Page 43 of Kiss of Ruin (Brutal Empire)

I pick up my laptop, turning it around so they could see and explain exactly how I plan to put an end to all of this.

ChapterEighteen

Nico

The sheets are cool in front of me when the sun hits my eyes. I sit up and look around the room for Scarlett, but she’s nowhere to be found. A ball of dread sits heavy in my stomach. I toss on my clothes and go in search of someone who might know where she is.

I don’t know how I know she’s not in the house, I just do.

The kitchen is my first stop, where Camila is standing in front of the stove stirring something. “Camila.” She jumps at the sound of my voice, her hand flying to her chest.

“Don’t you dare sneak up on me that way.” She waves the wooden spoon at me while reprimanding me.

“Understood. Now, have you seen Scarlett?”

“No. I thought she was in her room with you.”

“When I woke up she was gone.”

Camila drops the spoon onto the counter. “What do you mean gone?”

“Gone. She’s not in any of the rooms in that wing of the house.”

“Wouldn’t the security cameras have picked up any movement outside of the house?”

“Yes, unless they were disabled for some reason. Thank you.” I run from the kitchen to my father’s study where I can look at the footage from the last few hours. At least since the moment Scarlett fell asleep in my arms.

As I’m searching the first hour, my phone rings. The moment I see Antonio’s name on the screen, I pick up. He’s been keeping me appraised of everything happening in New York while I’ve been in Miami.

“What happened?” I bark, my focus on the video playing on the screen.

“You didn’t tell me Scarlett was coming back.”

I press pause on the video. “What did you just say?”

“Scarlett’s here. Why didn’t you tell me she was coming?”

I grab the glass off my father’s desk and hurl it across the room. “Motherfuck…Goddammit.” The glass shatters, leaving shards of glass all over the floor. “Why the hell is she in New York?”

“You mean you didn’t know she was coming?”

“I had no fucking clue.”

“No clue about what?” I look up and see the shattering glass brought both of my parents to the study.

“Antonio, keep your eye on her. I’m pretty sure she plans on going after the DeLuca’s herself. Don’t tell her you talked to me. I’ll be there in a few hours.”

I hang up the phone, not interested in anything else but the orders that I just gave him. I look at my mom, who has now crossed the room, her eyes watching me anxiously.

“Nico, talk to me. What happened?”

“Scarlett is back in New York.” I hit play on the video again and adjust the playback speed.

“What do you mean she went back to New York? It’s not safe for her there.”

I hit pause on the video with a clear image of Scarlett climbing into a car I’ve seen many times. I turn the monitor around. “Carlos flew her back to New York.”

“Fuck.” My dad runs his hand down his face. “Why would she do that?”

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