Page 65 of Queen Of Dark Money

Thephone rang endlessly asIwaited forKingto pick up, and when it rolled over to his voicemail,Ihad to fight the urge to throw my phone.Acall to every other member of his hierarchy produced similar results.Shocking?No.Irritatingas hell?Very.

Istalked back to my office, struggling to calm down beforeIhad to faceMissSinclairagain.Ididn’t want to take out my anger on her.Itwasn’t her fault this ragtag bunch of criminals was so disorganized and fucking frustrating.

Shewas perched prettily in my office chair, her legs dangling over one side, her fingers twirling the pen from the top of my desk.Shelooked so innocent, so unassuming, sitting there like that, tapping her feet in the air to a songIcouldn’t hear, thatIalmost turned around and walked right back out.

ButIremembered the not-so-innocent side of her she’d displayed more often than not and steeled my spine.I’dhave to deal with this sooner or later.Mightas well be sooner.

“SoIsent the freeloading asshole packing,”Istarted, shoving my hands in my pockets. “AndIthink it’s time you andIhad a conversation.”

Sheperked up at that. “About?”

Inodded to the bottom drawer of my desk, whereI’dstuffed a burner with her father’s number on it. “There’sone number on that phone in the drawer on the left.Iwant you to take it out, call your father, and tell him we do, in fact, have you, and that he needs to meet theKings’ demands to get you back.”

Shestared at me like a horn sprouted from between my brows. “Youwant me to call him?” she asked slowly, processing the request.

Myhead dipped in a single nod. “Precisely.”

“Why?”

“Becausewe think he’s under the impression we’re bluffing about having you.”

Shepulled the phone out and turned it over in her hands, studying it, contemplating the call. “WhatamIallowed to tell him?”

Thisgirl was quick. “Obviouslynot where you’re at.Butyou can tell him theKingssyndicate has you under 24-hour watch.Youcan feel free to embellish things a bit, but ensure him you’re not being harmed at the moment.”

“Iassume you want him to know that’ll change if he bullshits around.”

Inodded slowly, hating thatIhad to make her believe she might be in danger if her father didn’t take us seriously. “Thelonger he waits, the more likely you are to return to him a little worse off than you left him.”

Herupper lip twitched at that. “Goodto know there’s a time limit on my well-being.”

Iwatched her flick her fingers over the keys, hesitating before she pressed that call button.Atthe last second,Ireached forward and motioned for her to show me the phone, then pressed ‘speaker’.

Allthe better to hear her father’s responses.

Itrang twice, then clicked, like someone had picked up, before clicking again, and a man’s voice came through the receiver, muffled, tired, and dareIsay–bored?

“Whois this?”

MissSinclairstared at the phone, her brows drawn together in confusion. “Youknow who the fuckIam.Theseassholes who kidnapped me thinkI’mCait, and they want you to know they have me, and they’re playing nice–for now.”

Thesilence from the other end lasted so longIwondered if he’d hung up.Then–

“Andwho exactly istheywho have you, daughter of mine?”

“Listen, they called themselves theKings.Ifyou’d just tell themI’mnotCait–thatI’mKerenza–”

“Idon’t know what you’re talking about,” he cut her off, irritation evident in his tone. “Yousaid theKingshave you?”

“Yes, theKings–listen,Eddy,Idon’t think you understand.I’vetried telling themI’mnot your daughter–or, well, thatI’monly one of them–but they won’t listen.”

“Whywould they?Ionly have one daughter.”

Herface fell. “We’retwins.”

“You’reconfused, sweetie.Theydidn’t drug you, did they?”Apause, as he covered the phone with his hand, and mumbled to someone in the background. “Listen,I’llbe in touch.Tellthem they’d better not hurt a hair on your head in the meantime.I’llget them what they want.”Hecoughed like he was covering up a laugh. “Youstay strong.”

Theline went dead.

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