Corrupted Queen - Nicole Fox Page 0,93

but suspecting that it won’t.

Miguel finishes his posturing and delivers the last of his veiled threats, and when he is satisfied that the shipment will be unloaded as scheduled, he dismisses me. I rankle at his disrespect. He is nothing, nobody, merely the Cartel’s trained parrot, and yet he calls the shots for these meetings.

I am in a shitty mood when I get into the SUV to head back to the mansion, and my mood only gets worse when I receive the message that Alexis has disappeared. I spend the car ride back to the mansion alternating between trying to reach Alexis—and getting a very frustrating text message in return—and interrogating her security detail on how the fuck she got away. I also check that Harry is still safely at the mansion. He is.

At least I can count on her return. Alexis would never leave Harry. I don’t think she would leave me either, at this point. We have developed something like a relationship over the past few weeks, so her sudden flight has come out of the blue.

I consider sending men out to find her but decide against it. I need my men where they are, and I trust that Alexis will return when she is ready, even if it does piss me off that she thinks she can refuse my summons in the first place.

When Alexis does return, a couple of hours later, there is something profoundly different about her. She asks if we can talk later, claims to just want to lie down for a little while, but something ripples in her eyes when she speaks to me, like she’s hiding something.

I let her go. What can I do at this point? I’m not going to tie her to the chair in the cellar and demand answers from her. I have to be patient.

To a point, of course. Alexis has some explaining to do, and when I have given her an appropriate level of space, I will get answers from her. For now, I have business to attend to anyway—I’m meeting with my capos, Silvano, and Antonio to discuss the logistics of the new shipment.

I watch Alexis climb the stairs, her shoulders high and tight like a soldier going into battle, and wish, not for the first time and certainly not for the last, that I could read her thoughts.

The meeting goes longer than expected, and it is late by the time I climb the stairs. My head aches. I consider just sliding into bed with Alexis and not bringing up what happened today, but I need to know why she ran. If she always intended to come back.

I crack open Alexis’ door and enter into the darkness. Her deep breathing hitches as I enter, and I hear her shuffling on the bed.

“Are you awake?” I ask, stripping down to my boxers.

Her voice sounds weak, distant. “Yeah.”

I climb into bed and my hands find her form, warm under the blankets. This is normally when she would snuggle up to me, perhaps grind her ass against me, but Alexis continues lying there like a corpse.

“Alexis?” I wonder if she has fallen back asleep.

“Yeah?”

I shift over the mattress, pressing my chest against her back and wrapping my arms around her middle. She doesn’t curve against me as she usually does, doesn’t sigh peacefully. Doesn’t react at all.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

All thoughts of reprimanding her disappear under the weight of my concern. What happened to her today?

“Nothing,” she says, her voice coming out like a sigh. “I’m just tired.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Then don’t.”

That’s more like the Alexis I know, but her words come out colder than usual. I frown in the dark and kiss her shoulder.

“Why did you run?” I ask.

“I panicked,” she answers stiffly. “Seeing Clara like that …” She exhales breathily. “My friend is broken, and I don’t think she’s going to get better while purple heroin ravages the city.”

Something about her answer doesn’t sit right with me. Alexis doesn’t panic, doesn’t run like that, especially not from Clara. She’s hiding something.

“Alexis, look at me.”

She doesn’t turn. “I’m tired, Gabriel. I just want to sleep.”

I nudge her onto her back, taking her chin in my hand. Her lashes flutter open, though I cannot see her expression in the dark. I press my lips to hers, expecting the kiss to break whatever spell has taken hold of Alexis and turned her cold to me. I need her warmth. I feel myself freezing without it, craving even the slightest gasp