Page 39 of Brutal Queen

Her hands ball into fists in the front of my shirt and she’s pulling me with her as she leans back into the flatbed of the pick-up. Breaking our kiss, I hop up onto the tailgate and stand, leaning down to grip her by the wrists and drag her further into the truck.

“The only thing I am is yours. Yours and Benny’s,” I growl, diving back down to her and covering her in the weight of me. “If I am a monster, then I’m yours to command. I would never hurt you, phoenix.” I dip my head and watch as she arches her back when my breath dances across the shell of her ear. “Unless you wanted me to.”

She moans at my words and just as I move my knee between her thighs to encourage them open, the loud chirping of her phone ringing interrupts us.

“Fuck,” I mutter, dropping my head to the floor beside her, while she giggles. She tries to push me off her so she can answer it, but I refuse to move.

“Come on, Nico. It could be important,” she whines playfully.

“You know I love it when you beg,” I reply, rolling off her.

“It’s Sin,” she says before answering the call.

“You know we can see you, right?” A tinnier version of Sinclair rings out from the speakerphone. “Etta has a secure feed streaming to the house right now. A feed that not only Enzo, Benny and myself are watching but also Stefano.”

Aurora blushes, and I start laughing. “Oopsie.”

“Yeah, well. Etta just called. She’s done at the safe house, so I’ve sent her and her team your way since you seem to be all wrapped up there.”

“Thank you, Sin,” Aurora says. “We’ll head out as soon as they arrive. We’ll be home soon. Tell Stefano to stay until we get back. I want to talk to him about Manny’s information.”

“Yes, boss.” There’s an awkward pause before he clears his throat. “You okay, Nico? That can’t have been easy to hear.”

“I’m good,” I reply, probably a little too quickly before adding, “but… I appreciate you looking out for me.”

She hangs up before he can say anything else and takes my hand in hers. She traces her index finger along the veins on the back of my hand before lacing her fingers between mine. “Are you okay?”

I take a long breath. I should be angry. I should be lost in a sea of confusion and rage. The old Nico would be smashing this place to pieces. Raging about the lies and the secrets and how yet again I’m the monster that everyone has always feared I am.

But I’m not. I’ve spent years being treated like an outcast by nearly everyone. Years being feared for my size, my anger, my violence. But that didn’t stop Mateo making sure there was a place for me. The more I think about it, the more I appreciate that Mateo always had my back, especially when he placed me in Enzo’s team. He always knew what I was, who I was. Yet he trusted me to turn it around and be loyal.

That means something.

I can’t wrap my head around everything. But knowing that Mateo had faith in me is enough right now.

“Yes, phoenix.” I stroke her jaw and her eyes flutter closed. “I woke up this morning the bastard son of a mafioso. Nothing has changed. What about you?”

She looks up and shrugs with a wistful sigh. “I woke upthis morning with one goal—to kill Manny Ferella. I should feel some sense of achievement, but I don’t.”

“Manny’s death was inevitable. Now that he’s gone, we can focus on what really matters,” I say, my expression lifting and a smile taking a firm grip of my features.

“And that is?”

I lean in close till our lips are a millimetre apart. “Making you a widow, phoenix.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

ENZO

FIVE WEEKS LATER…

Ihear the creak of the stairs and smile. Aurora is awake and most likely coming to find me. On the nights she sleeps with the guys in Sinclair’s room, she always comes to find me when she gets up.

The times I’ve had to pop in to wake one of them, I’ve noticed how at peace they all look in each other's arms. I’m ashamed to admit that I’m jealous of their bond, but I’m not ready to share what I’m exploring with Aurora yet. They have a level of ease with each other that I barely have with myself. When I’m alone, sleep is restless and punctuated by nightmares. The only nights I sleep through past dawn are when Aurora entwines herself around me.

Those are the nights I feel truly at peace.

Otherwise, I’m tormented with images of every implementMax tortured me with. I feel the searing pain of his blades, the burn of the cattle prod and the clouds of confusion that settle on me like a weighted blanket when my nightmares mimic the drug addled state he kept me in.

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