Page 3 of Pawn

“Yeah, and what’s this about Marion?” Isaac asks, his suave drawl replaced with inquisition and panic.

“She has Willow and Damien,” I explain again.

“How do you know?” he asks, eyes narrowing. “I thought she got sent back to France after what you guys did.”

“Hey don’t peg me as the mastermind in that,” I protest. “I was not behind his actions.”

“Still you always seem to find yourself in the middle of the drama,” Allie mumbles. She leaves her vehicle running while she glances my way. Her shoulders fall when my head drops. “Sorry. Okay, tell us what happened.”

Holding back tears, I dive into the saga of the last few hours, Allie’s words stinging like a new tattoo. They’re all speechless as I tell them about Damien’s call, and what it might mean.

“You think Marion would kill for money?” Christian asks, his face scrunched. “I thought Jo was the one dating the psychopath.”

Isaac pushes him and Christian pushes back.

“Well, she did have a wild side to her,” Isaac says, thumb coming to his chin. “Almost sadistic. It was sexy as hell.” He bites his lower lip, eyes drifting like he’s reminiscing of being balls deep in Damien’s aunt.

“Runs in the family,” I mutter.

“I didn’t think she’d go this far.” Isaac falls back in his seat like it’s all hitting him. He mutters, “What the fuck is she doing?”

“You think she was looking for you when she picked up Willow?” Allie asks.

“I dunno.” I shrug, my mind already on its way. What would’ve happened if she got to me? The tension in my jaw returns, hands in fists when my mind drifts to what Willow could be going through. What Damien could be going through. Pushing words through gritted teeth, I sit up in my seat. “I gotta find them.”

“I’m ready to get out of here,” Allie looks around again. “But how do we find them?”

My head whips to Isaac, so do the twins.

“Really?” he asks, eyebrows raised as his brown eyes flick between us. “You want me to call her?” He pieces it together, a private school education paying off.

“Fine,” he sighs, reaching into his blazer pocket to pull out his phone.

“You think she’ll answer?” Christian asks, Isaac already tapping at his phone.

“Only one way to find out,” Allie says, Isaac bringing the phone to his ear.

There are only a couple of seconds of silence before …

“Marion?” Isaac sounds surprised, his voice high before he clears his throat. “Hey, baby. Listen, I know things have been rough but if you’re still here, in Eden, I really need to see you.” My jaw clenches, the sound of her French accent making me want to snatch the phone and tell her she can burn in hell for what she’s doing. “I know, I know. King’s a royal dick but that doesn’t mean we have to let him tell us what to do.”

Christian looks like he wants to laugh, hearing Isaac pull his moves but I can’t tell if it’s working.

“I can?” His eyebrows rise, so does his voice. “At King’s? Is he there?”

My breath stops in my throat, the truck in complete silence except for Isaac and Marion’s conversation. And the sound of my thundering heart.

“Nah I won’t tell anyone,” he says. “I swear” He closes his eyes, his leg shaking as he speaks. “Okay. See you soon, mon amour.” Isaac takes a second after he hangs up, his Adam’s apple bobbing like he’s taking a big gulp. We all wait for him to take a breath before he speaks. “She’s at King’s.”

“Can’t believe that’s all it took,” Christian says with a blink.

“What can I say?” Isaac winks before he gives a nervous chuckle. “Ladies love me.”

“This is all so messed up, but I’m relieved to get the fuck out of here.” Allie puts the truck in reverse. She glances at me as she makes her way out of the lot. “You sure you don’t want to call the cops?”

“The cops?” Isaac asks, pulling up between us. “Wait, we don’t even know if it’s serious.”

I reassure him, “I can do this on my own.”

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