Page 84 of Twisted Kings

“Please tell my son I visited since he forgot to take his phone with him when he left home.” Lucian turned to go before pausing. “Oh, and let him know his mother’s been moved to the Highgate Clinic. Dr Lassitor has started her on a new, experimental drug protocol.” Lucian grinned. “He’s most excited about the outcome.”

My lip curled in disgust as Lucian climbed into the waiting car. The man was a snake. As bad as, if not worse, than my father.

Just as the car pulled away, Dario and Verity appeared at the top of the cliff. He skidded to a halt at the sight of a vehicle disappearing down the driveway, quickly shielding Verity with his body.

“Did we have guests?”

“No.”

He frowned in confusion. Then he spotted the knife in my hand and growled. “Are you OK?” he asked, scanning me from head to toe. “Who the fuck was here?”

I shook my head dismissively. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Lucian Forsyth came calling, wanting to speak to Cassian, only they’re not back yet.”

The unpleasant interaction with Lucian had left me with a headache and an upset stomach. My coffee was now cold, too, which was a further black mark on his record. What an asshole. No wonder Cassian had left, although I couldn’t help but wonder if his mother was safe.

Lucian obviously intended to mess with Cassian’s head, thanks to his vague threat about some kind of experimental drug.

“Ver, get inside, please,” I snapped, as Dario started ranting about the house being unsafe. I mean, he had a point. If Lucian could find us, anyone could. It was hardly a vote of confidence on our security, and yet another reason I needed Eden to take Verity away while I hunted my father.

We piled indoors. Verity remained quiet, chewing her lip as she stared first at me and then Dar.

“Everything’s fine,” I reassured her, not feeling fine in the slightest. “Go watch TV while I talk to Dar.”

“But—” she began.

“Please, Ver. This is important.” She looked like she wanted to argue further but evidently decided it wasn’t worth pushing her luck. I waited until she’d flounced off muttering something that sounded a lot like ‘fuckingstronzos’ under her breath before turning to Dar.

“Fucking fuck!” He slammed his hand down on the counter, making the contents of the drawers beneath rattle. “We can’t stay here if Forsyth knows where we are, but more importantly, how did he find this place?”

Indeed. Had Cassian told him? Surely not. He’d come here to escape the man, so giving him our address made no sense.

Had Seamus or Declan revealed our location? If Lucian was on good terms with Seamus, it was possible. That said, I suspected Declan did a lot of things his father was blissfully unaware of. And besides, Eden would never forgive her cousin if he threw us under the bus to score points with Lucian.

“Tell me what that bastard said,” Cassian demanded as the door flew open and the guys rushed in.Dammit. I’d been so busy locked in my head, I hadn’t even heard their car return. Kyril dumped some bags on the floor and pulled me into his arms. Dario walked away, heading toward the coffee machine.

“Lan, put the groceries away,” Kyril barked over my head.

“What did your last servant die of, eh?” Landon grumbled, but did as he was told. Milo leaned against the table and watched us, listening quietly as I relayed everything Lucian had said. Which was a whole heap of nothing.

“How did he find us?” Kyril asked, voicing my concerns.

“I have no fucking clue. He shouldn’t have been able to. It’s why I left my phone and laptop behind, just in case he’d installed trackers in them.”

“Maybe he chipped you,” Landon suggested. “Like a pet.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Cassian rolled his eyes and sat down near me, his jaw tense and his body rigid. The relaxed man from last night was long gone.

“If he found us so easily, there has to be something you brought with you that contains a tracking device.”

“My Calvins, maybe? The only stuff I packed was a few items of clothing, my wallet, and my watch.”

“Give me the watch.”

Cassian threw Milo a skeptical look, but unfastened the watch and handed it over. We all watched as he used a small knife to prise open the metal backing. He peered inside and then disappeared into the room he used as his workspace. After afew moments, he reappeared and dropped a tiny chip on the counter.

“That’s how he found us.”

“What the fuck is that?”

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