Page 10 of His Queen

“Crawl to me, on your knees, and kiss my feet.” I command.

He hesitates, and Clay fires off a warning shot into one of the cement parking blocks. The man crawls on his hands and knees to where we stand. He makes his way to my feet and kisses my shoes. I bring my pistol down hard into the side of his skull, cracking him hard enough to break the skin. Blood trickles out slowly running down the side of his face. He says nothing as Clay and I laugh.

“Never disrespect me again.” I spit on him. “If you do. The next time, I will kill you. This is your only warning.”

I nod at Clay and we both climb into the car as if nothing even happened.

Chapter twelve

Flashback

Myheartisracingas I lay in with the cargo on the ship. I jumped a man for his uniform so I can blend in, and so I would have a place to eat and sleep as we make our way across the ocean to another part of the world. I never imagined myself moving so far from my home. Far away from my memories, and from the only life I’ve ever known until now.

He might have international informants, and he can extend his reach as far as he wants, but he’ll have to find me first. It’s going to be damn near impossible to figure out where I will hide. I know one thing for certain. I need to get as far away from wherever this ship ports and fast. The knights know I’m on one of the ships, but they weren’t fast enough to figure out which one before they left. If only they worked faster and had better intel. Still, I can’t bank on their stupidity and lack of resources forever. It’s important I fly under the radar and move fast. I pull the key card to my room from my front pocket, flipping it between my fingers. I need to find out what this guy does. There must be a computer somewhere on this ship or possibly a phone I can borrow.

When I come up empty-handed after searching for twenty minutes, I cross my legs, leaning against one of the large cargo containers and relax.

When my eyes flutter open, I am met with the glare of a flashlight and an angry man standing over me. “Alright, virgin. Let’s get you to your room. Tomorrow we’ll go over more on-the-job training and see if you get the sickness.”

I must have drifted off from exhaustion. I haven’t slept restfully in weeks. They’ve been hot on my trail and come close to capturing me several times. This was the opportunity I needed for a break. The soothing sound of the water swallowing us into the open sea must have lulled me to sleep carelessly.

“The sickness?” I ask, rubbing my eyes, a bit confused.

“Yeah, the seasickness. Hit’s everyone a little differently. We’ll get as much work out of you as we can each day, then send you back to the cabin to adjust. Someone should have come for you hours ago. That’s why they sent me. They were worried about a stowaway. It seems there’s a possibility a man who is wanted for murder might be hiding on the ship. The captain said the police lost their trail on him but they know he boarded one of the ships that left the harbor yesterday. You wouldn’t know about no stowaways, would you, boy?”

Yesterday, I think with a panic. I’ve been asleep that long. I smile at the man. “Nope, no signs of a stow away down here sir, just sat down when I felt nauseous and must have fallen asleep. Can you point me to a warm meal and toward my cabin?”

He offers me his hand and pulls me up to stand next to him. “I know you’re the boy they are looking for, but earn your keep and I’ll keep your secret. Are we clear? I know you didn’t murder nobody either, and the men the captain spoke to weren’t the police. I figure you must be in a lot of trouble to go through all this, headed to another country and all.”

I sigh, defeated, “And if I do a good job, maybe you can give me a real job? I’m going to need work, plus I have all my papers and identification.”

“We’ll see boy. Now let’s get you a meal, a shower, and some rest.” He says, giving me a pat on the back.

Chapter thirteen

Selenaneedsmyhelpwith something right away. Apparently, she found something in a local art auction, and it belongs to her family. A rare portrait that’s been missing since the accident. It makes sense all the properties were raided, and it never was accounted for until now. The place holding the auction wouldn’t give her any more information about it, only the starting bid. She wants to break into the office and find out who the donor was in hopes of finding more missing heirlooms. The only problem is I am supposed to go on a date with Christian the next day. I hate all this lying and sneaking around. What is he going to say if I tell him Selena wants to go out for drinks the night before we go out? He’s going to be suspicious. I mean, obviously, I am not planning to go out and get trashed, but he doesn’t know that. Although he’s been so busy, maybe he won’t notice.

I’ve been waiting up for him, but I keep dozing off. Christian should have been back hours ago. Something is eating at him. I don’t know what, but I also don’t want to push my luck. Whatever it is, keeps him distracted and distant. It gives me the perfect opportunity to be sneaking around. I feel guilty, but my father gave me an assignment and I am going to prove to him I can run Arkham.

A few minutes later, I hear Christian stumble in and stir. I was just drifting back to sleep, but he reeks of whisky and cigars. I crack an eyelid open and shoo him off the bed when he sits down.

“No, I’m sorry. You, sir, smell and you are not crawling into this bed until you’ve taken a proper shower.”

“Mon bijou, please,” he begs.

“Oh no, absolutely not.” I climb out of bed, flipping on the lights and the heated floor before coming back to retrieve Christian from where he is contemplating whether or not to snuggle into the pillows that are taunting him. I grab him by the hands and pull him up. He stumbles into me, pressing us both against the wall.

“Come on, my prince of darkness, let’s get you sobered up. How did you get home? Did Clay bring you?” I ask.

“Mmmm,” he mumbles in reply, kissing my cheek as his hand lands on my hip. “No, my love. You’re no good to me in this condition.” I run my hand down his face, cradling him, then kiss him softly. When I break our kiss, he lets me wiggle out from beneath him to turn on the water.

“Undress,” I tell him, while I turn on the water and pop a towel into the warmer for him. When I turn around, he’s still standing there fully clothed. I can’t resist him when he’s like this. The sex is terrible, but the time with him while his guard is completely down reminds me of what it was like to be together in the beginning. Tears well in my eyes as I make my way to him.

“Christian,” I whisper, my palms landing on his chest.

“Yes, Mon amour de ma vie,love of my life.”He sighs drunkenly.

“Tell me, baby, what’s going on?” I pry. “Why are you coming home like this?”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com