Page 55 of Queen of Ruin

The entire drawer is filled with five handguns of various shapes and sizes all nestled against their own little cushion. Each one has a pearl handle with a gold V swirled across the surface like a stamp.

Are these… my guns?

This is getting freaky. I slam the drawer closed and clutch at the blanket beneath me while my heart pounds.

I need to get out of here.

I need to find Diego.

Just as those thoughts claw through my mind, the lock in the door clicks and it slowly swings open. A short woman walks in. A woman with shoulder-length, muddy brown curls that bounce as she walks, a smattering of freckles over her pale face, and a warm smile that doesn’t falter even as she meets my gaze.

“You’re awake!” Her blue eyes sparkle as she walks toward me with a small cup in hand. “I’m so glad. I told Ruslan that he gave you too much, but he always says you’re like an elephant.”

Ruslan.

I know that name.

It was on one of the wedding rings.

“You… drugged me.”

“Yep,” she replies cheerily and holds out the cup. “It’s protocol. Here. Drink. It’s your favorite.” At my confused glare, she lowers the cup. “Elderflower tea with more honey than you’ll ever admit to having. Please, drink it. You’ll feel better.”

She practically pours the tea into my lap, so I have no choice but to take the cup, and the warmth of the porcelain is welcoming against my hands.

“Where’s Diego?”

“He’s busy. There are more important questions you should be asking.”

This woman is… strange. She speaks as if she knows me, and there’s something somewhat soft and cutesy about her, but she doesn’t turn away from me even as she wanders the room, and there’s a look in her eye that feels like a threat.

A look I’ve seen in my own eyes.

“Where am I?”

“Home,” she replies simply.

“Where is that?”

She pauses her pacing near the dresser. “You don’t remember.” A soft sigh parts her. “I placed these pictures around hoping it would help jog your memory because I didn’t want to believe it was true, but… you really don’t remember anything, do you?”

“I want to see Diego,” I say firmly, setting the undrunk tea down on the bedside table. “I don’t know who you are or what you people want, but I haven’t done anything wrong, okay? I’ve just been… I just want to see him. Where is he? What did you do to him?”

Her pale brows knit together and she holds up both hands. “Please, we haven’t done anything to him. He’s fine.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“My name is Raven. Does that ring any bells?”

Raven.

It echoes through my mind in a similar way to my own name when I saw it, but that doesn’t mean this woman is any kind of friend.

“No,” I lie, standing up. I’m taller than her. I could take her out, make for the door and run.

“What about this?”

She suddenly grasps the hem of her t-shirt and lifts it just enough for her bra to become visible. As she grabs the underwire, a protest of alarm forms on my lips, but before it can escape, I see it.