Page 81 of Bitter Queen (Advantage Play 4)

“I mean that if I’d met you before you were taken, you wouldn’t have given me the time of day.” I can see him slipping away. I can feel it in my bones.

“That’s not true—”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it’s not.”

“So, you’re telling me that you didn’t dream of finding a Hallmark guy instead of a beast attached to the mafia?”

I flinch back. “What?”

“Isn’t that what you told me at Matteo’s estate?”

“Well…yeah, but—”

“Don’t lie to yourself, Q,” he murmurs. The anger from before has transformed into a resigned sadness that breaks me. “Without your shitty past, you wouldn’t have been able to see past the suits, the Romano family, and the blood on my hands. Hell, you couldn’t stand the sight of me when we first met—”

“That’s because I’d been raped over and over again for weeks,” I cry. “I couldn’t stand the sight of anyone, including myself, I might add. Where is this coming from?”

The real Diece fights his way to the surface and scrubs his hand across his face in defeat. Like the battle that’s raging inside of him is taking its toll, but he doesn’t know how to stop it.

“Talk to me, D,” I plead. “Where is this coming from?”

“Honestly? I don’t even know anymore. Look—”

The door flings open, and D shoves me behind his massive frame to protect me from the unexpected visitor.

“What is it?” Diece barks.

“We had a few motion sensors go off in the back,” Lou announces, his voice laced with panic. “Someone’s on the property.”

“Who?”

“We don’t know. Dark figure wearing a hoodie. Come on.”

“I’ll be right there,” Diece returns before turning back to me. “Stay here.”

“Where are you going?”

“I gotta go help find our little visitor.”

“Do you think it could be—”

“Just stay here and don’t leave this room. Lou will be in the security room down the hall. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

His back muscles bunch and flex beneath his white shirt as he stalks toward the door, leaving me alone.

And scared out of my damn mind.

Racing toward the closet, I grab the first set of clothes I can get my hands on. The thin cotton material sticks to my damp skin as I pull the T-shirt over my head then stick my legs into a pair of shorts. Once decent, I run my hands through my short hair and stumble across the hallway into Will’s room.

I can’t leave him alone.

The door creaks as I push it open and take in his room. It’s blanketed in darkness, with only the light from the window casting shadows along the walls. There’s a little lump beneath the covers, and I breathe a sigh of relief before spotting the closed door that belongs to the closet. It taunts me. Daring me to open it and check for the monsters that lie in wait.

I hate closed doors. I hate them with every fiber of my being. The unknown of what’s waiting on the other side. The claustrophobia that threatens to consume me. All of it. With my heart in my throat, I inch closer, then look back at the little lump on the mattress.

For Will.