Claiming His Queen by Goode, Ella (best self help books to read .txt) 📕

side now, couldn't Sara sit down and talk? Fill in any questions everyone might have.

“You married Aidon Kasteros.” I did. I can tell from the look in her eyes that she hates my husband.

“He’s a good man,” I defend him.

“You don’t get it. You ruined everything. Aidon and Karin will be unstoppable together.”

“That sounds like a good thing?”

“You’re a stupid naïve little girl,” she spits at me. Holy cow she’s mad. “And you’re going to fix this for me and Ashford.” Who is Ashford? Sara grabs my wrist and starts pulling me. “I was going to be at his side. We were going to rule this city together. Until you ruined it all for us.”

From the wild look in Sara’s eyes, I’m not sure she’s all there. I’ve never seen her act this way.

“Maybe we could talk to Mom about this,” I try to reason with her, but she keeps pulling me. I try to jerk my arm back, but it doesn't work. I almost fall on my face in the process.

“No, you’ll fix it. You’re the only one that can.” I start to panic, realizing that she’s headed for the back door. She puts her hand on the scanner to unlock the door. The sun floods into the hallway, blinding me.

“Sara, think about this please. There is no way I can fix this. You’re just going to get yourself killed,” I plead with her. Aidon spared her life once, and based on the conversation we had only moments ago in the car, I know he wouldn’t do it again. Especially now that she’s putting me in danger.

“The only one dying today is you.”

Chapter 20Aidon

“Let’s get down to business,” I say to Karin Vieth.

“I want six months.”

“For what?” I look down at the plate of desserts set in front of me and wonder if they’re poisoned and whether I want to risk it over a piece of lemon meringue pie that has a cloud of meringue so high that it defies gravity.

“Don’t play coy.”

Would Karin Vieth poison her son-in-law? Yes, the answer is an absolute yes. I allow my fork to clatter to the tabletop before addressing Vieth. “I have no clue what you’re talking about. I’m here to talk territory and free passage for your girls. My region is bigger, but you have a plum spot here in Midtown that everyone wants a piece of since it’s a nice shortcut from my compound to the bay. I don’t need but a small collection of buildings—say four or five. No one’s going to stay here permanently,” I add as she is about to object. “It’ll be a safe house for my men if they need it during a run. You won’t even notice they’re around.”

“I highly doubt that, but a single safe house is acceptable, not four or five. You can have an apartment in the Henry Building. It has good sight lines from the fifth floor up to the tenth. There are only four entrances, and each room is equipped with exterior access. As for my girls, we want use of the Anders Center, weaponry training for the few that have asked, full information share, and six months.”

“The first one is fine. Have fun at the Center.” The Center is a boys’ club built for the men. They train there. They fuck there. They bond there. Kailler hated it and said that it smelled like a men’s locker room that hadn’t been cleaned for a year. I wouldn’t know. I haven’t stepped foot inside that space since Chu handed me his kingdom. No one wants their boss in a private space. “No on the full information share, but if you want to know something, ask and I’ll probably tell you. I have no problem passing on shit that might affect your business. Now what the fuck is this six months all about?”

“How do you know if your information affects my business? It’s best you give me all the data so that I can make the decision, and six months is how long Cora will stay with me here in Midtown.” Acting as if she didn’t just drop a bomb on my nuts, Karin Vieth pours me a cup of coffee and then adds a lump of sugar to “sweeten me up.”

“The hell you say.” I get to my feet, but before I can tell Vieth exactly where she can stick her meringue pie, the door to the sitting room flies open. The girl that greeted Cora races inside. Breathless and nearly hysterical, she screams, “Cora’s gone. She’s gone.”

“What?” Karin and I both shout.

“Sara was going to take her to Cora’s room but when I went to deliver this—” The girl raises a tray of pie and coffee that I notice that she’s carrying for the first time. It’s the same damn pie that’s on my plate, too. Maybe Vieth wasn’t trying to poison me. Sara, though, why does her name sound—my jaw hardens.

“Sara’s the one who killed Poppy.” I grab the fork and have it against Vieth’s throat in less time than it takes for her to draw a breath. I squeeze the thin woman’s windpipe tight. “Where the fuck is my wife?”

“I don’t know, you asshole,” Vieth gasps. “Let me go so I can find my daughter.”

I press the tines under her chin so sharp that the skin is starting to whiten around the pressure. One hard jab and this is going into her jaw and she’ll be drinking her meals for the rest of her fucking life. “I’ll find her. Where the hell is she?”

“I don’t know.” Vieth claws at my grip. A game of strength is not one that Vieth can win. She’ll be dead before she hits the floor. “I sent Cora to seduce you in hopes that you would fall in love with her and we could unite our organizations. Why would I take her away from you? All I want in exchange is six months—half the year.