Page 31 of Bloody Kingdom

“Quincey,” Silas says louder this time, his smooth voice bouncing off the empty space we’re in. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Blinking away the sudden wetness that has appeared in my eyes, I meet his eye for the first time in over an hour. “When you kill me, please just have some mercy and don’t make me suffer,” I croak, my throat suddenly tight.

“Wait, Quin—” I hear Duke mumble behind us, but Silas quickly quiets him with a shake of his head.

Eyes like midnight look into mine. “Quincey, we’re not here to kill you.” In a gesture that shocks me to my core, he brings one of his hands up and he catches a fallen tear on his thumb.

“Is Gallo here then?” I whisper hoarsely.

“Gallo knows better than to step foot into my city without my permission or touch things that no longer belong to him.” Silas shocks me further by bringing his thumb to his mouth so he can suck my tear off of it. The gesture makes my already wild heartbeat even harder against my ribcage. “No one is going to hurt you here, I promise you.”

I struggled to pull in a relieved breath, the panic I’d been experiencing making my chest and airways tight. “Then why are we here? Why did you let me leave the house?”

“This.” His hand still on my shoulder moves to my lower back as he ushers me once more toward the door. “Was something I’d arranged to bring you to prior to your escape artist routine earlier.” Duke holds the door open for us and I’m blasted with hot, humid air as we enter. “I could have hired someone to pick them out for me, but I thought since it was your idea to start with, you should have the honor.”

Thousands of plants fill the large warehouse—no,greenhouse. Understanding hits me, and I gasp, “Ira’s roses.”

The entire ceiling of the building is made of glass, allowing the plants to receive sunlight and thrive in the space.

“Yes,” Silas confirms. “You’ll pick out the rose bushes you wish to have in the courtyard. They’ll be delivered and planted in the next couple weeks.”

I whirl around so I can look at him when I say, “Thank you, Silas.” For the first time.

I’ve cursed him and his entire existence, but I’ve never had a reason to thank him.

His brows pull together. “This is for Ira,” he says slowly as if I’m not following what’s happening.

“I know, but bringing me here tonight wasn’t for him.”

“No,” Silas concedes. “I suppose it wasn’t.” He pauses like he’s unsure how to say the next words. “You’re welcome, Quincey.”

The rosesI picked out are dark crimson red.

Originally, I had been looking at the pretty snow-white ones, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Silas stop and admire the red ones. He even ran his fingers over the soft velvety petals of the flowers. In that moment, it became really important to me that not only did I get some Ira would enjoy, but ones Silas would like as well. I couldn’t tell you in words why it mattered to me to do so. Maybe it’s because I still don’t know what he likes. His dislikes are more obvious to me and I’ve already got a running list of them, but the only definite thing I know he likes is cooking. And now I can add red roses to the list of things I know about him.

Even though I’m not totally free with Duke and Silas both watching my every move, the short break away from the house allows me to feel like I can breathe a little better. The weight that has been pressing into my chest is lifted just enough for me to fill my lungs easier. Sometimes, even though the relief is short, it’s enough to make you feel like you can keep going.

I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were actually heading when we left Silas’s house, but now as I look out the window of the car, familiar buildings pass by me. We’re in the city, just blocks away from the Quarter. Lucy is so close to me right now, but I know it’d be too much to ask for Silas to stop.

A small brick building with a red and white awning catches my eyes and I perk up in my seat and point at it through the heavily tinted windows. “That’s where my dad used to take me for ice cream when he was in town.”

I don’t know why I just volunteered that information, but the sudden nostalgia that crept into my bones made it just pop out.

“The same father who made you collateral for a debt he knew he’d never be able to repay?” Silas offers dryly next to me.

“He wasn’t always the bad guy in my eyes.” The man that used to take me for ice cream cones is very different from the man who offered me to Gallo. “I didn’t use to hate him like I do now. I used to idolize him. He wasn’t around much when I was growing up since Mom and him were never actually married. He worked odd jobs all around the south and each time he came back into town, he’d take me to that ice cream parlor and tell me these wild stories from his time on the road.” Ronald Page always had a story, his long stretch of bad luck meant he always found himself in strange or crazy situations. The car fills with awkward silence that makes me cringe a little on the inside. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to start rambling on like that,” I mumble my apology quickly before slinking down in my seat once again.

Silas tucks the cell phone he’d been typing on since we left the warehouse into his suit jacket, before nodding his head at Duke. “Turn around.”

“What? Why?” Duke turns his head quickly to pass his boss a confused look.

“It’s a good night for ice cream.”

Twenty minutes later, cup of ice cream in hand, we walk back to where Duke had parked the car. He’d offered to get the car and pick us up in front of the shop, but Silas had turned him down. The confused and somewhat shocked look on Duke’s face told me that this wasn’t Silas’s usual practice. A king like him probably demands to be carted around in his luxury chariot, I guess.

Either way, I’m not complaining. For a night that started off so horribly, I feel more content than I have in weeks. Even though I should be more on edge like both Silas and Duke are. Both of them keep a vigilant eye on our surroundings like at any time they think someone is going to jump out at us. It hasn’t gone unnoticed how close Silas stands to me as we walk, as if he’sprotectingme from whatever unknown threat is out here.

It makes sense to me that Silas would be wary of his environment at all times. I’m not completely sure what it is that he does, but based on what I know of him, he’s bound to have enemies lurking in all kinds of shadows.Hell, with his shitty attitude, he probably develops a new enemy each time he goes to the grocery store and gets coffee.Yeah right, like this man goes to the grocery store.

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