Page 92 of Shattered Queens: Veronica
“Baby, let’s go. You need to get your rest.” Miles extends his hand to me.
I look at my brother and see the stare he’s giving Miles, but when he looks at me, he gives me a smirk. He knows. Everyone knows.
“Oh.” Serena giggles. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Honestly, none of us are,” Nina comments. “He practically marked his territory at my gym.”
“Here too,” Andrew jokes. “There were times I seriously thought he was going to lunge at me for standing too close to her.”
Shit, I was so busy being angry and trying to get away from Miles that I didn’t notice any of it.
“Well,” Miles says, “if everyone is done, we need to get home.”
We arrive at the building and head up to my apartment before crossing to Miles’s. My apartment door opens, and we see an elderly woman standing next to the window with a water sprayer. I see Will standing next to her.
“Ms. Veronica.” Will comes to me and hugs me, then he realizes who’s standing next to me, so he quickly pulls back. “Hello, Mr. Villanueva.”
The elderly woman comes to stand next to Will. “Grandma, this is Ms. Veronica and Mr. Villanueva. And this is my grandmother, Violet.”
Violet puts her arms around me. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for Will.” I can feel the love she has for her grandson in her hug. She then turns to Miles and hugs him too. “And thank you. You don’t know how much you’ve helped him.”
“My grandmother has been helping keep your plants and flowers company. It seems to help her as much as them.” Will looks at Miles. Ready to be reprimanded. But Miles just nods.
“Of course. Please make yourself comfortable,” I say. “I just need to get some things and check my mail.”
“Oh, I’ve been checking it for you. As directed by Mr. Villanueva. It’s on the counter.”
I look at Miles. “I paid him to take care of the plants and other things. It was enough for him to quit his second job.” He just shrugs his shoulders, like he didn’t just have an impact on someone’s life.
I move to the pile. As I’m looking through it, I see a familiar black envelope. My hands don’t tremble. There’s a new resolve in me. To find out once and for all who’s behind this.
“Miles.” He rushes over. I stare at him, and he looks at my hands. He moves to take the envelope from me, but I hold on to it. He turns to Will. “Will, Ms. Veronica needs to rest. If you and your grandmother would excuse us.”
“Of course. Come on, Grandma.” She gives us a goodbye as they head out the front door.
Once we are sure they’re gone, we examine the envelope. It’s dated a week after I saw Tabitha. I turn to Miles. As if reading my mind. “I instructed Will to just leave your mail here and not touch it.”
I feel the envelope. It’s another photograph. I grab my knife because I still don’t have a letter opener and tear the envelope. I shake it, and a photograph falls out. I let out a scream, and Miles takes it from my hand.
“Fuck.” He immediately takes his phone out and starts making calls.
I take it from his hand and see the photograph of Tabitha. Dead. Naked. With a knife in her thigh and what looks like cigarette marks on her chest and arms. I cry. What happened to her?
“Let’s go.” He takes my arm, and we head down the emergency stairs.
I’m trying to keep up. “Where are we going?”
“To your parents’.”
Thirty minutes later, we arrive at my parents’. My mother runs to me. I release the breath I’ve been holding since I saw the photograph. We go inside and hurry to the living room. My cousins and brothers are here. My army, my soldiers, all of my protectors in one place.
Miles wraps his arm around my waist while my mother holds onto my hand.
“Issac and Liliana are out of town. But they are on their way back,” my father informs us. He looks at Miles and then at me. “We need to find out how Tabitha and Eric knew each other,” he tells the room. “That’s the missing piece of the puzzle.”
“Gus is bringing Serena and Yuri,” Gabe announces to the room. He looks at me. “Yuri’s been staying at my penthouse. I don’t know how deep this goes. I need to make sure she’s safe.”
I want to ask questions but don’t. Miles lets go of me, and I miss his touch immediately. It grounds me. He moves to talk to my family. My mother pulls me toward the staircase and leads me to my bedroom. We take a seat on the bed. I can tell she wants to say something to me. I grab a strand of hair and play with it.
