Queen of Quarantine

by Caroline Peckham

I lost all sense of the minutes slipping by as I just stood there, but the water suddenly turned warm and I found a hulking figure beside me, his shirt off but pants on as he stepped into the shower and leaned against the wall beside me. Kyan folded his arms and waited for me to look at him and I turned my head his way, knowing he wouldn’t back off until I did.

  I didn't say anything and he arched an eyebrow at me that said I was being an ass.

  "Who the fuck are you?" he demanded.

  I ground my jaw, but gave him his answer because I'd played this game with him enough times to know he wouldn't leave until he got it from me.

  "Saint Memphis."

  "And does Saint-mother-fucking-Memphis fall apart when shit doesn't go to plan?" he asked.

  I bit my tongue on the response I wanted to give and straightened as I turned to look him in the eye. "No."

  "So tell us how you're going to fix this," Kyan demanded.

  My gaze dropped to that hideous squid tattoo on his forearm and my lip peeled back before I raised my chin to hold his eye. The irritation that squid caused me reminded me of something important and I perked up a little. I'd been focusing on every word I'd heard during that call, but I'd overlooked one very important detail. That annoying as shit grandfather clock. I hated that fucking thing, not least because it couldn't keep time correctly and was forever falling minutes behind the proper hour.

  "I know where he is," I said, a new plan forming in my mind already.

  Kyan’s face split into a deadly smile as murder flashed in his eyes.

  "Good. Put your fucking clothes on and let's go then." Kyan shut off the water and strode out of the shower, his boots leaving wet footprints across the tiles as he went, and I grabbed a towel to dry off.

  I hurried back into the room with the towel around my waist and found the others looking to me expectantly. Tatum was under Blake's arm and his eyes flared with anxiety and rage, but he'd gotten it under control so that he could hear me out.

  "Clearly, we can't let this stand," I said, more ideas spilling into my mind and I looked between my family, checking to make sure each of them really was ready for what it would take to free us from the monster who had made me. "I'll get my people working on the stocks and shares, they can sell and transfer as much as possible back into his name so that he can see progress is being made on that front."

  "You're just going to let him have it back?" Nash asked, his face drawn with fury. "What about making him suffer?"

  "I have given it some thought, and it seems fairly simple to me. The money, stocks, shares, all of it is irrelevant. I've seen his will. When he dies it's all mine anyway. So, let him have it back. He can enjoy it until we come and claim it from him in blood."

  “I’ll cut his fucking throat myself if he’s laid a damn hand on my dad,” Blake snarled.

  "That's what I'm talking about," Kyan said with a dark laugh. “I’ll piss on his grave while we claim it too.”

  "In the meantime, we can't stay here,” I said. “I won't have him knowing our location, but on the plus side, I know his. So I say we take this fight to him. I'm done waiting to end this."

  “I’m ready, just give me a weapon, any fucking weapon and I’ll get it done,” Blake growled, his eyes nothing but a monster’s. But that rage in him would need to be honed, controlled. We couldn’t storm my father’s castle without an appropriate plan. But I was already working out the details.

  "My grandpa won't just let me leave," Kyan said, not like he had any intention of staying behind, more like he was reminding us that I wasn't the only one with a psychopath in my family who thought he could rule my life.

  "Then let's deal with him too. It's time Liam figured out he doesn't own you."

  Tatum grinned at that prospect, reaching out to catch Kyan's hand and he leaned in to kiss her, pushing her back against Blake as he did so. Blake held her close and Kyan’s hands looped around him too as they comforted him.

  "Get changed," I commanded. "Practical clothing. Then pack a bag - wash stuff. Things to sleep in, enough food for tonight. I'll have the rest delivered after that."

  No one questioned me and they all began stripping out of the formal wear they'd worn to dinner hours ago.

  I pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants and discarded my towel in the hamper before moving deeper into the closet to grab some more clothes to bring. Tatum followed me inside and I turned to find her dressed in sweats and a hoodie too, though hers werre pink and made her look far sweeter than she was.

  "Jesus, Saint," she muttered, looking me over.

  "What?" I asked as I moved to grab clothes for her too.

  "Just...you picked grey sweats. You know what that does to a girl, right?"

  "No. What?"

  "Well... I can basically see your dick outlined through them and considering how big yours is, there’s plenty to look at. And that gives me ideas I shouldn't be having when we have to follow through on your master plan."

  I glanced down at my pants with a frown and she went on.

  "And you're doing that whole, 'I rule the world thing' with the glaring and serial killer eyes. If you're not careful I'll jump you before we even make it out of here,” she added in a purr that said she hadn’t entirely forgotten where our bodies had been leading us before I got that call.

  I cocked my head at her teasing tone as I stalked closer, making her back up against the wall until our chests were touching and we were sharing the same breath.

  "You don't want me to break right now," I assured her, and she licked her lips.

  "Pretty sure I'd be okay with it," she countered.

  Temptation warred beneath my skin and the desire to do just that ran through me, but I knew she didn't really mean it and I couldn't either. We had a job to do and it couldn't wait. But I appreciated her trying to give me something to think about other than this endless abyss of chaos that was opening up around us.

  "I promise to give you my worst just as soon as our lives are no longer at risk," I growled, leaning in and kissing her hard, but all too briefly as I jerked away again and stalked from the closet. Another moment in her company and my self-control would snap.

  I pulled on a t-shirt and a grey hoodie to match my sweats before tossing the bag I'd packed over my shoulder and leading the way out of the room.

  Kyan fell into step by my side and the others flanked Tatum behind us.

  "You sure about this?" Kyan asked and I nodded once.

  Liam O'Brien was a much simpler monster than my father. I could finish him easily enough. At least I hoped so.

  We didn't stop until we made it downstairs and to the smoking parlour that Liam liked to retire to after dinner.

  "We'll wait out here," Nash said, holding back with Blake and Tatum as we headed towards the door.

  "It won't take long," I replied as Kyan moved ahead of me.

  The scent of cigarettes wafted from beneath the door before I even pulled it open and the sound of male voices reached us as we stepped inside.

  "I was about to come find you bunch of bastards," Niall said happily as he raised his glass to us before draining the lot.

  Liam seemed intrigued by our interruption, his gaze sliding from Kyan to me as he leaned back in his leather chair and stubbed out his cigarette.

  "What can I do ya for, lad?" he asked, his question for Kyan as we came to sit at the table with them.

  "We're leaving," Kyan said, not beating around the bush and I had to say I liked that about him a lot. "Tonight. Something's come up and Blake's dad is in trouble."

  "It doesn't much sound like that's your problem," Liam said, arching a brow at him.

  "It is," Kyan disagreed. "Because Blake is my brother, his family is my family."

  "You can just pick and choose yer family now, can ya?" Niall asked, rubbing a hand over his chin like that idea intrigued him. "That seems mighty convenient."

  "It is what it is," Kyan said simply.

  "No," Liam replied, not surprising either of us. "It's clear
to me that while this virus is still on the loose you won't be returning to that fancy boarding school of yours, which means it's time for you to return home to us permanently. If your friends need to leave then so be it. But you and I have an empire to run, Kyan."

  "I don't agree," I said mildly, reaching down to unzip the bag I'd dropped at my feet and at a look from Liam, Niall drew a revolver and pointed it at my head.

  He grinned at me and spun the barrel as I slowed my movements. "I'm not drawing a weapon." I pulled my laptop out to prove my point, but Niall pulled the trigger anyway. There was a dull click and I blinked, realising I would have been dead here and now if that thing had been loaded. This family really were a bunch of insane pricks.

  "Christ, yer a cold-hearted motherfucker, aren't ya?" Niall laughed as he failed to get more than that slight flicker of a reaction from me. "I bet I'd have to spend months breaking you if I wanted any of your secrets."

  "I'd take them to the grave," I replied earnestly, and his eyes flared like he was wondering if that was true.

  "What would I have to do to crack a stubborn fucker like you?" he said conversationally. "Is there any kind of torture that would work, or would you just go to death without ever speaking a word?"

  "We're in the middle of a conversation," Liam said, shutting him down and Niall rolled his eyes before leaning back in his chair and flicking the barrel of his gun open, letting a single bullet fall out into his hand.

  "Wait," Kyan snarled as his eyes fell on the bullet and he shoved to his feet. "Did you just fire a loaded gun at my brother?"

  He lunged towards Niall who laughed as Kyan took a swing at him and he was knocked back out of his chair.

  "Enough!" Liam barked, stopping the fight before it could really start.

  Niall was already on his feet, his eyes alight with excitement, a feral glint in them which spoke of untold horrors.

  "Relax, nephew, I knew the bullet wasn't in the chamber. I just wanted to see if I could make him shit himself," Niall said, pulling a knife from his belt before leaning back against the wall and using it to pick at his fingernails.

  Kyan muttered something about him being a crazy bastard before dropping back down into his chair beside me. Niall shot me a wink which I was pretty sure meant he'd been certain of no such thing. I clucked my tongue, unwilling to cause more of a scene over a bullet which hadn't even ended up in my skull as I turned my attention back to Liam.

  "You were telling me that you seem to think you're leaving your family to run off and help yer friend's father," Liam said loudly, turning cold eyes on Kyan as I leaned forward to open my laptop.

  "I am," Kyan agreed. "I think it's time I made it clear to you that I want to choose my own life, Grandpa. I'm not turning my back on the family, but I don't want to help run your empire - I want to rule my own kingdom. And it's time for me to start charting that course."

  "And what makes you think I'd agree to such nonsense?" Liam asked, drawing a fresh cigarette from the pack on the table and lighting it up.

  "That would be me," I said, drawing his attention back to me as I opened up the first file on the laptop and pushed it closer to him. "Before we go any further, I'd like you to know that this information will be released to the FBI if anything were to happen to me or my friends and we don’t check back in with my associate within the next hour - just in case you get any crazy ideas about having us killed here and now."

  "What am I looking at?" Liam asked, but the way his face had paled said he knew well enough.

  "That right there is a file on you personally. It documents the way your organisation works, how you launder your money, where it comes from and how it ends up in your pocket. There is more than enough evidence there to send you away for life - which in your case wouldn't be that hard considering your age - and to make it even cleaner cut, I have a video of you personally killing a man called John Cormack which dates back three years. I also had his body relocated from the shallow grave you gave him so it can be exhumed if needs be."

  Kyan's eyebrows raised as he looked at the information I was presenting, and the corner of my lips twitched as I took a moment to be proud of the noose I'd just placed around Liam's neck.

  "If you're interested in opening any of the other tabs, you will find similar information on each and every relevant member of your family. Aside from Kyan of course."

  "What have you got on me?" Niall asked curiously and I lifted my eyes to meet his as he stepped forward eagerly, not like he was worried about what I had, more like he was curious.

  "Actually, Kyan requested I bury the evidence against you in light of the help you've offered us," I admitted.

  "So, you haven't got anything?" he asked, seeming disappointed.

  "I found an awful lot that could be linked to you - but I will say you're better at covering your tracks than the rest of your family. So it’s possible that you may have been able to avoid incarceration or at least plead insanity. I tend to think it's because you're a deranged madman and your impulses are so random that you're too unpredictable to trace. But perhaps it's just luck." I shrugged and Niall beamed like that was the greatest compliment he’d ever received.

  "I'll get Saint to send you a scrap book filled with all the things he found," Kyan suggested with a smirk, seeming to be over the whole issue of me almost getting my brains blown out. And I felt it was beneficial to him to have a good relationship with at least one family member, so I decided to let that slide too.

  “Also, as you know, when we took down Royaume D’élite we burned it to the ground, but I haven’t been entirely forthcoming about what else I did there. I managed to locate a hard drive which held information on countless highly illegal deals that the members of that club have taken part in as well as the key to the numbers members were given to conceal their identities. In addition to the other information I had already gathered on your organisation, I now have records of all the deals you made with the other members of that club. I know you undertook several high profile assassinations and that you have taken part in insider trading alongside extensive money laundering and other more than questionable activities. All of the information I got on that place and its members will be delivered to the FBI in due course, but as a show of friendship I have taken great care to remove every single scrap of evidence linking anything in there to you and your family. Assuming you accept our deal, it will stay that way.”

  "What deal are you proposing?" Liam asked, his gaze flying over the information in the file as he found my claims to be entirely true.

  "Now, nothing," I replied simply. "Kyan will leave here with us and you will relinquish him from any and every responsibility you had thought to give him within your organisation. We can part as friends, if you like. I understand that your entire reason for joining up to Royaume D’élite was so that you could gain powerful friends and I guarantee you will never make a friend more powerful than me. So you allow Kyan to be his own man and build his own kingdom as he put it. If you have need of me or Kyan in the future I’m sure we could come to an agreement. Similarly, if we have need of your empire, we'll know who to call. We can remain friends, but he will no longer serve beneath you.”

  "And you want this?" Liam asked, his attention fixed on Kyan. "I had you pegged for top dog, you know that, lad?"

  "I do," Kyan agreed, leaning back in his chair. "But I don't want it. I mean, I'm flattered and all that you think I'd be the right fit, but it just isn't me. I want out. I wanna make my own life, Grandpa. That's all."

  Liam toked on his cigarette, his eyes narrowed like he was hunting for a way out of this then he exhaled slowly, blowing a cloud of smoke at us.

  "Alright," he agreed finally, and my chest deflated as I closed the laptop and slid it back into my bag. "Friends. But don't go thinking I won't make good on that offer. A file or two like this on some of my enemies could be just what the doctor ordered."

  "Consider it done," I agreed. "Just as soon as I kill my father."

  Niall bark
ed a laugh and Liam clapped his hand into Kyan's in farewell.

  "You would have been everything this family needs," Liam said seriously, regret shining in his eyes as he was forced to let him go. But he hadn’t grown an empire this powerful without understanding how to pick your battles and he’d clearly seen that this was one he couldn’t win. Smart man. I would have liked him if he wasn’t such an insufferable prick.

  "But that's not what I need," Kyan said just as seriously.

  Liam nodded and we took our leave, Niall's raucous laughter following us as he shouted encouragement at our backs. Crazy motherfucker.

  "Is it done?" Tatum asked as we stepped back out into the hall and Kyan's face broke into a huge grin.

  "Clear and free, baby," he announced, sweeping her up into his arms and making her laugh as he stole a kiss from her lips.

  “Let’s go get my dad back,” Blake snarled, the fury in his eyes burning viciously and I knew the demon in him was aching for release.

  We turned and headed for the door in a close-knit group and Nash cupped his hands around his mouth, calling back before we stepped out into the cold air of the night. "Byeeee Felicia!"

  I snorted a laugh as the door swung closed on one of our problems and I lifted my chin as I looked up at the moon hanging low in the sky. I just wished my father would be so easy to vanquish. But I doubted there was much chance of that.

  W e drove north for several hours and I fiercely anticipated reaching our next destination. Because as soon as we arrived wherever the hell Saint was taking us (he’d been pretty damn cagey so far about the details), I knew it wouldn’t be long before we were seeking justice for everything Troy had done and making his screams echo into the night. We’d had to take the back roads to avoid the army blockades and I had the feeling that had made this trip far longer than it would have been if we could have taken the highways. But we were so close to taking down Troy and we couldn’t risk being caught now. I knew Saint would have been even more thorough than necessary in that task.

  Blake had descended into a dark silence beside me in the back of the car, his hand locked around mine as I offered him any comfort I could. My heart was gilded in pain for the fear that must have been plaguing him. I wouldn’t rest until his father was safe, returned to his son’s side. But until then, I knew my golden boy would keep hurting, fearing the worst and dwelling in the pain he already felt over losing his mother.