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“And if they don’t let us, boss?” the bulky man they’d called Shae asks, cracking his knuckles.
“Do what you have to,” Maddoc says grimly, “but remember, we need allies.”
The men nod and disperse, and Dante wraps a hand around the back of my neck, offering support.
“Come on, princess,” he says, urging me toward the Escalade. “Let’s get back to the house and regroup.”
I nod, but what do we have to go on, really? Chloe’s been on her own too damn long. I’m scared for her.
“Riley.”
I look up, startled out of my despair by the intensity of Maddoc’s voice.
“We’ll keep looking.”
I nod listlessly, ready to get home already.
He grabs my arm before I can turn away, forcing me to turn back around as those Siberian Husky eyes of his burn into mine with a promise I can’t ignore. “We’ll keep lookinguntil we find her. This doesn’t end until we get her back. Until Chloe is safe. Don’t give up.”
I never will… but I needed to hear that. I’llnevergive up on my sister, but keeping up hope is hard.
It’s a little less hard when I don’t have to do it alone, though.
“Okay,” I say, offering him a small smile.
He doesn’t smile back, but his eyes soften. Then he finally nods and lets me go, the three of them forming a protective barrier between me and the world as they escort me back to the Escalade and take me back to the house.
Take me…home.
* * *
Logan collecteda few things my sister left behind at the abandoned building, confirming it was really her, but when a few days go by without any further sign of her, I feel like I’m going to snap.
“How about Jameson Mathers?” Dante asks me as I pace back and forth in the Reapers’ front room.
“Who?” I snap, even though he doesn’t deserve it.
I’m antsy, nervous, and on edge, my heart feeling brittle as the days Chloe’s missing add up.
Dante calmly repeats himself. The Reapers have been looking into everyone Chloe’s ever had contact with on the off chance she reached out to someone besides Frank, and I don’t even want to know what they hacked into—her cloud storage account? Her social media?—to come up with the list of contacts he’s going over with me.
I remember Jameson now, though. Some boy from her school who used to sniff around, hoping to get a piece of her.
I shake my head.
“Okay,” Dante says, tapping out a quick message to someone after quickly conferring with Logan. They’re probably telling whoever they’ve got watching Jameson Mathers that he’s not worth keeping eyes on, especially when there’s so much other ground to cover.
I can’t even imagine what this effort is costing them, especially since they’re not doing it for the money anymore. Or at least, not to gain access to her inheritance for themselves.
Maddoc’s made it clear that letting West Point get their hands on it isn’t an option, but I know that’s not the only reason they’re devoting so many resources to finding my sister. They’re doing it because of what’s brewing between us.
I’ve never had anyone on my side like this before, and I appreciate it more than I can ever put into words. I’m doing everything I can to help track down every glimmer of a lead, but every minute she’s out there on her own is another minute closer to Austin McKenna finding her first and it’s getting to me.
I can’t let myself think about what that sadistic bastard will do if he finds her. Ican’t.
“Let me run facial recognition,” Logan mutters under his breath as he and Dante put their heads together.
Dante smirks. “Got live facial recognition right here,” he says, nodding toward me as he flips his phone around to show me the screen. “How about these girls, princess?” Three girls. Chloe, laughing in the middle. Her hair dyed the way it was last summer and a worn brick wall behind them that looks like the high school we both went to. “No names or caption,” Dante adds. “Do you recognize them?”
