Page 28 of Queen of Madness

“The guard.” She takes a greedy breath before blowing it out slowly. “He’s different.”

Maybe she’s drunker than I thought. “You said that, O—”

“He reminds me of my father. Not in thedaddy issuestype of way. But in his resolve. I can already tell he’s stubborn. Smart, but never given the chance to show it. And a nurturer. A man who takes care of people. But also…”

She trails off, and for a moment, I think she’s fallen asleep before she yawns. “He’s a killer. I can smell it on him. I’d bet at least a dozen souls have been sent to Hell by his hand.”

This makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand as I slip from the bed, suddenly needing the weed more than she does. “And you’re comfortable having someone like that be an associate hired toprotectyou?”

“All my guards have taken a life. And he’s more than a killer, that’s why I mentioned it last.”

“Yes, sure. I guess give credit where it’s due. But what about him makes you so sure?” I open the drawer, pulling out the joint already tightly wrapped.

“He made me think of how fiercely my father protected my mother. How when he was with her—with us—he was someone different, someone softer, but still the don. How effortlessly he commanded his army with a hand that was both feared and respected.”

I light the end of the joint, pulling in a deep lungful. The hot herbs fill my lungs and almost immediately span out, coursing through my limbs and warming my body. “Are you saying this new guard gives you the feeling of someone as powerful as your father?”

“Yes,” she deadpans. “And when everything is said and done, I’ll kill him.”

Well, this took a turn.

After another lengthy drag, I return to the bed, handing her the small blunt. “Kill him?”

“He has a power behind him he doesn’t understand. One he was born with. Once he realizes it, do you think he will be content with being a guard? An associate?”

“He’ll want more?”

“He’ll want itall.”

My lips part to ask her how she knows. How she could possibly have any idea about his intentions when she doesn’t even think he knows them himself. But she’s the keenest of us all, and she’s always been good with picking up on others. Hence why we don’t ever question her when she does even the most outlandish things with the sketchiest of people.

And she hasn’t been wrong yet.

Onyx’s eyes grow glossy, the strong herbs mixing with the liquor already coursing through her. It won’t be long now until sleep finds her. “Alright, Boss. We’ll take care of the Murphys and then we’ll kill him. In other news, Maddy found a new toy.”

“Tell me about her. The brunette, right?”

I nod, accepting the joint back and drawing in a deep breath. “Yes. Harlow.”

“Harlow. Is she enough to keep up with her?”

“Not quite sure yet, but I did find her naked, covered in Maddy’s artwork.”

“Hmm.”

I glance down just as Onyx loses her battle with sleep. But it isn’t until I’ve tidied up her room, fixed the crooked pictures of her parents, and cleaned up the alcohol that I find my way back to the twins. When I slip back beneath the sheets, her words echo in my mind, a piece slotting into place of a puzzle I didn’t realize I was putting together.

“He’ll want it all.”

Aheavy rain cloud moves over the estate, hiding the sun that was shining through the tall windows mere moments ago.

Part of me considers it an omen—a visual representation of what I feel inside when I first return to the estate from my night off. But the sickly feeling leaves the moment I smell Russ cooking breakfast.

Unlike the other night, a dozen guards sit at the elongated dining table to the right of the kitchen. All of them are paired up, hunched over in quiet conversations as I pass by, finding my spot near the chef. From the bits and pieces I catch, most of them like to gamble. Horses, boxing matches, football, you name it, and more than a couple of times I have to school my features as I eat at the bar, watching as Russ works around the island.

It’s always baffled me how some people can risk their money on a whim—on a chance with odds so slim it makes my insides itch. But then again, maybe it’s because I’ve never had the money to waste.

Or maybe it’s because I know my luck is shit, and I’ll always lose.

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