Page 211 of Vexatious Queen

After so many nights of wishing for just one more day with my mother, I never thought the day would come that I didn’t want to see her.

MARCH 7 – SATURDAY 8:00 PM

Edmundo

Pure unadulterated rage threatened to consume me as I practically dragged Ana up the stairs and down the hall to my office.

“Unhand Yulianna,” Vlad said for the third time, following us closely.

I didn’t care if we were friends at one point or that he was just doing his job. Right now, all I saw was red, and he was wise not to touch me.

Shoving Ana through the door, I whipped around before any of the guards could follow and pressed the gun I’d taken from her to Vlad’s head.

“Do. Not. Test. Me.”

Vlad didn’t flinch, but he didn’t challenge me either.

“Marcus.”

“Yes.”

“Take all of Ana’s men to the guest house and make sure they stay there. If they so much as step outside to have a smoke, shoot them in the head,” I growled, eyes locked with Vlad.

His gaze flicked to Ana, who was somewhere behind me to my left.

“Do it, Vlad. Go, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Eddie and I need to speak alone.”

“As you wish.”

He turned on his heel and left, Marcus and my men marching behind him. I slammed the door and locked it, then quickly unloaded the gun for fear I might actually use it.

I walked right past Ana, my body shaking with pent-up fury, and yanked open my filing cabinet. I dropped the gun and the clip inside. Fuck, I needed a drink.

Grabbing the decanter, I poured a full glass of the world’s finest whiskey and chugged it down like water. The burn only added to my anger. I poured myself a second and then finally dared to face the love of my life.

She looked like a dream. Like she’d been dropped from heaven to give us the chance we’d longed for, but it was clouded and murky with all my other emotions.

“Eddie…”

She started, but then stopped.

“I can’t apologize for faking my death if that’s what you’re waiting for,” she said, hands folded neatly in front of her like she was standing in a nunnery and not my office.

The glass sailed out of my hand and smashed against the far wall. The crystal exploded into tiny shards, sending pieces scattering in every direction.

I pointed at the dent in the once-perfect drywall.

“That is what you have done to me. That is my heart that you’ve so callously shattered. Was it not enough that I mourned the loss of you twice?” I took a step toward her. “No…you had to twist the knife a third time. I flew to Canada. I kneeled at your grave, and if it wasn’t for Lilya, I never would’ve left that patch of dirt. Do you have so little regard for me?”

Ana licked her lips and looked away, but I was having none of it. I gripped her chin, forcing her to face me and confront the choices she’d made.

“Answer me.”

“You cannot understand,” she stated, and her light blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears.