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CHAPTER1
“So tell me your choice,my future daughter-in-law,” Ilya smiled, his exposed teeth making him seem menacing and dangerous instead of a kind old uncle. And calling me that hadn’t given me much of a choice at all. It was clear what he wanted me to do.
“I can’t marry him,” I replied, bracing myself for the inevitable when he commanded his people to gun down my Kings in cold blood.
He didn’t. He laughed, a low, grating sound edged with madness.
“I told you she wouldn’t bow down to you,” Amara hissed, her eyes narrowing in a red hot rage. “I fucking told you, from the moment you came to us with this deranged plot.”
“She’s going to have to give in eventually,” Ilya said, narrowing his eyes to match Amara’s. “She doesn’t understand how serious this situation is. You do, however, so I need you to talk some sense into her before I’m forced to grind up her boy toys and turn them into hamburger meat and blood on my beautiful hardwood floors.”
Ilya held up his hand and I drew in my breath, waiting for the moment he gave the order to shoot my Kings. Waiting until I had to throw myself in front of them to save their lives. But he dropped it again and shook his head.
I sighed and relaxed. I felt the tension ease in my shoulders and the muscles along the sides of my neck. That’s where I carried my fear and anger, right up the sides where I would tense up until my entire head throbbed with pain.
I looked around behind me, craning my neck to lay my eyes on each one of my guys. There were no more guns drawn, and the multiple laser sights casting red dots on their foreheads were gone.
I smiled wanly in their direction, but none of them looked convinced. Archer didn’t take his eyes off me, but he twitched every time somebody moved in his peripherals. Valen was standing stiff and straight and had his hand hovered over his pocket where I suspected he had a weapon.
Ryker was tense and poised to fight or leap out of the way if anything had gone down. He was fearsome to behold and looked like he could shred a human being with his bare hands.
And Kingston, my first love and fiercest protector was watching me intently. His gaze was even more hyper-focused than Archer’s. He didn’t even notice anyone else around him because I filled his vision, and I could feel our deep connection even across the room.
I offered him a larger smile and tried to send him a message with my gaze. I was okay, and we were going to be okay. I just needed him to take care of himself and the others.
Amara and I would take care of ourselves because I had a feeling Ilya was hell-bent on splitting us up.
“Then bring us Ivan and let us go. Whatever your end game here is, we can negotiate once you give him back and give us our freedom,” Amara said. “You know this isn’t the way to bring our families together.”
“That’s not going to happen, I’m afraid,” Ilya said with a maniacal grin. “I need her to wed my stupid bastard son Maksim. That’s the only way this is going to work.”
“I’ll marry him,” Avery said with a cock of her hip. “I mean, I’m already fucking him. But we’re cousins and all that, so nobody will accept our love.”
I couldn’t help myself. After all the wild things I’d done since hooking up with four hot men, Avery’s actions disgusted me.
Her own cousin?
“Is he adopted, at least?” I asked, gritting my teeth.
“Nope,” Avery said, locking her eyes on me. She was still stunningly beautiful even though she was basically a cousin fucker. “We’re related by blood.”
“That’s fucking nasty,” I replied. “And you dared to judge me for my loving relationship with my Kings.”
“Your Kings?” she snorted. “That’s rich. So what does that make you, their Queen?”
“Yes,” Kingston said with a dangerous tone. “That’s exactly what it makes her.”
“It makes her a whore is what it does,” Ilya said with a laugh. “Perfect for my simpleton son. He won’t care how loose her cunt is. He’s been banging his own cousin, for God’s sake.”
But he wasn’t satisfied with mocking. Ilya threw his hands up in the air and shook his head. “Enough of this!” he exclaimed at last. “Amara, get your girl and bring her with you. You have exactly twenty-four hours to convince her of this union, or you and her supposed Kings are going to die.”
He stood abruptly then, motioned sharply to a group of waiting uniformed security standing at the side of the room and said, “Let’s get our guests comfortable. Put the young men in our secure suite downstairs, and take Amara and Everly to the guest suite upstairs.”
He snaked his head back around to me and added, “Can’t have you plotting with your lovers, now, can we? The best way to dethrone a Queen is to remove her King.”
I cried out, “No!” but it meant nothing in the shuffling of people at Ilya’s command. Every one of his security forces sprang to action at his orders, and it took several men to drag each one of my Kings out of the room as they fought back.
I yelled their names and fought the women surrounding me while I tried desperately to keep my eyes on them.
