Page 123 of Emperor of Lust

“Freya,” I growl tightly, my jaw clenching. “Can you track Hana’s phone?”

There’s a deafening silence on the other end of the line for a second.

“Okay, hold up,” she says quietly. “I was willing to go on faith before, when you wanted to find Kolya and told me it involved Hana but that ‘everything was fine’. I’m not doing that any longer. What thefuckis going on?”

My throat bobs. “Frey, I need you to trust me. Can you or can you not trace Hana’s phone.”

“Obviously, but?—”

"Freya,” I hiss. “I just need you to do this. I need you not to ask questions, and I need you to fucking trust me. Okay?”

She quiet for a half a second before she exhales.

“Okay,” she says, her voice tight. “But only because I love you. Gimme a sec.” I hear the clicking of her laptop keyboard in the background. My fingers clench tight around the phone.

It’s only that sick feeling—the one that eats at my gut like acid—that’s driving me right now. The knowledge that something’s deeply wrong.

Hana swears, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“What?” I blurt.

“There’s nothing. Hana’s phone is off. No data transfers or tower pings either, which means the SIM card is out.”

Fuck.

I glance around nervously before I lower my voice. “Frey—you’re at the house?”

“Yeah.”

“I need you to trust me again,” I growl quietly. “How quickly could you…”

I trail off as Ryu steps quietly in front of me, smiling thinly as he shakes his head and wags his finger side-to-side.

“Give them any warning,” he murmurs quietly, “and triggers get pulled. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Nikolayev?”

My eyes pull to murderous slits, but I nod slowly.

“I’m glad we understand each other, Mr. Nikolayev.”

“What?” Freya says into the phone. “How quickly could I what?”

“Nothing,” I say mutter, fury throbbing under the surface. I can’t warn her or Annika without getting them killed, because that fucking psycho asshole Kolya?—

I freeze, my brow furrowing tightly at the memory of something Kolya recently said.

I believe we’re both being played, Mr. Nikolayev. Make of that what you will.

I’mabsolutely being fucking played. But why the fuck did he say “we”?

I shoot Ryu a venomous look before I turn away and stride toward my car parked at the curb. He doesn’t follow as I slide in behind the wheel and shut the door, wrapping me in silence.

“Frey,” I growl quietly. “If I tell you something, can you promise to stay calm?”

“Sure,” she murmurs back cautiously. “Talk to me?”

"Hana's missing. At first I thought it was Kolya, but now?—"

“What?!” My cousin shrieks. “Fuck, Damian! Does Kenzo?—”

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