The Killer Queen by Noella Briony

Chapter 123

Ashlyn huddled on the hospital bed, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind, while the battered caregiver lay sprawled beside her, stacked like a house of cards, all of them out cold.

Palmer casually shut the door behind him and whispered, “Does your hand hurt? You’ve had quite the workout. Don’t worry about the security cameras, I’ll handle that.”

His role as gatekeeper served a dual purpose, giving Noella room to let off some steam and dealing with any potential threats to her in that room.

Noella glanced up and said coolly, “How thoughtful.”

“Of course. It’s a hitman’s instinct, and part of my duties as your fiancé.” He didn’t see Noella’s outburst as excessive. On the contrary, he thought it was great that she had the chance to cut loose. “It’s a decent stress reliever, too.”

Noella looked at him, speechless.

Was he really suggesting she attacked Ashlyn just to blow off some steam? Or did he not see any issue with her hitting Ashlyn at all?

Handing over the divorce papers to Major Garnett, Noella said blandly, “Some folks might come sniffing around for Ashlyn in the next few days. If it’s not too much trouble, could you hang onto them for me?”

Major Garnett, looking at the divorce agreement, felt like he’d struck gold!

Ms. Noella was his lucky star, and he could hardly refuse her anything. “No trouble at all! Anyone who comes looking for Ashlyn will be detained and delivered straight to you, Ms. Noella!”

“Much appreciated.”

Major Garnett smiled warmly, his eyes shining brightly as he glanced at Noella!

Now that was the stature befitting the Schnabel family’s Ms. Noella- graceful, tactful, powerful, and clever. She’d snagged the divorce papers with such ease!

Major Garnett marched out of the hospital with his prized document like a soldier on parade, his excitement palpable.

Palmer took Noella’s hand gently, massaging her wrist, and even brought it to his lips to blow on it as if soothing a child’s boo–boo.

Noella tried to withdraw her hand but found that Palmer gave her no quarter, forcing her to endure his warm, imposing presence.

Marcel’s call came at that moment, and Noella answered it casually.

1/4

10:23

didn’t give

I dealt

Wait, what? You dealt with whom? Ashlyn?” Marcel nearly dropped his chess piece in

I did. And a few caregivers too.”

chicken egg! After a moment,

How can you go about things this way? Didn’t I tell you to take Palmer with you? Shouldn’t he be the one doing the rough stuff? What if you got tired? Are my precious granddaughter’s hands made

a hint of amusement in her

rant.

to adapt! When I said to bring Palmer, it meant let him step in when necessary, not

spread through Noella’s heart. “You aren’t mad at

know what you and Ashlyn are like? If you hit her, she had it coming! I’m not going

out loud. She knew Marcel was joking, trying to comfort her,

for dinner. Don’t worry about the rest; I’m not

I got it.”

hung up, her face lighting up with a

expression. “Looks like Grandpa Marcel is ready to give me a whooping. I’ll need to pick up some peace offerings for tonight!”

the

feeling a blush

on her face. “Come with me to pick out the

other things

her plate and he had a backlog of work himself, what with Annie borrowed by Ulrich and not yet returned,

10:23

Chapter 123

I’ll give you a ride and

I’ll head back

of fondness tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Okay, but you know you always lose track of time in the lab. By the time

true. Whenever Noella delved into an experiment, she became completely absorbed, only stopping once she obtained results, and then she’d start a new series of tests,

bee.

having a family dinner with the Schnabels. She couldn’t be

Palmer had waited for her at the door, under the stars, without a single

Noella’s cheeks flushed a deeper red. “Alright, I’ll wait for you tonight.”

one hand on the steering wheel and lifted Noella’s hand to his

“See you tonight.”