Page 56 of Wicked Queen

“That will depend on if we’re dealing with a house party or a full-blown orgy,” he said.

Georgia was waiting for me by the back entrance, tapping her foot impatiently.

“Do you have somewhere to be?”

“Actually, I do,” she huffed. “I need to find Brex and slap the shit out of him.”

“Brex?” I repeated.

“He’s supposed to be keeping her in check. Alexander made that clear. And there’s no way all her friends have security clearance. Brex is going to get fired.”

“And that would bother you?” I knew I was dancing a bit too close to the fire but Georgia had never opened up to me this way.

“Why do you care?”

“I’m listening,” I explained, drawing out the word. It was like a foreign concept to her. “It’s what people do when another person’s upset.”

“I’m not upset, I’m pissed.” She rounded on me, pointing an accusatory finger. “And it’s not what people do. It’s what friends do.”

“Okay, it is,” I admitted, about to clarify that I didn’t flatter myself as being her bosom buddy.

“We’re not friends. Friendship fucks things up.”

I had a feeling we weren’t talking about us or friendship anymore. Since I’d met Georgia, I’d considered her a stone cold bitch. At first I’d seen that as a character flaw but I was starting to see it was armor. Underneath it she was someone else entirely. Maybe that woman wasn’t my friend either, but I suspected she wasn’t as much of a hard-ass as she wanted me to believe.

When we reached our rooms, she insisted on doing a full sweep. I didn’t try to stop her. I knew all too well that a party often opened the door to enemies as much as friends.

I peeked my head into Elizabeth’s room to discover she was already sleeping. The night nurse waved to me quietly.

“What’s wrong with you?” Georgia asked when I went back into the parlor.

“I hate days like this, where I’m too busy being Queen to be a mother. It makes me feel guilty.”

“Look, if you feel guilty about not doing enough for your kid, then you’re already doing better than ninety percent of parents out there. Trust me,” she added.

“You’re not nearly as bitchy as I thought you were,” I told her without thinking.

“Is that right?” She snorted, shaking her head. “You’re not nearly as uptight as I thought you were, but maybe you just finally got a good enough spanking.”

I winced at the off-color reminder that she knew a lot more about my private life than I knew about hers.

“See? I told you I was rubbish at the whole friends bit.” Georgia jammed her hands in her pocket. “Everything is good here, but I’m going to send someone to stay outside the door just in case.”

“Thanks.” I considered what she’d said about us not being friends. Maybe she couldn’t see us that way because she’d never actually had a real friend. “Are you going to find Brex?’

“Yes. He better hope I find him before Alexander does.”

“Just a question as a friend: Have you ever thought that maybe you’re in love with him, too?” I asked her softly.

Georgia froze, her fingers on the knob. “I don’t do love,” she said harshly, “and I don’t do friendship.”

She slammed the door behind her.

“That went well,” I said to the empty room.

The night was turning into a disaster, made worse by the fact that we had actual problems to deal with. I couldn’t imagine what Alexander would do when he found Sarah, but I knew what needed to be done. This was a family matter, and I wasn’t about to sit here and let him handle it alone. I also was tired of shouldering the burden ourselves.

I retrieved my handbag from the table and fished out my mobile. Edward answered immediately.