Page 74 of Wicked Throne

Not today.

And whoever the fuck this was that had caused all this trouble, he was going to pay. He’d threatened the wrong fucking woman’s life. Just as I managed to get the knife in hand, flip it around and begin to saw through the zip-ties in the most awkward fashion, I heard splintering.

The sound caused me to look towards the ceiling. My father had had the ceiling painted with angels and biblical characters in the style of the Sistine Chapel. However, soot now coated the once vibrant blues and red. There was only soot and hungry flames. I saw the roof was starting to come down and if I didn’t hurry, I would be dead within a matter of minutes…if not moments.

Epilogue

Diamond

Months later…

Rubbing at the bridge of my nose, I tried to push the thoughts away from my mind. Was it me, or was it extremely warm in here? It almost felt like I couldn’t breathe it had grown so hot. Dabbing at a tiny trickle of sweat, I knew that I wasn’t imagining it.

My eyes were starting to water from straining at the computer screen. I was pouring over the financial data from Knowles Imports. My father had run a tight ship…and Thierry…my dead husband had done the same.

Leaning back from the screen, I reached over and tapped the tiny but mighty desk fan. The black blades began to stir and all that could be heard in my office was the whir of the small motor. A sigh escaped my lips as I began to cool off.

It seemed weird to talk about the two men who had influenced my life so heavily in the past tense, but it was what it was. They had both left me to deal with an empire. I’d always told my father I’d rule one day but he’d known better.

“Baby girl, you know men don’t respond well to women,” he would shake his head.

His ass had been right.

But, I had a proxy.

Enzo Scarpetta.

My brother-in-law had stepped up to the plate. He was running the day-to-day shit while I sat back and relaxed. I just made sure all the money lined up. These days, I could have given a lovely fuck about who was in charge. Especially when I had something sitting on my bladder making me want to piss every minute of the day.

An unexpected knock came on my door and jarred me from my thoughts.

“Come in,” I said figuring it was one of the girls from upfront.

In walked a guy dressed in a sharp suit. His hair was slicked back and he had a slight scar above his lip. Behind him were two hulking men.

One of them looked familiar.

I’d seen him before, in Miami. The night that Treyanna and I had bought pregnancy tests. He’d been in the store watching me with that angry pink scar running down his face.

Well fuck, I thought.

Tension was easing its way into my body and I didn’t want to be tense. I had been having a peaceful pregnancy and it was going to stay that way up until I gave birth.

“Mrs. Scarpetta, how nice to make your acquaintance,” the man in the suit said.

There was a vibe about him. Something told me that he reading me and that he knew every page already. He was that kid in class that nobody ever fucked with because you didn’t know what personality was in control that day.

He gave a smile but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. That was fine with me. I was not in the mood to smile right now.

“I'm not sure I know you,” I replied.

“But you knew my sister,” he said.

I raised an eyebrow.

“I’m Alistair Giancomo,” he replied. “Talia was my sister.”

“And what the fuck does that have to do with me?”