Page 144 of Runaway Hearts: Seduced by Danger

And I pull it flush to Rory’s note.

“Yuzu is in Vancouver with his team. This is what I found in the house.”

A perfect match.

My stomach churns. I drop the note as if its touch burns my fingertips.

The names Victor and Rory together sound like “victory.”

I snort at the irony.

There’s nothing victorious about the current situation.

A glance at Kai makes me squint my eyes. Maybe a small victory.

He steps closer, inspecting both notes side by side under the kitchen light. “Victor?” His voice is low and aggressive. “They might be working together,” he mutters, more to himself than to me.

“No.” My breath escapes in shaky intervals. “Victor—” I stop myself.

Pop-pop… What did you do?

Kai’s breathing grows heavy. “What are you thinking?”

“I think,” I begin, swallowing hard, “Pop-pop might know more than he let on.” The words feel like glass shards in my throat. “Do you have a family name for Rory or any features that strike out?”

“His name was Rowan Asher. When we met, he wore a mask and an oversized hoodie, but that’s common for ghosts.”

“What do you mean, ghost?” When Kai called Rory a ghost at first, I thought it was a metaphor. But I’m not so sure anymore.

“People with no traces. Supposedly dead. They often specialize in making other people disappear, and that’s why they’re so… elusive.”

“But not killing. Right?”

“No, cutie. When Rory was in service, he was the go-to guy for...” Kai’s breath stops for ten seconds. “For making people new IDs and…” His hands start to shake. “He said he knew my mom.”

A mix of surprise and horror makes my head recede, eyes so wide they hurt, and my lower lip loses all its tone. “Is he the one who got your mom killed? I mean…” Words burn my tongue. “like she wanted to escape, and he didn’t do a good job.”

The air stills, freezing us in a surprise state like ice statues.

Pieces start falling into place like a complex jigsaw puzzle, only to form an image that makes me want to throw the documents across the room.

I’m in danger. In real danger. Not the sexy kind.

Victor and Rory are the same person. That means Kai knows so much more than he lets on.

And Victor played me.

Flashing dots appear in my mind, so far away from each other I never thought of connecting them. My new love affair mesmerized me that I stupidly ignored some important stuff.

“How did you find me?” I ask Kai while I stand from the bed. “How is it possible that you crash onto my hood in the rain? And at my uncle’s?” I back off, nerves tingling. “Why were you hitchhiking? Really?”

Kai façade falters, uncertainty shining through. “Because you’re the perfect cutie pie.”

Anger mounts. “What do you mean?”

He frowns and swallows.

Oh…“Don’t you dare lie to me,” I growl.

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