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CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Wild Blood
GRIM
“This is definitely the address?” Beast asks quietly as we crouch behind a partially collapsed brick wall and look up at the back entrance to the abandoned warehouse just outside of Reading. It’s pitch black, the only light coming from the moon and the smattering of stars not already hidden by the rain clouds above us.
“Yes. Malakai was very specific with his instructions.”
“I hope you’re right about him,” Beast says, pulling down his balaclava so that only his eyes and mouth are visible as his gaze skirts over the building, clocking the boarded-up windows and heavy metal doors. “It’s a perfect place to ambush a couple of gangsters.”
“Which is why I brought Cleveland and Harris along. I’m not stupid, Beast,” I reply, my voice clipped, strained. “If this isn’t over in fifteen minutes they’ll come after us.”
“Hey,” he says, reaching for me, his gloved hand gripping mine. “I never said you were. I trust your instincts.”
“I appreciate that,” I say, hoping to fuck I’m not leading us both to our deaths. Just thinking about how much I could lose tonight if this all goes wrong makes me want to reconsider, but equally with Beast by my side I know I can do anything. The King is right to be scared of a man who gathered an army from around the world and a woman who gained their loyalty and built a business from the ground up. Together we’re a force to be reckoned with. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being there for me even when I didn’t realise you were. For being here now. For loving me…”
Beast reaches up and cups my face. “Don’t do that. Don’t you dare say goodbye.”
“I need you to know that I appreciate you, that Iloveyou.”
“You can tell me that when this is over and you’re fucking me like the queen you are.”
“Beast—” I begin, but he cuts me off.
“No, show me the woman who was strong enough to shoot the man she loved to prove to the world she shouldn’t be fucked with. Show me the woman who commands respect from the criminals who were foolish enough to underestimate her. Show me the woman who’ll do anything to protect the ones she loves,” he demands, clutching my face in his palms, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Where’s she at, huh?”
Gritting my teeth and forcing every last dark thought out of my head, I nod. “She’s still here.I’m still here.”
“Good because tonight the King dies. That’s the only way this story ends.”
“Yes,” I nod, allowing his words to sink in, to fuel my determination. I didn’t get this far by being a meek bitch, and I’m not about to start now. Tonight the Queen of Tales is going to claim her throne once and for all. “Let’s get this done.”
“That’s my queen.” Beast grins, pressing a hard kiss against my lips before he pulls the black cloth bag from his jacket pocket and places it over my head, covering up my face and hair. “You good?”
“I’m good. You think this will work?” I ask, turning away from him so that he can tie my wrists behind my back. Our plan is simple, Beast is about the same height and build as Malakai and I’m not much bigger than Ford. With my baggy clothing, and my head covered I can easily pass myself off as a teenage boy. When Beast hands me over to the King, that’s when I strike.
“Providing the King’s still as arrogant as he’s always been, this will work. You’ve got to remember, he believes no one would ever have the balls to betray him, let alone walk into the vipers den like we are about to now. Doing this should get you close enough to kill the fucker,” Beast says, tying a loose knot around my wrists just to give the illusion that I’m bound. “I want to apologise in advance if I’m rough, we have to make this look real.”
“I know,” I reply, flexing my fingers, the heel of my hand pressing against the base of the seven inch knife hidden up my sleeve. First chance I get, I’m driving it directly into the King’s heart.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
With his palm resting between my shoulder blades, Beast guides me across the asphalt and towards the metal door that has been left partially open. As we step inside, I hear the low murmur of male voices talking and peer through the bag covering my head, trying to make out the shadowy figures at the other end of the building.
“Malakai, it’s been a long,longtime,” a familiar voice says.
Just like Malakai had promised, the King is here. My gut instincts were right, Malakai was telling the truth. Now we just have to pray that this isn’t a trap.
Beast shoves me forward with a grunt of acknowledgement. Although the King is unlikely to recognise Beast's voice, we agreed that he should keep his answers brief in order to avoid giving himself away too soon.
“And I see you’ve delivered my package. Excellent,” the King continues, unconcerned thatMalakaiis less than chatty. I don’t need to be able to see his face to know he’s smirking, I can hear the arrogance in his voice all the same. “Any problems on the way here?”
