Page 84 of Queen of Ruin

It’s as if someone has that part of my head caught in their clenched fist and they’re squeezing for all their worth. The pain is blinding and I curl in on myself, lost in a sea of glass and alcohol.

But there’s something else.

It ignites after the first burst of pain fades and my next breath feels like the first real breath I’ve taken in weeks.

I remember.

I remember everything. My name. Where I came from. The look on my father’s face when I told him I had no intention of carrying on his legacy after he passed. Back then, I thought that look was utter disappointment, but now it’s in my mind clear as day and he almost looks relieved. Like me, straying from the family business was somehow what he wanted.

I remember meeting Bradley and the rest of the Suit as they handed in their resignations, far too old to continue doing what needed to be done. I remember Cassian being far too gentle for a world like this, yet somehow, he’s one of the toughest men I’ve ever met. Raven and her aversion to everything public, yet killing it in hand-to-hand combat. Ruslan and his cocky attitude acting like he was bigger and better than everyone, only to grow and turn into a really decent man after meeting Ivy.

It all comes back in a hot rush.

The plane crash. Ruslan disappearing to assassinate Ivy after she supposedly messed up a deal between two families that nearly ignited a war in the city. His instant connection with her kept Ivy alive while the rest of us were fighting to keep the peace. Then the truth and Ruslan’s impossibly smug two weeks that followed our decision that he was right. Then Bradley was gunned down by a woman forced to steal from the Mafia by her twisted ex and her brother. I thought I knew fear until I got the call that Bradley was in the hospital after being shot twice and dumped in the river.

He ended up saving her life and Bradley’s never been happier.

And now Diego. Poor Diego dragged into this mess because I escaped from⁠—

My rampant explosion of thoughts halts when heavy boots thud next to me, crunching glass and more underfoot, then warm, strong hands grab at my arms.

“Valentina!” Bradley’s over me with a worried grunt, gingerly helping me to my feet while brushing glass and more out of my messy, alcohol-soaked hair. “Oh, thank God. You went down and didn’t get back up. Are you alright? Can you stand?”

Bradley’s always been a mountain of a man, but as he stands before me, one hand on my shoulder and the other cupping my chin to examine me, he looks smaller than I remember. As if the weeks of worry have made him waste away into what he is now. The worry lines around his eyes are deeper and the concern buried in his eyes is enough to take my breath away.

“I’m okay,” I croak slowly, blinking through the blinding pain that remains throbbing through my skull. “I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

I nod while swiping my tongue around my bloodied teeth, then I spit a mouthful onto the mess of alcohol at our feet.

“We need to get you looked at,” he murmurs. “You’re cut to shit.”

“The bounty hunter⁠—”

“Ruslan has him,” Bradley cuts in. “You first.”

“No,” I say firmly. “Let me talk to him. Where the fuck is he?” The demand leaves me just as I glimpse the bounty hunter attempting to throw a punch at Ruslan, who is dragging him through the crowd toward the door.

“Valentina, stop. We need to get you looked at, you’re bleeding!”

Everything else he has to say becomes irrelevant when the bounty hunter manages to slip from Ruslan’s grasp and dart back into the crowd. Ruslan yells after him. I leap up onto the bar, then drop down onto the other side. Being smaller than Ruslan makes it easier for me to dart through the crowd trailing the fleeing hunter. He makes it to the back exit and crashes through the fire door just as I reach him.

Throwing myself into him is my only option and he yells, losing his footing on the steps and toppling out into the alley below. As he lands hard on the ground, I land hard on top of him and quickly roll him over before he has time to orientate himself. Two sharp punches to the face leave him gasping for air and my knuckles smarting from pain.

“I don’t want to ask you again,” I growl, grabbing his collar with both hands while planting my knee firmly on his crotch. “But I’m running out of patience and in case you didn’t notice, I’m covered in alcohol. One spark and we go up like fucking embers, and I will absolutely take you with me.”

“You’re insane!” he gasps, fighting to shove me off. As he balls up his fist, the door behind me clatters and the man suddenly cries out in pain. To my right, Bradley’s boot lands on the man’s fist, pinning him to the ground.

“In the interest of time,” I snarl, bringing my face close to his, “I’ll ask you again. You had Diego. You handed him in. If you want even a day to enjoy the money you made off handing him over, then you'd better tell me where the fuck you delivered him, or I’ll spend the rest of my life prying every joint and seam in your body apart, starting with your balls, while my friend here entertains his love of matches. Do you think we’ll burn to death before I get a chance to cut off your dick?”

“You’re insane,” the man squeaks. “Actually fucking insane!”

“No, I’m just very fucking tired and very pissed off.” My teeth clack together and I lift him an inch from the ground, then slam him back down. “Tell me!”

“Alright!” The bounty hunter gurgles and shudders as his eyes roll. “Fucking hell, alright! I’ll tell you! Just don’t kill me!”

He reels off an address and after Bradley confirms that it’s a real address on his phone, I slowly climb off the bounty hunter and stalk away from him toward the mouth of the alley. Ruslan joins Bradley a second later, and I leave them to deal with the bounty hunter while I dig my phone out of my soaked jeans.