Page 33 of Queen of Madness

Onyx doesn’t seem offended but instead places the card flat on the desk and interlocks her fingers. “You deem me a villain.”

Again, she’s not asking, but I decide to answer. “I do.”

“Have I done something to you?”

“You may as well have.” I cross my arms over my chest. I know I was thinking of diving between her thighs just moments ago, but that doesn’t diminish the deep loathing I have for what those in the Mafia do. “You supply drugs and guns to the community. You stake claim on land that people have purchased with their hard-earned money. You ruin lives.”

“I have saved hundreds.”

“And that absolves you of your sins? You rescue women. Yes, that’s honorable, but what about the other shit you do?” I feel my body begin to warm, images of my comatose mother on the kitchen floor fueling my loose tongue. I may be ruining everything—risking it all in a moment of anger—but I can’t stop the words from spilling out.

Onyx studies me, no doubt reading the internal battle written over my face. I’ve always done well to hide obvious emotions, but I’ve also never confronted the root of my problems. Granted, she may not be the one who started them, but it’s those like her that did. “You give mothers and fathers easy access to fill their addictions that make them choose drugs over their children.”

“I force no drugs down anyone’s throat. They buy them willingly. And if not from me, from someone else. At least with me, they know their drug won’t be laced.”

“And that makes it better?” My eyes are wide with disbelief, the iconic look ofare you kidding mescrunching up my features.

Still, she remains calm. “No, but you’re a fool if you think I’m not the lesser evil. And an even bigger fool if you think there shouldn’t be two to choose from.”

I guffaw, scratching my hairline before running a frustrated hand through my hair. “You still allow teens the abil—”

“Any of my dealers who knowingly gives drugs to anyone under the age of legal adulthood is murdered on sight. Everyone knows it’s something I don’t tolerate.” A hardness takes over her delicate but fierce eyes, and I realize there’s a story in there she has no intention of letting me read.

“You aid people in killing others.” I’m reaching now, I know, but fuck if I can’t stop talking. I need to keep this strained wall I have up, guarding me against seeing her as anything other than a don.

“Think of what you’re saying. I can kill you with the books on my shelves over there. With the clip on your suspender. With this pinkie nail.” She holds up said nail, displaying the black painted acrylic shining with dark stones. “If someone wants another person dead, they’ll figure out a way. A gun would be far less painful. Death by a bullet is honestly a mercy. Something I, myself, don’t grant those who cross me.”

It isn’t until Onyx’s shoulders relax that I realize she was even tense. I struck a chord, making her uncomfortable, and I store the knowledge away.

“The people living within this estate would die for me forty times over, and they would do the same if what we do here was threatened in any way. Embros Hearts is our mission. Yes, we are funded by means you may deem immoral, though even that’s a debatable perspective at best.”

“So you save women.”

“I do.”

I recall Cat and wonder if Shi and Maddy are the same. “Did you rescue Maddy?”

“Everyone here is a survivor of something.”

She could help me.

She’ll kill you.

But the moment I used to contemplate trading my life for the possibility of her help was fleeting, crashing into the flames of her next words.

“You’ve helped me sniff out a rat. And now, I have to make sure there are no others. As I’ve said, we are running checks, but it’s not enough. I’ll make a bloody example of the one, and in turn, this will force any others to make their moves. What those moves are, I’m not sure, but I’ll need you ready. You haven’t been here long, but please see to it that you use your time to explore the grounds, get to know all those that work here. On your days off, visit my clubs, casinos, and bars. Wear the uniformed jacket with the Q and heart on the sleeve. It will grant you access everywhere, including the VIP areas.”

Onyx stands, seemingly finished with our meeting that’s left my mind conflicted. She’s giving me access to everything. Not because she necessarily trusts me, but because she’s lost trust in everyone else.

That’s what the Murphys wanted.

They had to have known the assassination attempt would fail. They wanted the guard caught. They wanted her to lose trust and question her army’s loyalties.

And they did exactly that.

Onyx moves around her desk, coming to stand in front of it, a few inches away from me. She leans her hips into the edge of her desk, accentuating her curves even more. My eyes move of their own accord, raking down her frame and replacing the fabric with the bare skin I saw the other night.

Heat flares in my gut, the air suddenly too thin and leaving my breaths unfulfilling. But I do my best to keep my expression placid as I gaze up.

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