Regal Queen by Ivy Mason

Three

Seething rage pulsed through me,the monster growing bigger and bigger ever since the day Rose kissed me, then voluntarily walked away from me and into Dimitri's underworld.

I fed my raging monster as I watched Coulter struggle to take in a breath, his blood pouring from the wounds in his chest, almost dying in my arms.

It grew when I discovered that my own father had sold me out. When I knew I was no longer ‘useful’ to him, when his deal for more power and more money from Dimitri was more of an enticement than his own flesh and blood.

And then the monster raged and beat his chest when my men brought Rose to me, beaten to a pulp, her whole body so destroyed that I hadn’t recognized her at first.

And now, it was pacing, pacing inside me, rabid but, forcibly, composed.

Patience wasn't exactly my strongest suit, but I knew when to keep my cards close to my chest, and now was one of those times. We were hidden, not only from Dimitri but we were also staying out of Nero's sights.

My contacts in the house, the very few men I trusted, reported that Nero was seething. Pacing the rooms, breaking things and yelling at everyone, demanding to know where we were.

My caution and patience had given us an advantage over Dimitri when we attacked his house, even though his security was ten times stronger than we were. And now, I was determined to keep that same carefulness to get what we wanted.

Revenge.

Dimitri’s death was the only thing I craved right now.

No one hurt Rose and lived.

I was going to kill the asshole, going to watch the life drain from his eyes, slowly, painfully.

The motherfucker had gotten away, escaping through underground tunnels the minute our bombs went off, leaving his men behind to destroy his drug lab and anything else we could use against him.

We weren't working with the force of the King name, but fortunately, I'd prepared for Nero’s eventual betrayal.

I made contacts outside of the family and funneled money to offshore accounts that he didn't know about. I also made certain to know everything about his security, who was a company man and who could be swayed to my side.

I also had backup security outside of the contracted company he used, provided by the Hearts out of New York.

Those were the men I'd used to invade Dimitri's house, and they'd been good men.

Dimitri’s soldiers had held us off for a while, but the ex-military men the Heart's provided were used to working in small groups against large armies of men. Slowly and methodically, we'd gotten through their main defenses, able to rescue both Rose and Knight before their counter-attack pushed us to escape.

Now we were at my mother's home, the last piece I had of her, and the least likeliest place Dimitri would come looking for us. I stood in her old room, keeping watch over where both Rose and Coulter recovered.

My chest stifling and aching, I looked on as Coulter held her, himself still weak from the attack because he'd insisted he go in with us. Now his arm was flung around her, pressing her to him tight, and she was clinging to him like he was a lifeline in an ocean of pain.

I'd given them both light sedatives and still, they clung to each other, even though they were both knocked out.

I tried to calm the anger and jealousy billowing in my chest, the need to pull Rose from his arms and kiss her gently, touch her like the precious creature that she was. Then my eyes fell to the missing part of Rose's finger and the monster inside me snarled, wild and enraged, beating at my insides to be let out.

My emotions were all over the place.

I wanted to fuck her, to take out my rage and anger on her body. To make her pay for the agony she put me through. I’d been worried about her. Worried she was abused, raped, … dead.

I wanted to hold her in my arms, tenderly worship every inch of her skin, whispering all the things I’d held back. To show her in every action, every deed, every thought how much she meant to me. How I’d longed for her every minute of every day since she disappeared from my life.

No, ever since she blew into my world like a hurricane.

I wanted to carve my name in Dimitri’s forehead then dig his eyes out with a spoon and shove them down his throat. To light his whole world on fire, and kill every single person associated with his name.

I was so fucked in the head and it wasn’t right for me to be around Rose. She deserved love and kindness, not more pain and suffering.

Coulter could give that to her.

The only part of my mind that had an ounce of control whispered the words that made my heart squeeze in my chest. Words that were right. Words that I hated with all my being but that I knew to be true.

I'd almost lost everything that mattered to me, and I didn't want to risk loosing it again.

I wouldn't fight with Coulter anymore, I would give him what he wanted.

Even though it would kill me inside, I would take a step back and let them be together.

He'd stepped in front of a wall of bullets for me, stepping up to be the brother I'd always wanted, and I owed him for that.

He'd been willing to give his life for mine, and the least I could do for him was to let him be happy.

And maybe when all this was finished, when we'd killed Dimitri, I would share the plans Grant and I had made for them: a new identity and a place to live, far from this life.

"Bourbon." Dante's voice interrupted my thoughts, speaking to me from the doorway.

“Tell me.” I didn’t turn to look at him, keeping my eyes glued to Rose and Coulter.

“Knight is awake."

“Did you talk to him?”

“Yes. But he wants to talk to you.”

I took one last look at the two, then turned on my heel, pushing away all emotion as I walked towards the door.

We all hoped that Knight might have information about Dimitri, anything we could use to find the bastard who was going to die by my hands.

Dante followed behind me to the room down the hall, where Knight was resting. We'd had to amputate two of Knight's fingers and one of his toes, they were swollen and completely black from severe frostbite. He'd been kept in solitary confinement in a room so far apart from the others that it had taken us an unusually long time to find him.

By then, Dimitri’s men were beginning to push us out, taking back their stronghold on the estate. We were lucky enough to find Knight and escape with our lives intact.

"Knight, you look like shit." His easygoing, flirty look was gone, replaced with dark circles under his eyes and cuts and bruises all over him.

His lips twisted up in a half smile and when he spoke, his voice was ragged. "Thanks for coming to get me."

"We would never leave you behind." Dante's voice was fierce behind me, and I turned to give him a stony look. At this his held up his hand in surrender and took a step back.

Satisfied, I strode to the other side of the bed to stare Knight down. Gone was the permanent flicker of amusement in his eyes, replaced with an emptiness very similar to the first time I returned home from my first father-son trip in the desert.

"We would've burned that place down to find you," I echoed Dante's sentiment, and I meant it.

His gave me a surprised look but quickly recovered, pressing his lips together in firm line, his eyes revealing the guilt he felt inside. "I'm sorry."

I furrowed my eyebrows, turning to pull up a chair so I wasn't hovering over him like an overlord. He shifted, his face wincing in pain as he turned to me.

"Get him some more pain meds," I snapped to Dante but Knight shook his head.

"No, I don't want any pain meds, I need to get this out."

I gave him a curt nod, indicating him to go on.

His throat bobbed and he exhaled a tortured breath. "They tortured me. Wanted information about the King empire.”

This somewhat surprised me, seeing as how Dimitri and Nero were working together, but everyone knew there was no honor between them. I wouldn't be surprised if Dimitri was looking for a way even now to betray Nero.

He shook his head, continuing. “I'm sorry. I tried to hold out."

I was silent for a moment, studying him. Any information Knight had given up was probably already burned anyway. We had plans for things like this, contingencies. Times and locations were constantly changed up, easily moved for security purposes.

I wasn't too concerned for our immediate future, as Knight wouldn't have ever had the information to this place. It was a secret kept between my mother and I.

"How did Lucy capture you?" I asked him, the last missing piece to the puzzle that bothered me.

At this, he frowned, his face twisting into a scowl. “That bitch told me that she had information about Coulter. That his life was in danger. And then, when we showed up at the Black mansion and she pulled out her gun, I needed to know what she had planned, so I went along with her." He looked away from me and to Dante, pleading him to understand. "I know I was supposed to be following the Bratva but I actually believed her.”

"Hey man, forget that whore." Dante stepped forward and put his hand on Knight's shoulder. "Those Bratvas were only meant to distract us, all they did was hang out at some stripper clubs for the rest of the night."

Knight's hand went to Dante's wrist, and he squeezed it tight, Knight’s voice fierce. "I would kill her again if I could.”

“I would too.” Dante said.

I stood up, needing to take care of some other business. "Give Dante the information you gave up to Dimitri and we'll make sure it doesn't have any connections to our current situation. Then I need you to heal up, I don’t know how long we’ll be able to stay here.”

They both nodded at me but I paused to look into Knight's eyes, telling him what he needed to hear. "Don't worry about what happened back there. I would've done the same thing if I was in your position. And you going after Rose goes a long way in my book.” I paused. “I owe you.”

His throat bobbed and he gave me a nod. “I was only protecting Coulter. Even if he died, I knew he would’ve wanted me to go with her.

“You’re loyal, and I appreciate that.” I pat his shoulder, then left the room, leaving them to talk.

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair, hesitating outside the bedroom door.

I was exhausted, and tempted to go back to Rose and Coulter's room, to strip off my clothes and climb into bed next to them.

To hold Rose once more, to feel her skin under my fingers, to inhale her scent into me once more, to live and breathe her into me.

God, the woman mde me burn.

But I forced my feet in the opposite direction, away from the woman I wanted in my arms for the rest of my life and towards the small living room where our security was set up, a part of me dying with each step I took away from her.