Page 60 of His Queen

Her throat bobs as she swallows.

“You were fucking starving, Vera. It took weeks to get you to eat solid foods. You were left to rot in the dark whenever that fat fucker of a prince had enough of you. You remember that?” I sneer. “How it took months of physical therapy to get your back straight from being hunched and cooped in that cage. You could barely straighten your goddamn legs.”

A tear slips down the side of her face.

“My family took care of you. You’ve never suffered another day in your life after we rescued you from that hell. No man has ever touched you without your consent again.” I tilt my head to the side, disappointment swelling in my chest. “And you repay us by bringing this fucker’s merchandise to our club, giving it to the other girls, and killing Yulie in the process.”

Her bottom lip quivers, but her jaw clenches as she tries to bite back her tears. “Yulie was a bitch, acting like the place belonged to her because she was the popular new girl,” Vera spits out with disgust. “She was the new whore on the block, and everyone wanted a piece of her.” She pins her glare on mine. “I’m glad that bitch is dead.”

I apply pressure, gritting my teeth, the blade’s tip nicking her skin. “I should warn you that I have zero mercy left in me. My wife is gone, and I will slit your throat if it means I get one step closer to her.”

Vera’s mouth curls up at the edges. “He took your wife.”

“Do you know where she is?” Hope swirls in my gut. “You better fucking tell me if you know, Vera.”

She scoffs. “Baby, even if I knew where she was, I would never tell you.”

“Don’t say that.” My control is a tight tether, but as much as rage controls me now, I don’t want it to snap—not with her. “Don’t force my hand.”

“I loved you,” she whispered, and her gaze travels to Alexius. “I loved both of you.”

“Tell me,” I demand in a menacing growl.

“But you threw me away like I was yesterday’s trash!” Her eyes turn violently bright. “All because of the whores you call wives!”

I blink fucking once, and Alexius is behind her, pulling her head back, and I watch as he slices her throat with one clean cut. Blood oozes from her neck, gushing down her front and staining her white blouse. There’s complete silence around us, the only sound that of her gargling as she chokes on her own blood—her eyes wide, distorted as death takes her.

Alexius lets go, and she drops to the floor with a thud. His expression is stern but pained, and for a single breath, my rage makes way for a moment of compassion toward my brother because, fuck, that couldn’t have been easy.

“You okay?”

He’s just staring at Vera’s lifeless body, the thick crimson blood gathering around her, then tosses his knife to the ground, steeling his shoulders. “No one calls our girls whores.”

CHAPTERNINETEEN

MIRABELLA

“You killed him.”Nunzio’s eyes narrow as he spits out his accusation. “If he weren’t trying to touch what’s mine without my consent, I’d be pretty pissed,” he says, crouched beside the body.

“I’m not yours,” I sneer, huddled in the corner, tightly curled into myself.

“While you’re here, you are, birdie.” He waves his hand, and two of his men approach, grabbing the body’s feet. One of them has dark tattoos inked on his throat, spreading all the way to the back of his neck and up his bald head. The other looks like your average nine-to-five Joe with a steady job in marketing, a wife, two kids, and a labrador puppy. Yet he’s here carting out dead bodies.

Nunzio’s lips curl up into a smirk as his fingers lazily trace the contours of his chin. He scans the floor where a splattered trail of blood is left as they drag the body out of the room. “Poor bastard wanted some of your fights, birdie. And he just couldn’t wait his turn.” He heaves a shallow sigh, shakes his head, and shrugs. “I’m glad you killed him. In fact, I find it amusing as fuck. I knew you were a force, but I had no idea you had it in you to take someone’s life. Well fucking done, birdie.”

My stomach churns. “I don’t know what happened,” I whisper, more to myself than him. “I fell asleep, and when I woke up, he was dead.”

“You really can’t remember killing him?”

I shake my head, and Nunzio reaches into his trench coat, pulling out his phone. “Let me show you.”

“What?” My lips quiver.

“Oh, I got it all recorded. The entire thing.”

“You…you have cameras in here?”

“Of course I do.” His cruel, cold eyes study me. “I have all our good times spent in this room over the last two days caught on camera. For my enjoyment, of course.”

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