Home > Born a Queen (The Queens #3)(3)

Born a Queen (The Queens #3)(3)
Author: Nikita Slater

“You been taking your medications properly?” The question was so unexpected, spoken in a gruff tone of voice, that she almost asked him what he meant. Then she realized he was talking about her immunosuppressants; her antirejection drugs from the kidney transplant she’d had when she was twelve.

She pulled her purse closer and nodded. “Yes, I never forget them.”

He gave her a piercing look. “Be sure that you don’t.”

Her temper flared. “Don’t treat me like a child, Mateo. I’m well aware of the sacrifice made to me by my mother. I wouldn’t be alive if she hadn’t donated her kidney.”

“Wasn’t talking about your mother. I care that you survive, and you need that kidney to survive. You only have one functioning kidney left, you need to be more careful. Stop being so reckless with your health. The bullet could’ve easily taken out the kidney, killed you.”

She twisted on the table to glare down at him where he’d pulled a chair up to the table to work on her. “Thanks for the reminder, I nearly forgot.”

He tilted his head until his eyes met hers. They were a beautiful velvet brown, but serious. “You won’t be given the opportunity to endanger yourself again.”

Raina didn’t respond. Mateo was convinced she didn’t take her health seriously. She wouldn’t convince him otherwise until he saw her taking care of herself, taking her pills regularly, eating healthy foods, exercising. But that wasn’t in the cards, at least not right now.

"How do you plan on getting us out of here?" she asked.

Not that she actually intended to go with him, but talking to him, having him talk to her, distracted her from the pain.

When she had woken up, he told her that he managed to pull the bullet out while she was passed out. Thank the fucking gods, because the patch job on her bullet wound hurt so bad, she couldn't imagine anyone digging around inside while she was awake.

Raina was used to pain. She had gone through some of the most painful treatments of her life as a child. Pretty much anything else, including a gunshot wound, was child's play compared to a kidney transplant.

"We'll probably drive out," he said. "Then take an airplane from a neighboring country. It’s the only way I can think of to get you out safely without the Italians coming after us."

She smiled to herself, looking down at the table that she was sitting on. She tapped her fingernail against the stainless steel. "Yes, my safety. It's the most important thing, isn't it," she said drily.

They all wanted to treat her like a precious pampered princess. In reality, she was raised a farm girl, became a college drop-out thanks to Mateo and Sotza, and was now a career criminal, making some of the world's best forged documents. It was almost laughable that these tough guys wanted to lock her up in a tower and surround her with guards and bubble wrap.

He grunted. "You haven't seen what your stepdaddy is capable of. Yes, little girl, your safety is the most important thing here."

That comment sobered her. As much as she loved her family, she couldn't forget for a single minute that they were involved in organized crime. And that some of them, Mateo and Sotza most of all, were determined to push her into the life too.

Her mother was equally as determined to keep her out. Raina was on her mother's side. She couldn't imagine spending her life that way. She had too much to live for, too much she hadn't seen or done yet. The mafia felt like a cage, she just couldn't do it.

"So we drive out," she echoed his words. "Sounds good."

She tried to sound listless and pathetic as she thought of ways to escape. She didn't think Mateo would be overly vigilant with her right now. He'd come to her rescue; he wouldn't expect her to run away. Not in her current shape.

It took another half hour before Mateo finished with her. He cleaned the wound, stitched it shut, taped gauze over it, then wrapped more gauze around her middle, holding everything in place. She sucked in a breath as his knuckles brushed the bare skin of her belly, burning a path of sensation where he touched. Mateo didn’t seem to notice. He was quick, calm and professional.

He helped her put her shirt back on, rolling it over her head and then one at a time pushing her arms through the arm holes. Raina wrinkled her nose at the dried blood all over the shirt, but she didn’t have an alternative.

Mateo gently slid her closer and helped her stand, taking her hand in his and easing her off the table. He didn’t back away immediately, just held her loosely in his arms. Raina leaned in closer, enjoying the human contact. It felt good being held by him, feeling his strength against her body. She felt safe.

For a brief moment she considered staying with him. Allowing him to take her home. She’d come to know him well enough, from their time in Venezuela and some of the things her mother had told her about him, to understand that he was a man with integrity. Though he was a mob enforcer, he held himself to a standard of ethics. It was a twisted kind of ethics, where murder was okay, but lying was wrong.

If he took her home, if she allowed the seemingly inevitable progression of their relationship to continue, she knew he would take good care of her. Forever. It was a thought that was almost irresistible.

But so was the lure of the whole wide world at her feet. And she wasn’t willing to give it all up to become a young bride. Not yet.

Taking advantage of the moment and the fact that Raina wasn’t pushing him away, Mateo touched her lightly, running his fingers from her waist up her arms. Tingles ran up and down her sides even though he was touching her through her shirt. She ignored the blatant chemistry, stepping to the side and breaking his hold. She didn't have time for that right now.

Mateo picked up her leather coat and held it open for her. She turned around giving him her back and put her arms out while he carefully slid the sleeves on and tugged it over her shoulders. She groaned as she twisted and her back twinged.

He put a hand on her shoulder and said in her ear, "I'm sorry, it's going to hurt for a while."

"You know what it feels like to get shot?" At first the question was said with sarcasm, but then she realized given his profession he might actually know what it felt like.

Mateo confirmed her suspicion. “Si, I do."

Raina forgot her dilemma for a moment. “When were you shot? Where were you shot?"

He gave her a long look. "Now you're interested in me?"

If only he knew. Raina was always interested in him. Not a day had gone by in the past two years that she hadn’t thought of him. Especially when she was alone in her bedroom, late at night, remembering each and every encounter with him. The way he’d looked, smelled, sounded. Those memories had kept her close company.

She shrugged. "I guess we finally have something in common."

He pinched her chin between his fingers and tilted her face up to his. He towered over her. She wished she wasn't so short. She hated looking up to virtually everyone she spoke to. "We got plenty in common, little girl. And once we’re back home you're going to have all the time in the world to get to know me better."

That last comment jarred her back to reality. No, she wasn't, because she was getting the hell out of there.

She scooped up her purse and pretended to walk with him to the door, but before they reached it, she grabbed his arm and stopped him. "I have to go to the bathroom."

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