Lord of London Town

Arthur stroked my cheek with his thumb. “You okay, princess?” I knew he was referring to my dad and Hugo. I thought of them. I shook my head, but the emotions I knew were within me were numbed right now, padlocked away in a familiar cage. Held back to keep me from falling apart. “No,” I confessed. “But I will be.” I smiled at him and kissed his chest, right over his heart. “Now I’m with you, I will be.”

Arthur put the cigarette in his mouth and pulled me up his chest so my face hovered before his. It was my favourite move of his. It was as if I weighed nothing at all.

“You killed Lawson.” Arthur searched my face. “You fucking killed Lawson.”

“He deserved it,” I said. Pride flashed across Arthur’s concerned expression. I meant it. There wasn’t a part of me that regretted taking Ollie’s life. He’d had his gun to Arthur’s head after ripping a hole through his heart about his sister. And I couldn’t stand it. I’d had to act. Ollie had brought so much pain and death to too many people’s lives. I couldn’t regret ending the life of someone who would only hurt more and more people if he survived.

And no one hurt my Arthur.

“My queen,” Arthur said, his words singing to my soul. He wrapped his arms around me and crushed me to his chest. “My fucking dark, corrupted queen. The most important piece on my board,” he whispered. “The most fucking important piece in my bastard life.” My chest burst with warmth, his words healing any severed nerves I had within me, attaching me further to his soul.

A while later, Arthur’s breathing evened out. I lifted my head and, smiling, took the still-burning cigarette from between his lips and stubbed it out on the ashtray beside him. Then I laid my head on Arthur’s chest and closed my eyes too.

My life had brought me darkness and pain, but I couldn’t resent it when that darkness spoke to the darkness inside him. Together we would rise, and together we would live happily in our dark kingdom. We would find Pearl and bring her back to us. Somehow, we would bring her home at last.

Until then, I had him and he had me.

My lord of London Town, and I his lady, who stood by him, proud to embrace the dark.

Epilogue

ARTHUR

One month later

We walked into the pits, every fucker staring at us as we passed them. My arm was around Cheska’s shoulders, and her head was high as the wankers all gaped. I took a drag of my cig, passing by the bare-knuckle fights and heading toward the killing pits.

Cheska was dressed in all black, those fucking leather trousers she loved showcasing her arse to perfection. I glared at anyone who tried to look at my bird, death in my eyes for anyone who dared get a fucking hard-on at her presence.

When we reached our seats at the main pit, I turned Chelsea Girl to face me and smashed my lips to hers. Cheska groaned into my mouth and ran her hand down my stomach, cupping my cock and making me lose my fucking mind. Growling, I pulled away, promising with my blazing glare that I was going to fuck her later. Right here, in the pits, up against the wall.

“Well, that was a fucking entrance,” Royal said, coming behind me and slapping me on the shoulder. I turned and smirked. “Careful, brother, you almost cracked a smile. It was fucking disturbing,” he said.

“Your boy ready?” I asked, nudging my chin at Rudge’s younger cousin.

“He’s pissed off tonight, so I’d throw a few grand on him if you want to be quids in by the end of the night. Always fights better when he’s in a fucking mood.”

“Five grand on the Hangman,” Cheska said to our bookie, clearly hearing what Royal had said. Shaking his head in amusement, Royal went back to his boys, and I took my seat beside Cheska.

I lifted her off her seat and put her on my lap, where she fucking belonged. Her arm looped around my neck, and my arm around her waist told every bastard in these pits, in the entire fucking London underworld, that she was mine. That she was my fucking dark queen and none of these twats was to touch a bloody hair on her head, or they’d face my fucking wrath.

“My turn,” Eric said when the current champion in the pit smashed through the skull of his opponent, killing him in one blow. Eric got up from his seat. He moved toward the edge of the pit and looked back at Betsy, a grin on his face. “I win this, and tonight, I’m taking you up the arse.”

“You fucking wish,” she snapped, but she smiled to herself and looked away.