Page 17 of Vicious Kingdom (Dynasty of Queens #3)

“I cut him loose,” I insisted.

I didn’t think the Tormentor was capable of harming another human. He was always focused on me, driven by his delusions.

“Alright, Pookie Bear, go find your air.” His touch lightened.

I broke free, sprinting away.

Every gathering.

It was always the same. He infected any chance of fun and happiness.

The Tormentor was good. He always pretended at indifference whenever society was watching, played the part of the disinterested businessman.

But the moment he caught me alone, when he had me cornered like a cat with a mouse…

fuck him. If ever there was a creature deserving of death, of a slow and miserable end, it was the man who’d plagued my life like a disease I couldn’t shake.

I didn’t care if society, and my own damn family, adored him.

The world would be a better place without his insidious games. His lies. His cruelty.

I moved with a frantic desperation, stumbling through the Symphony Center, heels clacking relentlessly on the floor.

The pain from my bummed foot was momentarily dulled by the rush of adrenaline.

I ducked behind a group of waitstaff and slipped out the side entrance to the manicured gardens, pushing into the humid summer night with a gasp of relief.

The attempt to draw in deep breaths, struggling to fill my panicked lungs, failed.

The night air was thick, wrapping around me like a damp cloak, but the calm I craved failed to sate the chaos in my bones.

I was still too close. I could still feel his touch like a ghost on my skin.

Would he come after me again? Would he follow me into the night?

With each passing second, I expected him to appear, his voice oozing through the shadows like the demon he was.

Reason vanished.

If I was thinking straight, I would have gone for a cab. But the need to hide away, to find somewhere safe, drove me into the dark.

I glanced around wildly, looking for a place to hide. His hold might never completely disappear, but at least out here I stood a chance. I could run and run until my lungs collapsed. Until the world swallowed me whole. Until there was nothing left to chase.

I had to keep moving, had to put distance between us, knowing he could appear at any moment, and no one would stop him. Fear overwhelmed every thought.

I dashed through the maze of sculpted hedges, terrified he would follow.

I thought I was alone.

Until I wasn’t.

“Funny seeing you out here,” a voice called from the end of the hedge row.

Oh, lord! I couldn’t deal with the businessman right now.

I stepped between the shrubs, wishing I could just vanish for a little while. There was little strength in my bones to deal with the CEO.

Leo stalked after me. “Annaliese! Wait.”

Not right now! I gulped a shallow, stilted breath.

“What are you doing?” Leo intercepted me, cutting me off.

Something inside me snapped. “And I thought I was the stalker.”

With a snort, Leo stepped closer.

I tried to push past him, but my ankle twisted painfully in my stiletto. A sharp gasp escaped my lips as I stumbled. The pulsing adrenaline couldn’t hide the agony.

“Shit,” Leo muttered, catching me before I could fall. His hands were warm and steady against my waist, a stark contrast to the cold, toxic grip I’d escaped minutes before.

“Let me go,” I hissed, though without conviction. The throbbing in my ankle intensified, making me wince.

The monster’s expression soften with concern. “You’re hurting.”

“I’m fine,” I lied, attempting to put weight on my foot only to bite back another cry of pain.

Without warning, he scooped me up and deposited me carefully on a nearby stone bench. “Sit.”

The commanding tone in his voice should have irritated me, but I was too exhausted to fight. I collapsed onto the bench, watching warily as Leo knelt before me.

His scab was dark against his hand as he undid the strap of my shoe.

“What are you doing?” I snapped.

Leo grunted.

His strong fingers dug into the soft tissue of my arch.

His touch was gentle yet firm, his thumbs working methodically over the tender spot where I’d twisted my ankle. I flinched at first, bracing for pain, but instead found relief spreading through my foot.

“Relax,” he murmured, eyes focused on his task. “You’re wound tighter than a violin string.”

I was.

I had a reason to be.

But he could never know.

I wanted to pull away, but the steady pressure of his hands was drawing the tension from my body like poison from a wound. My breathing slowed as his fingers moved in circular motions, each pass easing not just the physical ache but the frantic drumming of my heart.

“Better?” Leo asked, his voice lower than before.

I nodded, surprised to find my shoulders had dropped from their defensive position near my ears. The night air suddenly felt less suffocating, the shadows less threatening. For the first time since the Tormentor had cornered me, I was able to breathe.

“How’s your hand?” I managed to ask.

The harsh exhale was my only answer.

The other night…. Did I kiss that hand? Did I call him a lion? Geesh, I’d been so plastered. The memories twisted and knotted. But it didn’t matter.

He was one. A strong, fierce protector.

But he wouldn’t fight to save me. No, that had been a dream.

Because that was what Leonardo was…a dream.

But, given the chance, I would move heaven and earth to make that come true. He might be the only place I would be able to hide, using his presence as a shield, and if I wanted that, I couldn’t let him know how much trouble I was in.

I pulled my foot away.

“Thanks,” I muttered. “But I have to go.”

“Not yet.” Leo’s voice was firm, his eyes tracking mine with an intensity that made my breath catch.

I looked away, unable to meet his gaze. The weight of his perception was too heavy, too dangerous.

“Who are you running to?” he rumbled, his voice taking a harder edge.

“I’m not,” I breathed.

“Don’t lie.” He remained kneeling, one hand still resting lightly on my ankle. “I saw you with him, Anna. That fucker from California.”

My mind short-circuited.

So focused on the demonic nightmare, I forgot the other aspects of my life I juggled.

“Is that your type? Hmm?”

My blood turned to ice. How could he think that David was my type?

I cut the techy loose right after he dropped the news of our secret engagement to my parents.

If David hadn’t said anything, he might still be around.

But I doubted it. Seeing him again made me realize how wrong he was for me.

I didn’t want to be around him, even if he was only ever a decoy.

Plus, playing with his heartstrings wasn’t an angle I was capable of.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I countered, pulling away and standing.

“Enough.” The single word carried volumes. His jaw tightened, a muscle flickering beneath the skin. “Who is he to you?”

I swallowed hard, panic rising in my throat. “Someone I met in Germany.”

Leo stood in one fluid motion, towering over me. His presence should have felt threatening.

It didn’t.

“Is he your knight in shining armor?” The sneer in the CEO’s voice tipped me off.

Leo was jealous. Of all the turbulent emotions from tonight, that was the most surprising.

“He’s gone, Leo. Just drop it, okay.” I rose, bare feet bitten by the gravel.

Leo caught me around the shoulder, spinning me into him. “Like hell you get to walk away.”

He was so close. His lips were inches from mine.

I ached to have them pressed against me.

His eyes dropped to my mouth, as if he came to the same conclusion.

They darkened with something primal that made my heart stutter.

The heat of his body radiated against mine, the scent of his cologne—expensive, masculine, intoxicating—filling my senses.

His fingers tightened on my shoulders, drawing me closer until I could feel his breath mingling with mine.

“Anna,” he whispered, my name sounding like both a curse and a prayer on his lips.

I tilted my face upward, surrendering to the magnetic pull between us.

His head dipped lower, the warmth of his lips hovering just above mine, promising relief from the chaos of my life.

For one breathless moment, the world narrowed to just this—just us—and I wanted nothing more than to close that final distance.

Drunken laughter exploded somewhere in the garden.

Leo jerked back as if burned, his hands dropping to his side.

A shiver threatened to break my heart. This man wasn’t supposed to know about the decoy.

I messed up. Again.

I fled through the garden, not caring that my ankle protested with every step. The darkness swallowed me as I wove between hedges and fountains, putting as much distance between Leo and me as possible. My chest burned—not from exertion, but from the phantom warmth of what almost happened.

His lips had been so close. So tantalizingly close.

But the timing wasn’t right. There were too many messes to fix.

The night air chilled the tears I hadn’t realized were streaming down my face. What was I doing? Running from the only person who made me feel something other than fear? But I couldn't drag Leo into my nightmare.

I reached the main entrance and hailed a lingering cab, sliding into the worn leather seat with a broken sob.

We lived in different worlds. Mine was garish, full of toxicity and secrets that would taint anything they touched. Including him.

Leo was my dream, and I would do anything to make him mine. So long as he never learned how broken my world truly was.