Read Online Long Live the Queen by Ellen Emerson White - Free Book Online Page A

hand?”
    â€œFuck you,” she said, and blinked, surprised by the reaction—and that she was crying.
    He shook his head. “Mom and Dad wouldn’t like that much.”
    She kicked at him with her left leg and he stepped out of the way.
    â€œGetting angry?” he asked.
    â€œNo!” she said.
    He grinned. “Not even a little?”
    Bastard. She wiped her sleeve across her face, an alarming amount of blood soaking into the cloth. “What, is that the part you get off on? Or just the beating me up?”
    â€œI’m getting off on just about all of this,” he said, his voice managing to be both vicious and pleasant.
    She slouched down, covering her face with her arm, still stunned by the fact that someone had just hit her. With his fist .
    â€œCrying?” he asked.
    She lifted her head just enough to look at him. “They have agencies you don’t even know about working on this. Agencies I don’t even know about.”
    He nodded seriously, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. “Consider yourself pretty important, do you?”
    â€œNo, I—” Frowning hurt, so she stopped. “I mean, I don’t have anything to do with it.”

    He nodded. “Yeah. Good thing ‘family’ is such a big priority for your mother.”
    â€œNo, she—” Meg stopped again. “It doesn’t work that way.”
    â€œIf she were a good mother, you wouldn’t be here right now,” he said.
    Well—yeah. There was some truth to that. “It could have happened, anyway,” she said, hearing the uncertainty in her voice. “I mean, they’re pretty rich.”
    â€œMaybe, but that would just be ransom. You’d get out of it all right. But now,” he shook his head, “because she doesn’t love you—”
    â€œIt’s not her fault,” Meg said defensively, almost forgetting the blood and pain. “I mean, just because she’s—”
    He nodded again. “Worries about you kids first and foremost. Always there for you.”
    These were old arguments, old accusations. Things her family had worked to put to rest. To understand. Things that were none of his god-damn business. “I think you’re just trying to upset me,” she said.
    He shrugged. “Seems to be working.”
    Since she was upset, she changed the subject. “You know, you’ll never get anything. There’s no way they’ll negotiate with terrorists.”
    â€œHmmm,” he said, and made a point of tightening his fist.
    â€œWonder what it would take to convince them?”
    It was a good question—with far too many terrifying possibilities to explore. “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “They still won’t ever negotiate.”
    â€œTough price to pay,” he said.
    Jesus, there were so many things he could do to her. So many things she assumed that he, ultimately, would do to her. She swallowed. “ Especially because it’s her family, they can’t. You should be smart, and let me go.”
    He nodded. “That’d be smart, all right.”

    Her nose was hurting more and she ducked her head, despite the blood still streaming out, to try and ease the pain.
    â€œTip your head back,” he said.
    Feeling dizzy, she lowered it more.
    â€œCome on, tip your head back,” he said, sounding impatient. “You want to bleed for the next week?”
    She looked up slightly. “What’s it to you?”
    He frowned, moving away from her. “Hey, if you enjoy it.”
    â€œNot as much as you enjoyed doing it.” But, she tipped her head back, feeling the blood run down somewhere inside her head. Afraid that she was going to cry some more, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to distract herself. Talking was a hell of a lot better distraction, though. “Don’t I have to have my picture taken, or have you film me begging and