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“Yeah,” I tell him, sitting up. “What's going on?”
Silence follows before Gage exhales again. “Look, I don’t know how to tell you this. One of Corey’s friends stopped by his house last night. Corey uh…he’s dead, Jade.”
“What?” My throat goes dry. My heart stops.
“I’m sorry, Jade. Even though there were rumors spreading around, and maybe something happened or maybe it didn’t. Either way, he was still your friend, so I thought you should know.”
“What happened? You said his friend found him?” I stand up and pace. Onyx was just here and I saw the anger in his eyes. His promise…
“They think he overdosed. It’s being ruled a suicide,” Gage tells me quietly.
“But, Corey—”
“Jade, Corey wasn’t all you thought he was. He did drugs on the regular and sold them just as fast to anyone who would buy them. He hid it from you. We all did. Part of his persona was you thinking he was the hero in everything. I’m sorry, Jade, that's just the way it was.”
I can’t breathe. I sob and hiccup into the phone and Gage pushes me through it. He answers my questions and by the time we hang up, my whole life feels like a lie.
Harper won’t speak to me.
Corey is gone. He’s dead.
Onyx left.
I have no one. I don’t know how to move on from this. I want to be numb. I don’t want to feel anymore.
ChapterTwenty
Onyx
One year later…
“Ifound her.” Terrance delivers the three words I have been waiting to hear for a year. It’s been 365 days since I last saw Jade in her apartment, broken, bruised and fighting her demons. It was a risk I took even being there, knowing my grandfather’s wrath, but I took it. I needed it. I had to make sure she was alright.
A few months later, Jade graduated, and no one has heard from her since. I’ve been biding my time, following my grandfather’s rules and paying for the choices I made. The minute Gage said she skipped town, Terrance has been looking for her every chance he had available. This call today was not what I had been expecting.
“Where?”
He sighs into the phone. “Are you still in Vegas?”
“My flight is later tonight. Once King’s game is over, I’ll be leaving,” I remind him of my closely followed schedule. Not only does my grandfather keep tabs on it, but so does my current record label, VAS, the Vocal Artists Syndicate. They all want my time. My grandfather as part of his payment and my label is already wanting more music. They don’t seem particularly thrilled with the new tone of my most recent songs.
Terrance whistles. “Well, before you leave, you should check this out. I’ll send you the pinned location now.” I hear a ding on my phone. “Are you not planning to go out after the game? It was a big win.”
“Not when I have more important matters.” I scoff and look at my phone. “Besides, you know when Darrian wins, he prefers to spend time with his wife.”
Terrance sighs. “I don’t blame him. Nora King is a beautiful and intriguing woman. Okay, let me know if you have any questions.”
I glance at the map. “Wait. The place is this close to La Flor? She's been this close to the damn hotel I’m staying at all along?”
“That's what you're stuck on?” Terrance chuckles. “Cousin, Google the building. Have fun, okay, and remember you’re being watched.”
He hangs up and I click on the red dot. Primal. I heard of it. It was a new business venture of a couple of wealthy businessmen who were keeping their names under wraps. It’s a fucking strip club. I stand from my box seats and make my way out back. I hail my driver, Mick, he’s a decent guy, but I don’t trust him. I know he’s close with my grandfather.
“How was the game, sir?”
See, always testing me. “They won 117-105. I’m sure they’re all going out tonight.” I chuckle. I rattle off a new address to him and he glances at me in the mirror. I can tell he’s intrigued but stays silent. The whole drive over, I debate on how to handle this. If it is Jade inside, I can’t grab her and take her with me. I’ll have to leave her after tonight until this contract with my grandfather is over. And even then, he can never find out where she is.
We pull in front of Primal and Mick’s smile lights up. “Looks like a great way to end your time in Vegas, sir.”
