Page 110 of Princess of Vengeance

His jaw tightens, and it’s impossible to miss the irritation flashing in his eyes. Before he can speak, I trail my finger down his chest in a gesture that turns my stomach even as I force myself to do it.

“Tomorrow,” I promise, knowing it’s another lie. “Tomorrow night, I’ll give you everything. I just want it to be perfect.” I swallow hard. “Not like this, though, please. Not when I’m feeling ill.”

“You always have an excuse. I’m beginning to think you’re deliberately trying to test my patience.”

“No,” I say quickly, fear shooting through me. “Not at all. I just… I want our first time to be special, don’t you? Tomorrow, I’ll be ready. I promise.”

He stares at me with those cold, calculating eyes, and doesn’t say anything at all for several more seconds.

“Fine,” he says finally. “One more day.” He grips my chin hard, making me grimace even though I refuse to give him the satisfaction of gasping or making any other noise. “But tomorrow night, after my meeting with Ronan, I’m taking my wife to bed.” His eyes bore into mine. “Whether you like it or not.”

“I understand. Tomorrow night. I’ll be ready.”

“You keep saying that,” he says, the threat in his voice unmistakable. “So if you are really testing my patience, I’d advise you to stop. Immediately.”

“I know,” I say. “I’m sorry for making you wait. It’s just… everything’s happened so fast between us.”

“Fast? We’ve been married for weeks now.”

“And I appreciate that you’ve let me wait this long,” I say quickly. “I do. Tomorrow will be different. I promise.”

“It had better be.” He releases my chin roughly. “Because I won’t be denied what’s mine any longer.”

He turns away without saying anything else, then shuts off his bedside lamp with a decisive click that sounds like a gunshot in the quiet room.

“Goodnight, wife.”

I take a beat to make sure there’s not an edge to my tone before I open my mouth again. “Goodnight.”

I lie awake in the darkness beside him and listen to his breathing even out as he falls asleep. Tomorrow has to work. All of it—intercepting Ronan, the Syndicate’s ambush of Malcolm—has to go perfectly. Because if it doesn’t, if Malcolm walks out of that meeting alive, I know exactly what will be waiting for me when he comes back home.

And I would rather die than let that happen.

36

QUINN

The sun is just startingto set when the cab drops me off at Blood and Ink. My nerves are already strung tight, and every unfamiliar sound is making me flinch. But this is it. This is the night everything changes.

I unlock the front door of the tattoo parlor and walk in as nonchalant as ever, just in case Malcolm is still having me followed. The place is empty, with every available member of Carnage and the Princes out scouring the city for Ronan.

With only a little over an hour until his planned meeting with Malcolm, I have to trust that they’ll find him soon. Otherwise, this is going to be a bad fucking night.

Really bad.

Moving quickly, I head for the basement and the hidden tunnel that connects to the basement of Mickey’s bar. I’ve been back and forth through the narrow passage so many times that I almost don’t need any light at all to navigate the damp, dark space.

I’ve paid Mickey to close the bar tonight, just to ensure there are no extra headaches for me to deal with—and he was all too happy to take my money in exchange for a night off. I’m notquite prepared for how quiet it is when I come upstairs from the basement though.

There’s no jukebox playing, no glasses clinking, no hum of conversation from the regulars who show up night after night. The only sounds I can pick up are the steady hum of the beer coolers and my own beating heart.

In the dim light near the bar, I can see three familiar silhouettes waiting for me—my men, my husbands in every way that matters. The sight of them loosens something in my chest, like I can finally take a full breath.

“Siren.” Killian reaches me first, pulling me against his chest in a hug so tight it’s almost painful. “Tonight’s the night.”

“Damn right.” I cling to him for a few more moments, breathing in his familiar, comforting scent, before giving him a quick, desperate kiss and moving on to Atlas.

By the time I make it to Nico, I’m feeling reassured and thankful for their presence, even if I’m not sure how to find the words to express it all.

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