The Queens: Scarred Queen

Casey Hernandez, the beautiful and untouchable wife of Ignacio Hernandez, did not leave his mind for the next several months as Reyes negotiated trade with her stupid fuck of a husband. He'd left most of the footwork with Alejandro, while he retreated to his compound, deep in the mountainous Altiplano region of Bolivia. Alejandro and several of his most trusted men had been back and forth between the two countries, discussing terms and moving product. Building business in the safest, smartest way possible.Reyes continued to do what he did best. Manage his kingdom with an iron fist. Though it burned him to leave the woman alone, he'd learned patience over the years through the most brutal of methods. Learned to understand his prey before making a move. Reyes moved to his desk and sat. He reached for a Cohiba, lit it, took a long draw and leaned back in his sturdy leather chair. He rarely smoked or imbibed alcohol, preferring clarity, but indulged once in a while, particularly when agi

Casey shuddered and turned away, satisfied that they were finished. She strode toward the study door and waited for Alonzo to open it for her. He joined her and reached past her, his hand brushing the bruises of her arms ever-so-slightly. She stepped quickly to the side and glanced swiftly under her lashes at the man that had stood next to her side for the better part of a decade. She didn't understand him. Sometimes she thought he hated her guts and sometimes… she didn't think he hated her at all.Alonzo knocked and waited for Ignacio's summons before ushering her inside. Casey entered the large, opulent room and took a seat across from the husband she hadn't seen in a week, not even in passing. Partially because she avoided him like he had herpes, rabies and bird flu all rolled into one. Plus, their schedules differed significantly and Casey lived reclusively, choosing to take most of her meals in her room. Unfortunately, Ignacio would insist on these meetings where she would have n

Casey hadn't thought about the man in over six months. It took her a second to realize who he was when he suddenly appeared next to her in the pouring rain, on the pool deck, water dripping down his tanned face and running into his collar. She was damp herself, but sitting comfortably underneath her patio umbrella lounge set. Her fearful gaze flickered toward Alonzo, who was standing underneath the overhang of the towel cabana. He didn't move or indicate in any way that she might be in danger of the man standing arrogantly next to her, as though he had every right to invade her space, so she figured she was safe enough.She looked back up and forced herself to try to remember him. Her memory was not always the best, not since the car accident that had cracked her skull open ten years ago. Sometimes she had difficulty remembering things, which seemed to annoy people. Her bad memory coupled with her sometimes impulsive words and other little quirks tended to get her in trouble."You're a

Casey laughed out loud, amusement animating her features when Reyes pulled up outside the club. She waited for him to come around to her side of the car and open the door for her. She raised a pale eyebrow at him as he took her arm. "Why are you bringing me here again?" she asked with another laugh. "You didn't get enough of this tacky place last time we were here?""I wanted to have you here again, just you and me. Now we can talk like we should've done the first time we met. You'll class the place up, nena." His low chuckle sent a thrill through her body and she turned toward him, helplessly drawn to his power. She was slightly taller than him in her four inch Luis Vuitton heels. Though he wasn't a massive man in comparison to her bodyguard, he exuded raw Latin masculinity, the type that Ignacio had always tried so hard to express but failed at on every level. She suspected from the lean flexing of his hands and throat that a tough musculature roped his body beneath the tastefully

"I understand," she whispered. Then she sighed, her breath rushing across his lips in an unconscious invitation. His hands tightened on her arm and chin until she flinched in his hold and he was forced to set her back along the seat in the booth.He nodded slightly and kept his arm around the top, near her head, as though ready to reach for her if she tried to bolt. Which wasn't far from the truth. She was exhausted and ready to go home. The anxiety and intensity of her emotions were becoming overwhelming. She didn't know how much more she could take. She really didn't understand why Ignacio was allowing this to happen to her. He'd never allowed other men this close before. She understood the need to keep Bolivia happy, but when had keeping a business contact happy meant allowing them to take his wife out to a club?"Now tell me about the accident," he demanded.She shrugged and reached for her orange juice, desperately wishing it was something stronger. She wondered what he would d