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“Your son,” Rock said. “It was your son, wasn’t it?”
Diamond shook her head vehemently. “My son is innocent.”
“Oh? Then who are you taking the fall for? Because you absolutely did not pull that trigger. I’m betting you weren’t even in the states when the murder occurred.”
Diamond said nothing.
“Diamond,” I said. “Please. You helped me. Now help my husband and his brother. We need to solve this mystery. An innocent woman is going to go down, otherwise. And if she doesn’t, someone else will. My husband and all his siblings are suspects, and they’re all innocent.” I paused a moment. “Please.”
“My son is innocent,” she said again.
“Then who isn’t innocent?” Reid demanded. “You know something, and you need to level with us now.”
Diamond sighed, and a look of pure defeat swept over her once fine features. “I will tell you what you want to know, but first, I want you to see what your father was capable of.”
“We already know,” Rock said.
“You don’t, actually.” She turned to Remy. “Take them. Now.”
48
Reid
Two hours later, Remy drove us through a wrought-iron gate into…
Paradise. Not kidding. It looked like fucking paradise. Palm trees, tropical flowers, swimming pools, movie stars. If I didn’t know better, I’d think we’d just entered the finest resort on Fiji or Bali. White stone buildings, and in the distance, a gorgeous beach.
But it was all a façade.
Evil loomed before us. My skin prickled. I could feel it.
“I don’t get it,” Rock said. “Where’s the hunting ground?”
“It’s all around you,” Diamond replied. “Look around. There are myriad places to hide here.”
I didn’t see what she was talking about, but the place was huge.
“Take them to the dorm,” Diamond said to Remy.
“The dorm?” Zee asked. “Is that where I was?”
“Yes. You were in a room tucked away from the others.”
“The women are still here?” Rock asked.
“Where else would they be?” Diamond looked out the car window.
“Are there any…hunters here?” I had to ask.
“No. They all left after Derek was killed.”
“This is great, then,” Zee said. “We can free all the women now.”
“Where would they go?” Diamond asked. “They don’t know any other life.”
“Surely they have families,” I said.
“They probably do, but most of them have been gone a long time. Their families have given them up for dead. They’ll welcome them home, of course, but these women are not the same people they once were. They’re going to need help. Therapy. Some may need to go to a mental hospital.”
“We’ll take care of them,” Rock said. “Whatever they need. We have the resources.”
“Of course,” I agreed. “Anything they need. We’ll get them out of here.”
“It’s not that simple,” Diamond said. “Some of them don’t want to leave.”
“What?” Zee cried out. “That can’t be the case.”
“Call it Stockholm syndrome.” Diamond closed her eyes, frowning. “Or call it life.”
“Why the hell would they choose a life of slavery over freedom?” Rock demanded. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t to you, of course,” Diamond said. “But to them, this is their life. They’re fed and cared for. All of their basic needs are provided.”
“Except the freedom not to be hunted and raped,” Zee said. “This is crazy.”
“To you, yes, it is.”
“To anyone,” Zee said. “Yes, I know I was the lucky one. I got away. Honestly, I always thought the rest of the girls had died. Had been hunted until death. I thought it was a sick game with murderous intent. I had no idea they were still alive.”
“Not all of them are,” Diamond said. “Some didn’t make the cut. They weren’t worthy prey.”
Zee went pale. “I guess…I didn’t think of that. I was just so ecstatic that they were alive.”
“A lot of them are,” Diamond said.
“Let’s get them out of here.”
“I already told you that it’s not that simple. They’re free now. There are no hunts, now that Derek is dead.”
“Did you know about his plans to fake his own death?” Rock asked.
“I did. You’ve probably already guessed that he planned to come here and live out his life doing what he loved best. Hunting women.”
“What about Father Jim?”
“Father Jim was supposed to continue finding prey and then send them here.”
I wanted to puke. Really puke until I was inside out.
“And you… Your son…” I prodded.
“Derek said we would finally be together, but I lost any love I ever had for him long ago, once he showed his true colors.”
“How did he run this place?” Rock asked. “All his assets were left to us in his will.”
“Except those weren’t all his assets,” Diamond said. “This place has netted Derek millions over the years. Probably billions, not that I’d know. He didn’t share those things with me. He shared them with Jordan, though, and Jordan knew he’d be a rich man once his father died.”
“Rich on dirty money,” Rock said.
Diamond shook her head. “Derek was a master at laundering. All Jordan’s money is clean and crisp.”
