Page 70 of Broken Queen
“What’s the plan now?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“With the sacrifices. The Syndicate. Everything.”
“I like the sacrifices,” she said. “I’d hate to give those up entirely.”
I clicked my jaw. There was a caveat hanging onto those words.
“But?” I asked.
“But there has to be another way,” she said. “With the two other initiation tasks—killing a rival for the Syndicate and providing services to another random member at no charge—that should be enough to prove your loyalty.”
I lifted my shoulders. “Why not have the Masquerades for fun, then?”
“It’s only fun if there’s an actual risk,” she whined.
“And there can be,” I said, excitement and ideas flooding into my brain. “Everyone has to watch. That’s what makes it high risk: witnesses. Then, instead of killing those rivals as one of the separate initiation tasks, you sacrifice the rivals,” I said. “Or sacrifice people who betray someone from the Syndicate.”
“Like people who deserve it?”
“Yeah,” I paused. “Like that.”
‘People who deserved it’ made it seem justified, but that wasn’t the point. I didn’t care about justice, and I doubt Zira cared about it either. But the idea that the Syndicate members could focus their energies into something more useful seemed like a good adjustment. A better use of time and energy. That was something Zira would like.
“A productive sacrifice,” Zira whispered. “God. Why hasn’t it been that way all along?”
“Who’s the evil genius now?” I smirked.
She smacked my arm playfully, then grabbed Gabby’s urn and stowed it in her purse. Then she threw her arms around my neck.
“What other good ideas do you have?” Zira asked.
My jaw popped before I said the words: “Serving you.”
I kneeled down. The twigs dug into my knees through my jeans, but I didn’t care. I pulled on the edge of her pants, then unbuttoned and pulled the fabric down until her pussy hairs poked out. Even in pants, she still didn’t wear panties. I licked her skin, her hairy mound tickling my tongue, then I growled.
“Is that another good idea?” she whispered.
“My queen, you’re the best idea I’ve ever had,” I said.
Epilogue
ZIRA
one year later
Ever since I was a little girl, I had always dreamed of ruling the Marked Blooms Syndicate. Violence and power were like air and water to me, things I needed to survive, and it seemed logical that sitting on a throne, looking down at it all, was the only place I could possibly thrive.
But in reality, a secret society is still business. And running a business isn’t always easy. But does it eventually become easier? Sure. The Marked Blooms Syndicate was simply a network with the ability to call on other wealthy criminals to help each other out. And what better way to network than to get a bunch of people in the same room and let everyone have their way with their mutual enemies?
A couple with dark hair and gleaming black masks stood to the side of one of the dungeon rooms. Lena and Desmond Callen owned pharmaceutical and medical companies that I loved having access to. And I liked them even better now that Lena was an official Syndicate member. And though I didn’t want children of my own, I had a soft spot for their little one: a boy with dark hair, just like them. But he was with the nanny tonight, and the two of them watched, dressed in black, as another couple took turns screwing one of our enemies from each end. The enemy screamed like a donkey, but it was so invigorating to hear his cries. To know that someone who had tried to steal from the Syndicate was paying for their actions. It filled me with pride.
I waltzed down the corridor, adjusting the sleek black mask against my face, making sure that my crown of rubies and teeth sat on the top of my head. The crown got heavier with teeth and jewels each time Hazard got his hands on it. Kylie and Finn Carter stood off to the side of the ballroom in matching black lace masks. Kylie burrowed her head into Finn’s neck, and he put a beefy arm around her. He owned an assassin company, and I liked having that option at my disposal.
Kylie eyed my stomach, then met my eyes. I knew what she was thinking, even if she didn’t say it. She had recently had a third child and had inquired several times as to whether or not Hazard and I would have any of our own. Hazard and I were married now, but I wasn’t pregnant. I had my surgery long before I met Hazard, but even back then, I had my eggs stored in case I changed my mind. For now, that wasn’t in the cards for us.
In a way, every member of the Syndicate was our child, and we wanted to make sure they blossomed in their own sadistic ways.
