Page 42 of Queen of Hell

“I-it’s okay, Kenz. I-I can’t say I really blame you. You’ve been friends for so long now, and have been through so much together, it was bound to happen at some point, right?” I say with a small shrug. “I really like you, Kenz, but I would never get in the way of that. I’ll stay out of the way until we leave and you won’t have to worry about me once we get back to WinterHill,” I stand up and turn to walk out the kitchen, but before I can take a step towards the door Kenzi grips my arm with a growl and spins me so I’m standing between her legs.

“What are you doing, Angel?” She asks me, moving her hands to my waist and holding me in front of her.

“I-I was g-going back up to my room?” It comes out sounding like a question because, honestly, I have no idea what I should be doing right now, and she tilts her head as a small smile touches her lips before dropping into a frown.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it, Poppy,” she says as her hands tighten on my waist. “Now, answer the question.”

I take a deep breath to try and get my thoughts in some sort of order, but having her hands on me has my brain turning to jelly and I can’t seem to find a starting point.

“I don’t know,” I say with a sigh, as my head drops and my shoulders slump, and I give in to the truth of my situation. “I have no idea what's going on, Kenzi. I have all these thoughts and feelings tumbling around in my head, and I may be new to all this, but I know I’m no match for what you obviously have with Xave.” My head drops once more as I feel a blush make its way up my face and I continue quietly. “I am so confused about everything, Kenz. You, Xave, evenmyself, and I have no idea what to do about any of it.”

As the tears start to fall from my eyes at the overwhelming feelings of frustration at my own inexperience, Kenzi lifts my chin and pulls me flush against her pressing her lips to mine softly.

“Fuck, don’t cry. Xave is so much better at this kind of thing than me, it makes me want to get real stabby when you cry, Angel,” she says when she pulls back, wiping my tears away with her thumbs and my eyes widen slightly with shock causing her to let out a low chuckle. “Don’t look too surprised. Have you forgotten who I am already?”

I shake my head at her, letting a small smile tilt my lips before they drop and my brows furrow as I think of how to best order my thoughts.

“What’s happening between us, Kenzi?” I ask her quietly. “Yesterday, you said… And then we… but then Xave came in, and you two… Ugh!” I say, becoming more and more frustrated at myself as the words just fail to come. My head drops again as my face heats with frustration and embarrassment.

Gods! I’m so fucking pathetic. Why in the world would she want anything to do with me?I don’t realise I’ve said it aloud until Kenzi grips my chin and forces my head up with a low growl.

“You are not pathetic, Poppy Marks. I don’t ever want to hear you speak like that again, otherwise it won’t just be Xave delivering your punishments,” I can’t stop my shiver at her words, and she smiles when she sees me tremble. “Now, let’s get a few things cleared up so you have no confusion about what is going on with us, Angel. Firstly, I’m not letting you go. You can try to run as many times as you like, but I will always catch you. You are mine, Poppy Marks. Do you understand?” She dips her head so she can look into my eyes, determination at getting me to see the truth of her words shining out of the bright blue orbs. I nod my head slightly and she smiles at me before continuing.

“Good girl. Okay, now, let's move on to Xave. Yesterday was the first time I haveevercrossed that line with Xave, I have you to thank for that by the way,” she chuckles. “But that doesn’t take away from what I have with you. Xave also likes you, and unless I read your reactions wrong last night, I’m pretty sure you like him too.” My face heats even more at her statement and I try to drop my head, sure that I am as red as I feel, but Kenzi’s grip on my chin stops me. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Angel,” she tells me. “I know how confused you must be right now, but you have no need to worry. It is possible for you to like more than one person at a time, and honestly, there would probably be less cheating and divorce if society wasn’t so hell bent on judging and shoving people into its stupid little boxes and just let them love whoever they wanted,” she says, shaking her head before looking at me with another smile. “If you want to be with Xave as well as be with me, I’m not going to stop you. He can give you something that I can’t, and I know watching you two would be hot as fucking hell.” She says as her eyes go hooded, which sets my imagination into overdrive.

“Gods, this is all so much, so fast. I’m scared, Kenz,” I tell her as I sigh. “What if I take a chance on all of this and it all just ends up falling down around me?”

“You’ve got nothing to be scared of. You’ll never know how something will go if you never try, and I told you, I’m not going anywhere. And, if I know Xave as well as I think I do, then neither is he. We’ll follow your direction. You are in control here,” she says before she pulls me in to kiss me again, threading her hand through my hair and angling my head the way she wants me.

My hands grip on to her waist and I get lost in the taste of her as her tongue explores my mouth, but all too soon, she’s pulling back and letting out a small growl of frustration before she chuckles. “I’m seriously over getting interrupted, but that’s the food and you need to eat,” she says, as my stomach decides that it’s the perfect time to remind me that I missed breakfast and lets out a loud grumble.

She jumps up and makes her way to the front of the house to grab the delivery, so I go round the island to grab some cutlery and glasses. Then I grab the jug of water from the fridge and place it all on the island. I hear Kenzi shout to Xave from the bottom of the stairs before she starts making her way back towards the kitchen.

I take a seat and think about what Kenzi said as I wait for her to get back. I’m still so scared of everything going wrong, but she does have a point. How will I ever know if I don’t even try? I let a small smile touch my lips as something settles inside me, and I decide to actually try for once in my life. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but it’s time to finally start being the person that I want to be, and not who others expect me to be.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

KENZI

Ipull the truck up to the wall surrounding Joseph Hamilton’s property. This guy is as corrupt as they come, the file Xave had given me to read through last night proving to me just how much of a bad man he is, and I needed to put a stop to his nefarious activities.

The giggles start up in my head as I think back to some of the things I found out about Joseph last night. Xave had managed to gather quite a bit of information on him in the time he had, including offshore accounts worth millions, and evidence of bribes and communication with some of the nastiest criminals in the country. Not only is this fucking scumbag working with even worse scumbag criminals, using his standing as a politician to get them introductions with other high profile people to spread their disease of corruption on to, he has also been buying drugs and girls from those same criminals in order to satisfy his disgusting urges.

Xave hasn’t managed to trace where the girls have been coming from yet, but he’s still working on it, and once he finds out whoever it is that thinks they can reopen the skin trade in my city, I am going to take great pleasure in showing them exactly why no one took up that particular mantle after I dealt with Moreno.

But the others are now all on my kill list, just waiting for me to cross them off and rid the world of more arseholes that don’t deserve to be alive.

I slip on my mask before I grab my bag and jump out of the truck, going round to the bed and jumping up so that I can climb on the truck’s roof and get my short arse over the wall. Joseph Hamilton doesn’t have any neighbours and Xave has disabled his security cameras by putting them on a loop, so I don’t have to worry about being seen, but I need to get in, get what I can out of this fucker, and then choke him on his own dick before Xave’s clean up crew arrives.

I tie a rope around one of the metal spikes and lower myself over the other side of the wall before jumping down silently and making my way through the large back garden and up to the back door. I pick the lock on the door easily and enter the huge kitchen, silently closing the door behind me. It’s late and Joseph should be tucked up in his bed after drowning himself in cheap whisky, which will only make my job that much easier.

I make my way through the house on light feet and reach the foyer, slowly making my way up the stairs and listening for any indication that Joseph Hamilton is not where he should be. I don’t hear a thing until I reach the top and start making my way down the landing, hearing quiet snoring coming from behind the slightly ajar door of his bedroom.

I push the door open and stand in the doorway to take in the scene before me. Joseph Hamilton’s bedroom is large, with a wall of windows on one side that is letting in the light of the moon allowing me to see the large bed in the middle of the room with Joseph sleeping soundly.

I move up to the side of it, placing my bag on the floor by my feet and watch him for a few seconds. He has flung the duvet off himself and lays in the middle of the sheets in just a pair of boxers. He looks peaceful in sleep, like he hasn’t got a care in the world, and I smile to myself at the fact that I am just about to change all that and make him pay for his disgusting crimes.

I open the bag and get to work, pulling out three long black restraints. They are made of leather with a buckle at one end and are long enough to wrap around the bed in order to tie him down. I roll them out under the bed, throwing the ends I’ve got on my side over his body and moving round to the other side of the bed to secure them nice and tight.

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