Page 28 of Queen of Ruin

“I’m fine,” I lie as the warmth radiating from Diego instantly sends another shiver through my body. Every cell surges forward and I cuddle up into him until we’re shaking as one over the next pothole. “Are you scared of me?”

Such a weighted question likely shouldn’t have passed my lips, but it’s too late now.

“No,” Diego answers with what sounds like complete honesty. “I won’t pretend I’m not scared overall because that fucking bastard nearly killed me, and someone fucked you up this much. So clearly, something scary is going on. But you, specifically?” His arm tightens around my shoulders. “Not at all.”

I take comfort in his words. Staring down at my legs, I attempt to recreate what happened in the pub in my head, but when I think about how I even got onto that man’s shoulders, it’s an impossible feat.

It had to be instinct.

But what kind of instinct makes me react like this?

“Maybe you’re CIA,” Diego says quietly as if my thoughts were spoken out loud. “Or FBI. Or maybe I’m harboring some kind of international spy. That’s how it always goes in the movies.”

Adjusting my cheek against his chest, I close my eyes while nausea warms my gut. I’ve overexerted myself. “I don’t feel like a spy.”

“Which is exactly what a spy would say,” Diego decides triumphantly, then a ripple of tension moves across my torso and his muscles tighten under my palm. “Wait, Amber, are you okay? Why are you even out here?”

“Valentina,” I say, lifting my head from his chest. “My name is Valentina.”

Diego’s eyes widen. “You remember?”

I nod.

After studying my face for a few seconds, Diego’s expression melts into a warm smile. “I like that. Valentina. It suits you.”

Warmth gathers in my cheeks as I soak up the compliment that, for some reason, makes my heart flutter harder than when I walked into that back office. “Thanks. Oh! That reminds me…”

As loath as I am to lean away from Diego’s warmth, I need to in order to reach into my pocket. “You remember this?” Pulling the black card from my pocket, I show it to him and after he nods, I quickly put it back in my pocket. “I was looking at it earlier, trying to see if anything about it would trigger my memories, and it activated.”

“Activated?” His brows curl together.

“Mmhmm. Like a screen. I think it’s electronic. Words flashed up. The Suit. Queen. And then my name, Valentina. Soon as I saw it, I knew it was my name.”

“The Suit?” Diego’s mouth briefly twists to the side. “What is that, some kind of club?”

“I don’t know. I tried Googling it but nothing came up online other than clothes. I tried searching for it with my name, with the name on those rings and everything, but nothing came up at all. You haven’t heard of it?”

My bubble of hope bursts as Diego shakes his head.

“Nope. There are a lot of nightclubs and bars around, though, and having an electronic card sounds high-end. Might not be in my budget.” He smirks slightly. “So… The Suit. Queen. Your name, Valentina, and the fact that you have some killer self-defense moves… you really are a puzzle. I saw how insane your muscle tone was, but honestly, I figured you just worked out like a regular person.”

“Does any of this constitute what happens to regular people?” I ask, gazing up at him.

“Probably not.” Diego snorts. “When we get home, I’ll take a proper look at that card and see if I can figure it out.”

“Will you be in trouble for what happened at the bar?”

“Nah.” He lifts his head and turns his gaze out the window. “I doubt that guy’s gonna rat on us when he wakes up.”

Despite the confidence in his words, there’s something else in Diego’s tone that sends an unsettling ripple through my own heart. Admitting he’s scared didn’t unsettle me, but the shadow passing over his face as he looks away brings a curl of pain to my chest.

He looks tired. Worn down. Like he’s balancing on a precarious edge and everything I do is shoving him over one side or the other. He nearly died tonight. Likely came close on the day we met as well.

All because of me.

If I’m not careful, there’s a chance Diego will reach his limit and end up handing me over to the next bastard who crosses our path.

Why can’t I remember?