by Kelsie Rae
“And who are you?” he demands, pinning me with his stare.
“Jack.” The name feels foreign. Like it belongs to someone else. Someone from a past life.
“Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”
“No. But it means something to your associate, Reed.”
His dark, beady eyes narrow as he takes a moment to assess me the same way I’d assessed him when I first stepped into this room. Pushing himself up from the bed, he strides closer and asks, “Who are you, Jack? And why should I help clear your name?”
“Because Reed is trying to pin me for the mob shit he’s been dealing with.”
Brow arching, he clarifies, “So you’re a Fed too?”
“Are you willing to help me or not?” I huff.
“Why, exactly, would I help you?”
“Because if you don’t, you’re gonna die. Kingston will kill you,” I point out.
He scoffs. “Yeah, but if I testify, I’ll be dead anyway.”
“Guess that’s a risk you’ll have to take,” I press, feigning indifference. If he doesn’t agree, then I really am screwed, and I’ll live the rest of my life on the run.
He shakes his head back and forth and sees right through me. “No. No deal. I have a sister. She’s the only family I’ve got. If I get labeled a rat, they’ll kill her too.”
“Kingston won’t—”
“I’m not talking about the Romanos,” he spits. “I’m talking about every other fucking family in the business. When you’re labeled a rat, they don’t just eradicate the vermin. They exterminate the whole family. If I’m dead anyway, I’d rather Kingston do it and leave my sister untouched than die and leave her to fend for herself with the label of a rat for a brother.”
“Who knew you were a family man,” I note, my voice thick with sarcasm. Wracking my brain, I offer, “What if I put her into the witness protection program? I’ll keep her safe.”
“No. It’s bullshit and won’t work.” He rolls his eyes, daring me to suggest it twice.
“That’s not true—”
“I’ve been in the business long enough to know how easy it is to find someone.” He hesitates and scratches the scraggly beard along his lower jaw. As if a lightbulb starts glowing, a wide grin of triumph stretches across his face. “I’ll do it on one condition.”
My stomach twists with suspicion, but I take the bait and ask, “And what’s that?”
“You marry her.”
“What?” I choke out, convinced I’ve heard him wrong. He can’t be serious. Why the hell would he want his sister to marry a Fed?
“Yeah.” That same wide grin is stretched across his face. Like the idea is sounding better and better by the minute. “If you marry Bianca, then I’ll promise to testify against Reed and clear your name. Like you said, I’m a dead man, anyway. But at least my sister will be safe if she’s stripped from this life and marries you.”
“I’m not interested in a messed-up arranged marriage—”
“Then I’m not interested in sticking my neck out for you.”
“How is marrying a Fed any better than disappearing into the witness protection program?” I counter. This guy has lost his damn mind.
“Because if a Fed’s wife goes missing, it’ll make national news, and whoever dared to touch her will have a target painted on their back. If a random nobody is murdered, then it’s just another sob story that goes unsolved, and they’ll get away scot-free.”
Nostrils flaring, I search for a solution that doesn’t end with me marrying a damn stranger. But I can’t find one.
“Take it or leave it,” he adds with the same fake indifference I’d been spewing only moments before. He knows I’ve lost.
And so do I.
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Also by Kelsie Rae
Interested in reading more by Kelsie Rae?
Advantage Play Series
(Romantic Suspense/Mafia Series)
Wild Card
Dark King
Little Bird
Bitter Queen
Black Jack
Signature Sweethearts Series
(Contemporary Romance Stand-alones)
Liv
Luke
Breezy
Jude
Rhett
Sophie
Marcus
Anthony
Skye
Saylor
Stand-Alones
Fifty-Fifty
Drowning in Love
Hired Hottie
Crush
Bartered Souls Duet
(Urban Fantasy Series)
Gambled Soul
Wager Won
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Dear Reader,
I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for taking a chance on Bitter Queen and giving me the opportunity to share this story with you. I couldn’t do this without you!
I would also be very grateful if you could take the time to leave a review. It’s amazing how such a little thing like a review can be such a huge help to an author!
Thank you so much!!!
-Kelsie
About the Author
Kelsie is a sucker for a love story with all the feels. When she's not chasing words for her next book, you will probably find her reading or, more likely, hanging out with her husband and playing with her three kiddos who love to drive her crazy.
She adores photography, baking, her two pups, and her cat, who thinks she’s a dog. Now that she's actively pursuing her writing dreams, she's set her sights on someday finding the self-discipline to not binge-watch an entire series on Netflix in one sitting.
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