Page 21 of Broken Queen
“What’s so funny?” I asked, tilting my head. Tension pulsed between my temples. Her dress cascaded down her legs, ending at her calves.
“You say that like your sister didn’t have a choice. But no one comes here without a reason. They’re given a contract. An option to say ‘no,’” she said, twisting the knife deeper inside of my gut. “She made the choice to be here.”
The image of my hands wrapped around Zira’s neck filled my mind, blood shooting to my groin, but I shook that away.
Perhaps Zira had a point.
“And yet, I still try to find her,” I said.
“Why do you care?”
I snapped my jaw closed. It didn’t matter why I cared. I brushed the sentiment away and sent the focus right back to her.
“Why don’t you care?” I mused. I raised a brow, waiting for her response. She dragged a hand down her chest, right near that little hint of cleavage, her small breasts smashed together, desperate for my hands. A vein pounded in her neck. I imagined pressing against it, her heart throbbing beneath my tongue.
“Even if I did know about your sister, you’re a smart man, Hazard. Everything here is business. I’m not going to give information away for free,” she winked. “Tell me, what do I get by helping you find her?”
Her tongue flicked over her lips like a snake, and I wanted her pussy muscles to coil around my dick like a boa constrictor while I clamped my teeth on her neck. She was a clever, manipulative little bitch. And damn it all to hell, I wanted her.
“And what would make Queen Zira happy enough to give me a little information?” I asked. “I’m all ears, love. Ready to bow down and obey you.”
Her bright white teeth peeled back, showing off her practiced grin. She was perfection, from the top of her curly hair to the tip of her painted toenails, and she knew it.
“You’ll think of something,” she said. Then she stood up, stretching her arms above her head, her push-up bra squeezing her tits together.
She disappeared through the dungeon equipment, flickering away like a sunset through a forest. I watched her disappear, then turned back to the bench. A puddle of her need pooled on the leather, and I scooped up what I could with my hand, then sniffed it. Jesus christ. It was like a syrupy perfume. I licked it up, groaning as I did. Sweet, with a mild hint of citrus. She was like the devil herself, full of forbidden nectar and temptation and the fucking divine.
But what did the devil want?
CHAPTER 6
Hazard
I drove down the long driveway of the Bloom Estate, and a private security car rolled by, scouting me out. The car didn’t have those red and blue lights I was used to, but suddenly, I was back in that recurring dream, where sirens blended in with vomit spilling on the asphalt. Our parents had only been gone for mere minutes when they crashed a few blocks from our trailer. Gabby and I had no idea the sirens were for them, until the neighbor came banging on our door.
Gabby tried to cover my eyes, but she couldn’t stop herself from puking her guts out, and I stared at those mashed bodies like I was hypnotized, even when the cops tried to hide the horror. Their flesh dirtied the pavement like fruit pulp caked inside of a muddler, and the violence of it was stunning, like a sublime masterpiece. I couldn’t look away.
They had barely even left the house.
Even as I drove down those precious roads in Opulent Gates, I was well aware of the sporadic nature of it all. A freak accident could take my life at any second, so I made sure I got what I wanted. And right then, I wanted Zira on her knees in front of me, telling me what happened to my sister.
So what did you get for a queen who had everything at her fingertips?
I took my truck in the opposite direction of my motel, and found myself driving through Fairview, the one percenter city. A classy bar was off to the side, complete with a warehouse aesthetic, as if the gray beams made it trendy and modern.
Settling in at the bar, I glanced around, my fingers twitching to do something. I popped my jaw, and the bartender gagged in her mouth before coming over to me.
“What can I get for you?” she asked.
I scanned the beer taps, too many to be a respectful establishment, but then I saw him right past the bar—that white-haired spiky mad scientist type who had groped Zira at the Masquerade before taking his turn with the guillotine’s remote. I hadn’t even spoken to her yet back then, but seeing him now put a sour taste in my mouth, like flakes of dried skin catching on my tongue.
He had touched her like she was a cow to be milked, and I hadn’t even skimmed my fingertips over her damn arms yet.
“Sir?” the bartender asked, all formal and shit.
I met her eyes and chuckled. Sir. That was the kind of thing they called you in a wealthy city, but that wasn’t me. I gestured at the first tap available.
“Biggest one you got,” I said.
