in a blur before I’m standing at the door with Lucy looking at me with worry in her caramel-colored eyes. She wraps her arms around me tightly before I have a chance to say anything or do the same thing to her.

“Be safe and stay out of trouble,” she whispers before letting go of me.

I’m pretty sure I’m running headfirst into trouble, is what I want to say, but instead, I say, “You too.”

---