Page 92 of Power
“Oww!” I moan, being pulled viciously away from the death grip that Hare has on me, slumped over my back, and bleeding all over my fancy dress.
Dad hauls me into his arms, stroking my hair and turning me away from the corpse Finn just shot right between the eyes.
“Fuck,” I rasp.
“Shh,” Dad says. “It’s okay. You’re okay now.”
Archer and Owen join us, Finn standing on the sidelines as another car pulls into the alley, the headlights turned off.
The three men shove me behind them, forming a wall of defense. I peek around them, obviously too curious for my own damn good, to see the back door open when the car stops a few meters away from the other one.
“Well, we are in a bit of a mess here, aren’t we?” A familiar voice rings out as Laura James walks into view. Her face is a little battered, but she is alive and well and not captured.
“I knew it,” I hiss at my dad, unable to resist shoving him in the back.
He makes an irritated noise at me before he says, “Laura?”
“Hello, Chester.”
She pauses and glares down at Hare’s body. “Thank you for taking care of this for me.” She crouches down and fumbles around the dead body before she finds what she’s looking for. A necklace of some kind, which she clasps around her neck. She admires the pendant and tuts at Finn.
“Your kill, your clean, yes, Mad Hatter?”
“Laura, what the fuck is going on?” Dad growls, taking a step forward.
“If I have to explain it to you, Ches, it’s called a powerplay. You see, I was never going to get anywhere in the House of Hearts, despite having elite blood like you and her.” She nods at me, I want to say derisively, but I’m not quite sure. “She gets Queen, and you get to be on the Court, whereas I am left a mere card in the pack. The House of Spades can give me exactly what I want. I have support, being anelite,and maneuvered myself into a position to claim March Hare and propel up the Spades ladder straight to the top. Power, Chester. It’s all about power.”
“She has it,” I mutter, earning myself a pinch to shut up from Owen.
“I’d hoped to bring Bailey into the fold, but that won’t be an issue in a few months. I will have my own heir, and you will see a shift in the rule. I call a truce on behalf of the Spades. Bailey won’t be under threat from us, but I’ll be seeing you boys. Soon.”
She spins on her heel and slips back into the dark car, which reverses out of the alley, lights still off, and disappears from view.
“Erm…”
“What in the name of hell was that all about?” Dad thunders.
“You tell us!” Archer snaps. “You had no idea?”
“No! Obviously not. I figured he wanted her to swap for me. It’s been well known that they want me to breed with one of their founding descendants to create a new line of pureblood elites.’
“Eww…” I seem only capable of non-words right now. Bile rises in my throat.
“Guess you aren’t needed after all,” Owen pipes up, which makes me shudder at the thought of the woman I knew as Ms. James banging some dude to get pregnant. “Eww…”
“Okay, can you either say something else or be quiet?” Dad asks, getting annoyed with my muttering.
I nod, quite happy to comply. “So does this mean I’m safe?” I venture.
“For now,” Finn says, coming closer and holding the gun out to Dad. “Take this, and don’t ever offer it to Bailey again. You’ve seen what I can do with it.”
“Have you seen whatIcan do with it?”
“Shut up,” I groan. “Why are we having a pissing contest over who can kill the worst? Just stop it.”
“Sorry,” they both mumble, to my surprise.
Power.
