DOUBLE EDGED A Harper's Book. (Book 10)

The Queen Is On The Prowl

Rarely do I smoke so believe me when I tell you that if you do see me having a puff something heavy is weighing on my mind. I'll have a nice, long drag right before I'm planning to make a premeditated kill or I'll let the smoke curl slowly from my mouth while I'm trying to piece the puzzle together. Either way I'm a dangerous woman when you see a halo of smoke about me.

However, the smoke I'm currently having is different. I haven't planned a murder... Yet. True, there is a puzzle I'm sorting out but right now I'm revisiting an old memory. A memory that brought me much pain. For this circumstance I selected one of London's fine Cuban cigars.

Watching London's naked rear disappear into the bathroom for a shower, I rolled my bare body over to his side of the bed. As I reached into his side table drawer to retrieve the cigar I caught a glimpse of the fresh bite marks that London had left upon my skin. Smiling, I rubbed at the red strip around my wrist where his belt had restrained me to the bed post. Remembering his knife, I scooped it from the twisted sheets and placed it on the table. Needless to say, I played London's little kidnapped victim tonight and loved every second of it. That man never fails to leave me full and satisfied.

Sitting up with my back pressed to the headboard I placed the cigar in my mouth. Striking the match, I gave a series of puffs until bright orange glowed from the tip. Still, I didn't extinguish the match. Holding it between my two fingers I let it burn down as I stared into the flame. The soft glow was the only light in the room yet offered a calming effect. My son King was in my thoughts. Nearly a month ago he lost his love Frankie who was carrying his child.

My son is hurting so that makes me hurt as well. Since the incident we have returned home to New York but King stayed on in Vegas. I do check in with him daily plus Aiden keeps tabs on him for me. I was informed that he has thrown himself into work rather vigorously and is hitting the bottle nightly. This isn't good news. These habits make for a heartless ruler and heartless rulers get killed. I understand his pain though. For I too lost the man I loved year's ago but unlike King I never gave up. I poured my hurt and anger into searching for him, not taking no for an answer. Whereas King is replacing his hurt and anger with booze and an iron fist.

No, this isn't easy for him, especially when deep down he blames his father. He doesn't say it but I know my children. I can see the accusations in his eye's. Flicking my wrist, I killed the burning match then stood up. Grabbing London's white collar shirt from the floor, I slipped into but didn't bother to button it. On light feet, I padded to the patio door and slid it open. A rush of cold air assaulted me but I welcomed it. As I stepped out my nipples puckered at the coolness. Leaning my elbows on the rail, I stared out across the city. My conclusions and guesses ran wild in my head. There was something about this entire death that just didn't sit well with me. It just didn't add up and I was determined to find what was missing.

Here's what I know... A few of Kings men were shot to death with Kings gun. That tells me that it had to be Frankie who done the shooting. However everyone assumes that she killed them before the explosion in order to get near King. I on the other hand think differently for very overlooked reasons. For one, Kings gun was never recovered at the scene of the explosion. If Frankie had of shot the men before the bomb went off the gun would have been on her or in the vicinity. This tells me that she ran from the explosion and survived. She ran into Kings men while fleeing and had to silence them. London believes that the impact of the explosion interfered with the security cameras but I don't think so. I think Frankie was smart enough to run interference with them herself. As for the body, we had to dispose of it quickly before authorities arrived. I'm sure as our men cleared the scene vital clues got swept away but I'm guessing that wasn't Frankies body. I made a mental note to do a missing person or body search tomorrow for that area. As I was devising my plan, London's voice interrupted me. "What are you up to baby doll?"