Page 264 of Vexatious Queen

The couch was comfy, but not nearly as warm as Ren cuddled in my arms. I’d offered to sleep down here, but as I stared at the ceiling, the temptation to go upstairs and crawl into the bed with her was very real.

Sleep was overrated anyway. I got up and headed for the kitchen. After making my peppermint hot chocolate, I was just sitting down when someone walked into the room.

My eyes flicked to the doorway. It wasn’t Ren. I would know Princess even in the darkest of rooms. The shadows didn’t match. This woman was taller, with narrow shoulders and shorter hair. The sweet scent of Princess’s bodywash didn’t waft into the room. Vicky wasn’t here, so that only left one person. Yuliana.

“Couldn’t sleep,” I asked.

“I haven’t slept well in years, even before we went on the run,” Yuliana said as she walked to the cabinet and took down a glass. “It was worse after, though. When you’re hunted like that, the house never feels safe, and every noise wakes you up.”

“I know that feeling.”

She poured some water, and I expected her to leave, but she sat down across from me in the exact spot Edmundo had not long ago.

“Do you mind if I sit with you?”

I shook my head. “Not at all. As long as you leave the knives in the drawer,” I said.

Her lip curved up, and a bit of humor brightened her eyes.

“Not banning me from the forks…that’s brave,” she teased with a smirk.

“Should I?”

Yuliana sipped her water, and she suddenly reminded me of Dean Henry.

“Ren tells me that Lawrence was not a good father,” she said, looking out the window. “I’m not surprised. He was always an asshole.”

“That is an understatement.”

I relaxed back into the chair and watched the little marshmallows swirl around in my mug.

Yuliana turned back to face me, her stare cool and analyzing. There was no anger or hatred that I could pick up on, just a hardness that only accompanied pain.

“Tell me what it was like living with him.”

Tilting my head, I searched her face but couldn't figure out why she wanted to know.

“It was a nightmare you couldn’t wake up from,” I said finally. “If you ran, he hunted you. If you disobeyed, he hurt the people you loved. If he was bored, you paid for it with a fist or worse. He tried to break me every day.” I met her gaze. “I refused to break. And I swore I’d kill him.”

Yuliana swirled the water in her cup, and I could tell she was gearing up for another question.

“But you didn’t kill him. What happened?”

That night was easy to recall. Trauma had a way of keeping the memories clear. I sucked in a deep breath and ran through what happened. I started with all of us at the club and the phone call from Lip, and didn’t stop until I walked onto the plane and talked Blake into lowering the gun.

Yuliana wiped away a tear, and of all the reactions I’d been expecting, I hadn’t thought she would cry.

“I thought I’d hardened my heart,” she said softly. “That numbness was strength. But today reminded me that I was just…empty.” She swallowed. “Almost everyone I loved growing up is dead. Violence leaves ghosts behind, whether you believe in them or not.”

“Are you upset that you killed all those people?”

“Yes,” she said after a moment. “And no. I know who they were. I know what they did. But you never see all the consequences. There’s always another cousin. Another partner. Another man who wants power.” She looked at me. “And I worry that in protecting Ren, I’ve only made things worse.”

“You are worried that you’ve made her a bigger target,” I said.

Yuliana nodded. “Yes. Exactly.”

“I understand that all too well,” I said, and gulped down half of my drink.