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Another great thing Storm Ridge Academy had to offer me was my own personal laptop I could use to help me with my schoolwork. Most of my homework so far has been basic textbook shit, so I actually hadn’t had an excuse to use it until now.
I fetched the computer and the charger from out my top dresser drawer and quickly plugged it into the outlet by my bed. As I turned it on, I paced around my room, waiting. When it was finally done booting up, I typed in my password and immediately clicked on the internet browser.
Several articles popped up a moment later. I clicked on the first one I saw, biting my lip as I skimmed through it, my heart dropping low in my tummy.
The first victim was Sandra Nelson, an eighteen-year-old girl who’d vanished after leaving work about four days ago. She worked at a bar calledFishnets.She was last seen walking out the door by coworkers and was never seen again. Her car was left abandoned in the parking lot.
I grabbed my phone then and typed in the name of the bar on Google Maps, my pulse racing as my eyes swept over the location. It was exactly ten minutes away from the Gentlemen’s Club. Just like with Crenshaw High, it was slap dead in the middle of Damien’s territory.
Backing out of the article, I searched for the one pertaining to the second girl. When I found it, I read over each line. My hands curled tightly into tense, shaky fists at the information it provided.
Son of a fucking bitch!
Destiny Powell. Like with Sandra, she also worked at a bar, only this bar was calledReggies.It wasn’t as hot of a spot compared toFishnets,but it still fell inside Damien’s territory. It was actually a few blocks down from where Sandra disappeared. And just like Sandra, Destiny’s car was left abandoned in the parking lot.
I scuffled my fingers through my hair, tugging it hard as all of the information came crashing down hard against my chest. Grabbing my phone, I immediately called Ginger. The line rang and rang until it forwarded over to her voicemail.
“Hey, it’s Samara. I need to talk to you ASAP. Call me back as soon as you can.”
With a deep breath, I scrolled down to Jace’s name, hesitating a moment or two before I finally saidfuck itand tapped the CALL button. I’d have rather called Finn, but I didn’t have his number. And seeing as how I’d ran out of Ginger’s house to get as far away from Jace as possible, I wasn’t sure he’d answer.
My breath caught when he picked up.
“What do you want?” he snarled through the phone.
I winced, expectant of that response. “Hey, Jace. I-I need to talk to you.”
“Sorry, you must have me confused with someone who actually gives a fuck.”
I sighed. “Jace…I’m sorry, but I really need to talk—”
“And I really don’t want to hear it, Samara. Whatever it is you want, get it from someone else. I’m done.”
“But-But Jace…”
He hung up. I stared at the phone, scoffing in utter shock. I really couldn’t believe it. He actually hung up on me.
I understood why. I basically deserved it after what I’d done. But this wasn’t about him and me. This was bigger than that, much bigger than our so-called stupidrelationshipproblems. Three teenage girls had vanished in his father’s territory, and I had to know if he knew about it.
Within seconds my heart obliterated in my chest when I called back and he forwarded me straight to voicemail.
“Come on, Jace. Please answer the phone.”
I tried again, and again, each time with the same result. After the fifth try I expelled an annoyed growl and slapped my phone down on the bed before reaching up to tenderly rub my temples.
This was my own fault. Ginger and Finn were right. I couldn’t keep running away from this forever. Eventually he and I would have to talk things out and come to some sort of understanding. But with how he was acting toward me, I didn’t see that happening anytime soon, especially not over the phone.
I blew out a breath and just for the hell of it, tried calling Ginger again. By the grace of a miracle, she answered.
“Hey, I don’t have long. Maybe five minutes tops. Is everything okay?”
“No,” I answered, rubbing a tired hand down my face. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?”
“Three eighteen-year-old girls vanished a few days ago. It’s all over the news. They disappeared in Damien’s territory. Something’s going on, Ginger, and I want to know what it is. Be honest with me, please. Do you know anything?”
It grew silent for a long, long moment. I pulled my phone away from my ear, double checking to see if the line was still connected. It was.
