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There was the distinct noise of a fist hitting flesh and the groan intensified. Once again Ivan demanded for the person to tell what he knew. Once again he refused and the smack sounded again. My heart raced as I realized someone was being tortured on the very property where I now lived. I leaned closer, my fingernails cutting into my palms as my hands tightened into fists. This was exactly what the man who killed my father deserved. I should have been horrified, but all I felt was grim satisfaction. I leaned closer, holding my breath as Ivan asked the man to confess, warning that this was his final chance.
Then a loud cracking noise and a guttural scream that made me jump back an entire foot. The rotting wood base around the shed crumbled under my heel and I teetered backwards, grabbing the door by reflex to keep from falling on my ass. It flew open as I stumbled, and I saw a man I didn’t recognize raising a bloody bat over another man tied to a folding chair. If his pulp of a face and blood-soaked shirt was any indication, this wasn’t the first blow he’d received. His entire front was a wash of red, his arms razored with cuts. I glimpsed a small table full of knives and dear God,saws. The blades of some of them were already stained. Ivan stood with his arms crossed and his legs wide, surveying the carnage. If I had one wish right then I wouldn’t have used it to gain my freedom. I would have made myself disappear when Ivan turned and saw me.
His brow furrowed as he stepped toward me, blue eyes shooting daggers. I tried to explain I wasn’t spying, lie that I hadn’t seen anything so his rage wouldn’t be turned on me. Instead, I turned and ran like hell back toward the house.
Chapter 10 - Ivan
I was furious that she saw what I’d been doing, but more furious at myself when I saw the fear in her eyes thinking my anger was directed at her. I scowled at the man who would rather die than admit he’d lied and betrayed me, then told my cousin to keep working while I ran after her.
By the time I caught up to her, Maksim had already grabbed her. She fought him valiantly, kicking and swearing, as he led her back toward the house. I had to force down a tender smile at her wild display and hide my pride in her lioness’ heart. I roughly took her arm and shook her.
“How dare you defy my orders? You’ll pay for this dearly.”
She immediately stopped thrashing and shrunk into herself, as I dragged her up the stairs to her room. I hated every minute of my act, but loudly berated her all the same.
“You’re not to go to that part of the estate again,” I said. “Why weren’t you with Maksim? Does he need to be punished because of your foolishness and stubbornness and inability to follow my rules?”
Her eyes sparkled with tears that she angrily blinked away when we were finally alone in her room. Slamming the door behind me to complete the charade, I leaned against it and sighed.
“Damn it, Reina. Why did you disobey me like that?” My tone was much softer now, but I couldn’t hide my frustration.
Wandering the property alone like that made my stomach turn with worry for her safety. I hated my strict rules as much as she did, but she didn’t—couldn’tunderstand the kind of people who were at the perimeters of my life. Even the people closest to me might snap and turn on me at any time, striking out at the thing that would hurt me the most. I moved closer to her and tried to smooth her bedraggled hair, which had come free from its ponytail after her run and tussle with Maksim.
She jerked away from me, shaking her head. “Were you going to kill that man?” she asked.
She wouldn’t like it, but as always, she’d only get the truth from me. “That man should already be dead, Reina, and believe me, nothing of value will be lost.”
I braced myself for her disgust or fear, but before I could explain what the man did to deserve his fate, I saw that she looked almost satisfied.
“Why?” Her eyes gleamed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Why is he dead or why did I have him killed?” I asked, locking eyes with her. I smiled when my brave queen refused to look away.
“How about both.”
I nodded. “He kidnapped a girl who worked for me. I’m not a saint, Reina. Probably not even a good man. But I have certain standards. Don’t take what’s mine, don’t lie to me about it. He did both those things and hurt someone who didn’t deserve to be hurt on top of it. I hurt people, make no mistake. But I try to be sure they deserve it.”
“Good,” she whispered. “I’m glad you did it, then.”
I was so turned on by her, I stepped forward and cupped her face in my hands, desperate for her to really see me and want me as badly as I wanted her. “If ever I’m in the same position as the man you saw in the shed, I’ll probably deserve it, too. Will you mourn me, Reina?”
For a moment, she went pale, and I had the fleeting hope she cared for me at least a little, then she shook her head, and it felt like my heart stopped beating. A slow smile took over her pretty face. “You won’t ever be in that position,” she said. “Because you won’t ever deserve it.” She pushed my hands away and reached for my shirt, yanking me close. “Promise me you only kill bad people.” She shook her head. Was she remembering I was one of those bad people? “Promise me you’ve never killed someone innocent, someone who’s not a part of your business.”
“I promise. I swear it.”
She stood on her toes and kissed me. I reached for her and pulled her flush with my body. After our tongues tangled wildly for a moment, she shoved me away and sank onto the bed, putting her head in her hands.
I sat beside her and put my arm around her, gratified when she didn’t push me away. I had to remember that no matter that she was as fierce as a lioness, she’d just seen something pretty gruesome and had to face the fact that her husband was a killer.
“I’m so sorry, my little queen,” I said, stroking her back. “This stress can’t be good for the baby.”
She shot me a dark look. “Being locked up all the time can’t be either. I’m sick to death of this pampered prison. That’s why I ran away from your guard and Hetty in the first place. I just needed some time away from this room.” She slapped the covers. “Anything, even a trip through the drive-thru would seem like heaven if I could just get out for a while.”
“I’ll think of something,” I promised. “And it will be better than fast food, I swear.”
Chapter 11 - Reina
The next few days passed without any sign of Ivan, so I knew he must have been out of town. Whenever he was here he always spent time with me. I might not have known how he felt about me where his heart was concerned, but his other parts liked me just fine. We always had a civilized dinner together, then one of us wouldn’t be able to hold out anymore, and pounce. He never stayed the entire night with me. No matter if our arms and legs were intertwined when I fell asleep, he was always gone when I woke up in the morning.
