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Chapter 136
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Claiming His Queen Chapter 137
ADLER."... I would say the night after we left. Enough time to burn the building to dust. You know what that means." Kyra flattened her palms against his desk, snatching his focus, "Adler, are you listening,"Resting his back against his seat, finally looking at her, Adler wondered how to explain to her that he had repeatedly gone over that train of thought, and all of his calculations fell to one conclusion.A rat. A rat in the manor.He dropped the pen on the paper he was working on and interlocked his fingers, "OK, Kyra, I'm listening to your hot takes.""Thank you," she smiled sarcastically, then stood hands akimbo, "If we have an informant in the manor, there's a slight chance that Rune is innocent."He blinked at her, allowing the silence to linger, then crossed his arms over his chest as he inquired, "What led you to that conclusion?" Maybe by intertwining their thoughts, he could grasp what he sensed was absent."Look at it this way," she pulled back, stretching her palm, "If
Claiming His Queen Chapter 138
ADLER He walked into the room, his eyes roaming the unoccupied bed and shifting to the window; seeing the room telephone pressed to her ears, Adler sighedShe had been restless since Eva and Salvatore left. Almost like when they did, her heart went with them; it was hard to believe that she was the same person who had looked Eva in the face and told her to get lost"Salvatore, if you're listening to me right now, please call me back once you hear this." After an afterthought, she added, "And the sixteen others."She placed her forehead against the wall. He could hear her muttering things he couldn't make, but he knew were curses. Quietly, he shut the door and crept close to her, and on seeing her raising the phone again, he gently took it from her, then slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her head."It's been hours, Adler," she muttered, taking a deep breath, "And Salvatore isn't picking up his phone."He let a slight smile on his face, and she felt it, tu
Claiming His Queen Chapter 139
LILYI wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close to me, the Cologne that once was my comfort enveloping me as he returned the embrace, patting my back, "Luciano, you came. You didn't have to."He pushed me back, clasping my face, then sighed and hugged me again, "I kept wondering why your phone wasn't going through. You should have called me immediately after it happened. I was fucking worried."I smiled weakly, "Still doesn't permit you to return to Campania."Kyra clearing her throat impatiently behind me had us slowly releasing ourselves, watching as she made her way and stood between us, all of her heated focus on Luciano, "That was a dangerous journey to make,"In response, he smiled at me fondly, "Lily and I go a long way back, ma'am; it's a wonder we didn't get married," on his initiative, we bumped knuckles, grinning from ear to ear. "Which means I had every right to know you got taken by Vito, Lily. Are you okay? I was worried about you big time."I shrugged, feeling
Claiming His Queen Chapter 140
ADLER.Stepping down from the car, he had the habit of looking up at her window, tugging at his sleeves, and of course, he had to do it while arranging his suit jacket.In the early morning, he had left her on the bed, fast asleep without the crease on her forehead that spelled her worries. And if the snooze were real, then it would be one of the few actual sleeps she had gotten since they came back to the Manor.He jammed the door at the same time as Salvatore, who was beside him in seconds, staring at his face and then diverting his gaze up to the window."Really, man, she's just a couple of steps away from you; all you need is legs to get you there." His voice held a tinge of annoyance, and rightly so, "Remember you'll be having a meeting with your father tonight,"He resisted groaning, "Victor will be there,"Staring at him like he sprouted horns from the center of his forehead, Salvatore answered, "That isn't a question you should be asking. Aside from that, no day passes without
Claiming His Queen Chapter 141
LILY'S POV.Nothing was as it seemed; I sensed it from the start, from the day he entered the manor with a bandage on his arm, claiming a message from Ruslan.As I held onto Adler hours after Luciano's visit, one question gnawed at me. It did hurt me then to doubt a friend's story, a close one, but when you've been floored too many times, your instincts spring up at the slightest provocation.'Ruslan was deadly; him having to pay anyone a visit should signify the end, and if he wanted to send me a message through Luciano, it would be on his decayed corpse.Something felt off. And the feeling had grown when Adler had confirmed my suspicion. *"He kills without a second thought. There's no one he meets face to face who lives to tell stories," he said.*And no one would know better than Adler, right? Yeah, I was right.I was in the backseat of a halted car, the gun in my hands, my fingers trigger-hungry, and a cold chill running down my spine. Unlike me, my eyes were void of tears; unlik
Claiming His Queen Chapter 142
ADLER.From afar, he could spot them, with Kyra leaning against the car and Lily next to her, with hands stuck into the pocket of a black hoodie; driving closer, he discovered it was his.From their postures, only one of them was aware of the grave risk they had taken, and it was Lily whose fidget could be seen from a thousand miles away. When she noticed his car, she stepped backward.Seeing her, one would think she was sightseeing, but minutes ago, she was on the brink of death. Except for her constant fidgeting, she looked neat until he dropped down and spotted the blood on her face.Restraining the aggressiveness from his steps, he closed the distance between them, holding her gaze, the ice in his glare making it difficult for her to keep hers steady.She whispered, "It's not what you..."With his index finger, he swiped at the crimson stain on her forehead, and finding out the blood crust wasn't hers, his relief was complete. Without another word, he began to walk around them."A
Claiming His Queen Chapter 143
LILYI waited by his window for the signs of his car rolling into the manor, but there was nothing, and as time stretched and there was still no sign of him, it was becoming a struggle to keep still instead of going for Kyra and demanding if he was okay.He had no reason to have gone after Ruslan alone, venturing into the wild without thinking about his safety. The manor was almost still, everyone on edge; roughly an hour ago, a soldier was roughly thrown into the trunk of a waiting car, and Kyra, who was behind them, oversaw it all.Just a day, and it felt like a century. A lot had happened, a lot I thought I would never get into; my hands were stained with blood, and my secrets were safe, but till when? It didn't look so far off anymore.“I'm sorry about your friend,” a voice from the door had me pivoting, and finding Salvatore, I tried on a small, sad smile, the concern mixed with irritation still not leaving his face; I quit trying to look unaffected. “I always felt something was
Claiming His Queen Chapter 144
LILY I didn't anticipate him showing up in the middle of the night or coming to me at any time, for that matter.Yet, he did. It was a particularly unsettling time for his unexpected arrival. I found myself unprepared, in my disheveled pajamas with swollen, red eyes – the mascara streaks on my face were the least of it. Just an hour prior, I had succumbed to a moment of vulnerability.Adler stood by the door, watching me, and I, still stunned to speak, stood still, waiting for his backlash.Looking closer, I noticed he didn't seem to be raging like he had been at the steel bridge. Unsure of that theory, I made no effort to get close."Rune says, Hi." he broke the silence, the softness in his voice caressing my hurt, "I was talking to Kyra, and she says you need therapy; I don't know what the hell is that, so she's taking care of it."That was a lot of rambling to fill the awkward silence, and none of it told what he wanted. I made to stand up, but he stretched out his hands, "No, Lil
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