Claiming His Queen Read online

  Ashford’s shoulders slump. “Isn’t this too much, Aidon?”

  “No. Not at all. You killed my man.”

  “Sara killed him,” he interrupts.

  “At your order.”

  “We decided together,” he exclaims.

  And there it is. His confession. “And why?”

  “Why else?” He’s irritable now, coming to terms with his defeat. “I wanted more territory, but you’re here. The best thing I could do is start a war between you and someone else. I picked Vieth because their Midtown location is so fucking prime. I didn’t think she’d send her kid to you, but when she did, it seemed even more perfect. You’d fuck that ripe piece—“

  Kailler turns on the water, and a hard blast knocks Ashford over. She glares at him and gives me a defiant look.

  “Please, be my guest,” I say, gesturing for her to hit him again with the water. “Don’t hold back on my account.”

  “What do you care about the Vieth women? Let’s make a deal—man to man,” Ashford begs.

  “Not interested. I think we’re done here. Let’s wrap it up.” I pull out my gun and shoot Ashford in the head. He slumps over, dead. Bran and Kailler untie the body and then take him next door to the furnace room. I throw a couple of tablets of bleach on the floor and hose the workroom down.

  Tonight I’m going to make love to my wife, and tomorrow we’ll have to start the messy task of taking over Ashford’s territory. The body count shouldn’t be too high, but the furnace will be going for a few days.

  “Good job, folks. Take the night off. We’re going to be busy for the next few days,” I inform the crew.

  Kailler joins me as I ascend the stairs. “Do you think Cora would hate me if she knew what we did here?” Kailler asks.

  “No, but I’m not going to volunteer that information either.”

  “Are you afraid she would hate you if she knew what you did?”

  “She grew up with Karin Vieth. I don’t think she’s as innocent as she appears. She knows that power is held with a certain amount of violence.” It wouldn’t matter if Cora hated me because of the activities that took place in the basement. I’m not giving her up, even if she demands it. And I’m keeping her safe, which means the furnaces run when necessary. But what she doesn’t know, well, that isn’t hurting her.

  Epilogue

  Cora

  “You listen, and you listen good.” I think hanging out with Kailler so much is giving me an edge. “You’re going to keep yourself in line. One hour. You will give me that.” I point at my stomach. I think my sweet little man is trying to make an earlier arrival. He is already like his father. He has no patience. But I’m not ready yet.

  The doctor said this could happen with how big he's grown over the last few weeks. I run my hand down my belly, turning to look at myself in the mirror. I look like I swallowed a basketball. A tap sounds on the bedroom door.

  “Come in,” I call. Kailler comes striding into the room. She’s right on time as usual.

  “Your mom is pulling up.”

  “What? Why! It’s date night.” Why is everyone trying to ruin this for me? I love date night. I have ever since Aidon took me on my very first one. Tonight will be the last one I’m sure I’ll be having for a while. It took some serious work to finally get my husband to cave to this one. He hasn't been so good with giving them out now that I’m this pregnant.

  “She said something about a mother knowing.”

  “She knows shit.” I snap. Kailler’s eyebrows rise all the way up her forehead before she bursts into a rare fit of laughter. “Don’t tell her I said that,” I quickly add, only making her laugh harder. I love when I get this side of her.

  It wasn't as if Aidon wouldn't give me a date night at all. Hell, every night the man is all mine, but I call it date night when we get to leave the estate or one of his compounds to go out into the rest of the world. Okay, it’s always at one of his restaurants, but you know what I mean.

  I’d gotten a little spoiled with being out and about when we spent those two months out of the country where no one had a clue who we were. I’ll never forget that yacht in the French Polynesian Islands. Even though I loved all the time we spent there together, I have to admit that even I felt better back here the further I got along in pregnancy.

  One of the great things about my mom and husband starting to trust each other is that Aidon could actually get away with being gone that long. These empires don’t run themselves, I suppose. And there is no better replacement at the head of the table than my mother.

  I spin around when a small contraction hits me. Kailler’s laughter ends instantly. “What? Is something wrong?”

  “Wrong?” I breathe through my nose, praying the pain goes away quickly.

  “Why won’t you look at me?” Finally the contraction passes.

  “Hmm?” I turn around with a smile. “Can’t a girl have some gas and not be called out about it? I’m expecting.” I blame it on my innocent baby, but he is trying to keep me from angel hair pasta. Which is funny because he’s the one making me crave it all the time to begin with!

  “Pregnancy has made you feisty.”

  “Well, I think you’re getting sweet.” Her mouth falls open. “I’m sorry! That was mean. You’re right.” My eyes start to water. Why would I say that to my best friend?

  “Don’t cry.” Kailler starts to panic. She never does well in these emotional situations. I blink quickly willing myself not to.

  “So you know her mom is here too?” Aidon says as he strolls into the bedroom. They might be on the same side for the most part, but my husband and mom can still throw jabs at each other now and then. I rather enjoy it when they do. “Are you about to cry, love?” He puts his finger under my chin, tilting my head back. I swear he can sense if my mood changes even if he’s not around me. He’s always so in tune with me and my body.

  “I was going to start if date night got cancelled.” I look up at him through my lashes. Still holding out hope that there will be angel hair pasta in my near future. He lowers his head and kisses me. My hands go to his chest, my fingers digging into his button-up shirt as he deepens the kiss. All thoughts of date night fade away and my body starts to want something else altogether.

  Kailler clears her throat. “Hey. You’re cock blocking.”

  “She’s not. I believe your son is. We all know you're in labor.” I glare at him, making him smile.

  “Can we get ready to go?” I finally give. He rubs his hand up and down my stomach.

  “You don’t have to ask. I’ve already handled it.” I melt into him. Of course he has. Aidon always takes care of my needs. From the very start, he’s always given me anything I’ve asked for and made sure I was taken care of.

  “Cora.” My mom comes rushing in next. I’m not surprised when I see she has a million bags in her hands. She drops them down as she moves toward me to wrap me in a hug. Well, she does the best she can with my husband being a brat and still holding my other hand. They share a look that promises death, but I don’t miss the level of respect they have for one another. I know that both of them would lay down their lives for me. I’d do the same for them.

  “It’s time.” I kiss her cheek.

  “You’ve got this,” she tells me, understanding the small worry I have in the back of my mind. She puts her hand to my cheek. I lean into it. “You’re stronger than you know. You have a strength inside of you not even I have. A fearlessness. It’s why everyone is drawn to you.”

  “Mom.” She’s going to make me cry. She releases me, and Aidon wraps me into his arms.

  “Are you ready?” he asks. I look around to the three people I love more than anything, knowing we’ll always not only be ready but also unstoppable.

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