Regal Queen by Ivy Mason

 

One

Two lifeless bodiesin the room, one of them covered with a sheet.

Still. Unmoving.

So motionless that I wanted to roar. To scream. To smash everything in the room just to let out the raging agony that was thrashing through my chest like a trapped animal, frantic to escape.

I clutched my hands into fists, my nails digging into skin, the sharp pain a reminder that I had to keep control over my emotions.

A man who was in control was a man in charge.

Except…

…

I was never in charge. Not really. Because he was dead, wasn’t he?

The one person who took care of me for the last several years.

Another person carved from their life, another victim of my world.

Another person I didn't protect.

The helplessness was overwhelming.

They drug him through my house, dumping him right inside the hallway to my wing, the first thing I would see when I finally had the chance to go after her. His fingers were smashed, as if they’d stomped on them to keep him from using his gun or phone. His body was beaten black and blue, then riddled with bullet holes. The one in the dead center of his head was what made me burn inside.

He'd still been alive but somehow I knew that Dimitri looked Grant in the eyes when he put a bullet to his head.

That knowledge kept me raging, the ability stay awake even though I hadn’t slept in three days. We’d managed to bring him here, but I hadn’t had the courage to do anything after the doctor embalmed his body.

It’d been that long since Dimitri showed up in my own fucking house and took what belonged to me.

Rose.

I needed her right now, God, did I need her. She was the only thing that could keep me sane. But that asshole had taken her and who the hell knew what the sadistic bastard was doing with her.

The only hope I had was the sound of that fucking annoying beeping machine, a constant blare of noise in the background. If I could, I would smash the machine to tiny pieces. But it was the only thing keeping Coulter alive, the soft sound of his labored breath making me cling to my faith like a long lost lover.

He was alive, teetering on the edge between life and death.

The whisper of cloth made me blink, and I straightened, leaning back into the sofa we'd set up next to Coulter's bed. My vision was blurry as I looked towards the doorway to see the man in a white coat enter the room. I wasn't familiar with this place, as we'd left the King mansion to hole up at Dante's house, but the room was adequate. It was set up similar to the one we had at my house with enough medical equipment to keep someone alive for several weeks.

“How's the patient?" The stern looking doctor brushed by me, business-like. "Any changes?”

I shook my head, my voice gruff. "No."

He only grunted in return, not paying me any attention, his focus fully on Coulter now.

Unable to watch the lifeless body of my brother, I turned to stare at Dante, whose form filled the doorway. His hands were in his pockets, his shoulders slumped, but his gaze didn't leave Coulter, not even when the stiffening of his back indicated he noticed I was staring at him.

His expression was fierce, as if by his very glower, he could make Coulter rise up from the bed and walk again like Lazarus from the bible.

“He's not dead," I growled, not liking the way he was looking at Coulter. Coulter was going to live, if I had to drag him from hell kicking and screaming myself.

Only when I spoke did Dante's gaze shift to me. "I know that."

“Then wipe that pitiful look off your face."

Dante's eyebrows pulled together in a deep scowl, his lips parting but no words came out. Instead, they clamped back together and he wiped his face of all emotion. "Yes, sir."

I shifted my feet, allowing the doctor space as he moved to the other side of Coulter's bed. "Where were you?" The words I'd longed to say from the minute I saw him. “You were supposed to protect him."

"So were you." He met my gaze defiantly.

"I was in the room with him, you asshole." I didn't say the words burning in my mind. That the bullets had been meant for me. That the reason Coulter was lying almost dead in this room was because he stepped in front of me, taking the hits meant for me.

My little brother finally stepped up, and at the worst possible moment.

I was going to ream his ass out for it when he finally woke.

"I was chasing down the Bratva, if you must know." His voice was a hiss. “Under Coulter's own orders. All while you were chasing some ass."

I was on him in a second, my hand locked around his throat as I slammed him against the wall. “Say one more disrespectful thing about her and you will lose your tongue."

Dante's jaw worked, his gaze still defiant but he bit down on his words, instead nodding respectfully. I gave him one last threatening glare before I let him loose, turning my back on him.

We were all at fault here, and blaming Dante wouldn’t bring Coulter to life.

The room fell into silence as I watched the doctor work, and Dante stepped to my side, the moment forgotten between us.

After several long minutes, the doctor finally turned back to us. “His vitals look good. I've done what I can, and so far, everything looks the same. There’s nothing more I can do."

I shook my head. "I need you to fix him."

The doctor gave me a stern look. “There's nothing more I can do.”

“Then do something else.” I pulled out the gun at my back and trained it at him. The doctor straightened, his eyes meeting mine.

“I can pretend to work on him but the truth is, he needs time to heal. Let his body do want it's supposed to do. I have the confidence that he'll recover from this, if he's allowed to rest."

His words made sense but the frantic voice inside me wanted to scream at him to fix Coulter and make him wake up, no matter what it took. The only thing keeping me calm was the knowledge deep inside that screaming wouldn't help Coulter.

That I needed to keep my shit together, for him.

I needed to be better this time, in the way that I hadn't been when Lily died.

“Fine.” Grinding my teeth and still staring into his eyes, I gave him a curt nod, lowering my weapon.

The doctor took that as acceptance, and he glanced at Grant’s dead body, his voice hesitant now. "And the other body?"

"Grant," I grit out. "His name was Grant."

“Would you like me to bring someone in to prepare Grant's body for burial?”

Again, I bit down on my tongue. I was so exhausted, I was loosing my mind. I wanted to tell him that Grant wasn’t dead. He wasn't even sleeping.

Grant never slept, he was always there for me when I needed him.

Even if we didn't talk much about our personal lives, I knew he had a girlfriend. A twelve year old daughter. More blood on my hands, just like Lily.

Just like all the rest of the blood spilt, all in the name of the fabulous King dynasty.

If Rose were here, she’d tell me to pull the stick out of my ass and take care of things.

I nodded again, unable to speak the words for fear of the agony spilling out from inside me.

The doctor nodded and left the room, letting me know he would send someone by soon to take care of it, as well as the nurse to check in on Coulter again later.

As soon as he was gone, I walked back to Coulter's side, doing a visual check over his body to make sure the doctor hadn’t missed anything. When I didn’t see anything wrong, I slumped back onto the sofa, sighing heavily and running my hand through my hair. God, what a clusterfuck.

"Rose?" I managed to grunt out.

Dante came to sit next to me. “We found them."

"Where?"

"They're returned to his estate Bykovo, it's a city outside of Moscow."

I scowled. "I know where that is, it's his stronghold. Did they all make it there?"

"Yes, all three of them, though Coulter's mom wasn't tied up like Knight and Rose were."

"How did Rose look?"

A chuckle burst from Dante. "She was fighting them like a spitfire."

I grinned. Of course.

"And Knight?" I felt obligated to ask about him, even though I didn't know him very well.

At this, Dante's voice grew more subdued. "He wasn’t fighting back, but he didn't look happy about it either."

“Do you think he betrayed us?"

"No. Never."

I cocked my head to the side. "Would Coulter say the same thing?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation in his voice, no doubt.

Fuck. I ran my hand through my hair again, the need to leave here and rescue my woman was so strong, but the beep in the background were the reminder that if Coulter woke up and I wasn't here... if Coulter died and I wasn’t by his side... I would never forgive myself.

"Are you one hundred percent certain Rose is okay?"

"She looked a little roughed up but, otherwise, she was fine."

I nodded, intuition telling me that she had information Dimitri wanted, and that was why he'd bought her in the first place.

Her defiance would keep her alive, for now.

At this reassurance, I turned to to stare at Coulter. His skin was pale, his face clammy. Sweat pooled on his forehead, making the edges of his hair wet.

I stood up, walking to the sink to grab a washcloth. After wetting it and wringing it out, I walked back over to Coulter, wiping him down. The nurse had mostly cleaned off his blood but there were still streaks of it and antiseptic across his chest.

After wiping his brow, I began to clean the rest of him off.

"Bourbon, there's something I need to tell you."

The hesitation in Dante's voice was a first but I didn't answer him, just waited for the ax to fall.

"That night, I took Danny in.”

"Danny?"

“The pusher that met with the Bratvas at Luna Azzurro"

I nodded, briefly recognizing the name now. "What did he say?"

Dante took in a deep breath and I scowled, irritated by his reluctance. Grant was never hesitant like this, just telling me what I needed to hear, when I needed to hear it.

"Just rip off the fucking band-aid, already, Dante." I growled out.

"According to him, Nero gave him permission to sell at the Luna Azzurro."

“What?!” I turned to stare at him.

He met my gaze with a certainty that I knew he was confident with the news and betrayal stabbed me in the gut. I clenched my teeth, trying to keep a tight rein on my emotions.

Why the fuck I was surprised with this information? There was a reason why we were here, and not at my own home.

I didn't trust Nero. And now I had proof to the fact.

“And?" I bit out.

"I looked into it. I spoke with his uncle, Armando.”

"I know who Armando is," I interrupted.

"And it's true. Nero contacted Armando a week before all this happened. Told him to have his runners meet the Bratvas at Luna Azzurro so they could make contact, start selling the ozone there. He said he thought you and Coulter knew.”

"So Nero went behind my back and brokered a deal with Dimitri." I hated the bitterness in my voice but I hated that man even more.

“Yes."

I stared Dante down, pushing my next words out, even though I loathed to say them.

"Dante, did my father know that I was with Rose that night?”

Dante pressed his lips into a firm line but he gave me a short nod. "I believe so. I believe that Lucy had been working behind the scenes. She’d been told to watch out for Rose entering your home.”

“How do you know this?”

This time, his throat bobbed. “One of your guards owed her for a blow job. He contacted her when he saw on the video after you brought Rose through the gate. I think she went to Luna Azzuro to warn Coulter that they were coming in, but when he blew her off…”

My thoughts were stuck on his initial words; I didn’t give a fuck about Lucy, she was a traitor. But, apparently, so was John, the man who watched the cameras located at the gate. He was one of my inside men, someone whom I trusted to let me know what was going on in the house. Also, apparently, a traitor.

And all for a fuckin blow job.

“What happened to John?”

“He’s dead.”

I nodded, but his words didn’t bring me the relief I needed. Instead, the stab of betrayal inside me grew to a fever pitch.

I have four sons, and no need for all of them.

My father’s words, and Dimitri’s, as well, before he pulled the trigger meant for me.

So, my father lived up to his promise.

Coulter's mother hadn't betrayed us. All this had been played out, exactly as Nero had planned.

My own father had given Dimitri permission to kill me.

My own fucking father.

I always knew it was a possibility that he would kill me one day, but for some reason, I thought he would look me in the eyes when he did it.

But I was just a bug to him. A gnat that he could swat away.

The betrayal stabbed so deep that I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. The world swirled around me and I had to clutch at Coulter to keep on my feet.

A low groan escaped from deep with in my throat, from deep within my soul.

Once again, my father was attempting to erase someone from the history books, and that person was me.

His own flesh and blood.

And now, I had no one. Rose was gone, Coulter lying on his death bed. Grant, gone.

My mother, gone.

I clenched my eyes shut, shutting out the rest of the world. Shutting out Dante, who was saying something to me, a look of concern on his face.

Shut out the whole fucking world.

Shut. It. Out.

And then there was a quiet noise, so soft I was surprised I could hear it through the clamoring, roaring in my mind.

So quiet and yet, the sound was a hurricane of force that broke through my thoughts. It made the spinning stop and my eyes blink open as I stared down at the body under me.

"Bourbon?"

Gentle hands clasped mine.

It was Coulter, and he was touching my hands, clasping them, giving me comfort.

The guy was struggling to live and yet, he was worried about me.

An anguished cry escaped me, mixed with unbelievable happiness.

Coulter was awake.