Queen of Hearts by Kristen Painter

Author:Kristen Painter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kristen Painter
Published: 2014-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

The pain in her arm was gone, but a new ache had begun in her soul. “I’m not going to cause you any trouble—”

“Any more trouble, you mean?” The look on his face was so dark, so full of mistrust, she felt like she’d broken something. Something valuable.

“My name is Claudette Marchon. I really do go by Claude.”

He snorted in disgust. “So your name’s almost the same. How much did you have to study to learn all that staging?”

She untangled herself from the torn sheets and sat up. “I was a showgirl. I headlined at the Silver Slipper for four years.”

“And now you’re a Collector.”

She stared at his feet. “No. And yes.”

“Which is it?”

“I was a Collector after I retired from the stage. It was a great job, but I stayed on only until I had enough money to open my own business. I own The Gem Exchange downtown. It’s a pawnshop, but I specialize in estate jewelry.” She glanced at him.

That seemed to pacify him a little. His eyes narrowed. “I didn’t think Collectors ever retired.”

“Most don’t. If you like adventure and money, it’s a sweet deal, but I’d always had other plans. Still, when I retired, it was with the stipulation that they could bring me back if they needed me for a special job.”

“And I’m a special job?” He crossed his arms.

She nodded, her gaze back on the floor. “Yes. You are.”

“If I’m supposed to be flattered, I’m not. I can see why they wanted to keep you. You’re really talented. In less than twenty-four hours, you already had me falling for you. I’ve never met a woman who could put on that kind of show.”

“It wasn’t a show.” She made eye contact with him again, hoping he’d see the sincerity in her gaze. “I really do like you. Which is why I decided to find out your whole story before I took you in. The fact that you don’t like Sloan helped me get there, too.”

“He’s made me his prisoner.” He came toward her a few steps, uncrossing his arms to clench his fists at his sides. “Did you know Sloan has my keystone?”

“No, but after knowing you for just a few hours, you didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d willingly commit Collection-worthy acts for that idiot. I knew he had to be pressuring you with something. I just had no idea how big a something.” She slid her legs out from the covers and eased her feet to the floor. “Look, I’m not the bad guy. I’m really not. In fact, I want to try to get your keystone back from Sloan.”

“Technically, that would be breaking a rule. You might end up getting Collected yourself.”

She pursed her mouth and stood to face him, still a little weak but determined to make this hulk of a man understand she was on his side. “I already broke a rule helping you get those scales from the lamai. Sloan’s the one who needs to be Collected, and that’s the honest truth, my hand to Bast.

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