Page 70 of Kings of Cruelty

I’m not really sure how he would’ve kept her from driving off if she had the keys, but I don’t say that aloud.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Kotya this angry, and when he turns his glare on Nikolai, Nikolai swallows hard. “You’d better pull up the app and see where she is,” he tells me in a low voice. “Fast.” Normally, he’d have something snarky to say, but he keeps that to himself, too.

I open the app on my phone, and I see the GPS on Sierra’s phone moving into the city. “If she didn’t get rid of the phone, she’s heading toward the university,” I say, clutching the phone tightly. “Might be hard to get her back if she’s with other students, but the campus itself should be closed.”

“Most of it,” Nikolai says. “Not the dorms. She didn’t live there, though, did she? She had an apartment. She couldn’t have gone there. She doesn’t have a key, or an ID, or anything. Plus, it would be fucking stupid, and our—” He catches the murderouslook on Kotya’s face and amends, “and Sierra wouldn’t do something so obvious.”

“Unless you pushed her,” I mutter. “Whatever. Let’s get going. I’ll take my bike. You two can follow in your cars.”

“Maybe Kotya should stay here,” Nikolai says cautiously. “The two of us can handle it, and Kotya has plenty to deal with now.”

“I’m going,” Kotya says, growling. “I will not allow her to leave. She and that baby aremine.”

Ours, I think darkly, but I’m not going to argue with Kotya right now.

Nikolai doesn’t bother to respond to that, either. “I’ll head to the campus,” he says instead. “I have no idea how I’ll find her, but… Maybe someone’s seen her.”

She’d been wearing a dress that had shown off the brand—our brand—and that’s definitely a mark people would remember. Of course, she could’ve found something to cover it up with by now, but it’s a start for Nikolai to use.

The problem with Sierra is that she’s smart, and if she’s running, she’s not going to make it easy to find her.

Nikolai pulls his keys out of his pocket and heads toward the garage at a brisk pace.

I put on all my safety gear and get on the motorcycle, setting the phone into the phone holder so I can keep the app open.

I make my way toward the campus. My mind flits to a memory of Sierra clinging to me as I drove her to campus. She’d complained about needing to pack more things than what would fit on the bike, but we’d made it work, and she’d laughed when we arrived.

I’d kissed her, and she’d smiled back, and I’m fucking certain she wouldn’t have ditched me without reason.

Maybe she’s only ditching Kotya.

The GPS signal stops on campus for a few minutes, but before I get to the university, it keeps moving. I redirect my path, skipping the campus entirely, and find myself in a decent neighborhood a few blocks away.

These are nice apartments.

The dot on my app disappears.

Fuck.

I find a parking spot for my bike and walk to the building closest to where the dot disappeared.

I have no way of knowing which unit she’s in, if she’s in this building at all.

I call Kotya and Nikolai. They both pick up almost instantly.

“Hey, I followed the tracker to an apartment complex.” I give them the address and I look up the building. “There’s probably a few hundred units though.”

Nikolai doesn’t answer right away. “She’s, um… That’s her apartment building.” He sounds baffled. “I don’t know which unit, but would she really have made it so fucking easy to find her?”

“Maybe she hopes we’ll chase her,” I suggest, although that doesn’t feel right to me. This entire situation is off, but I can’t place why. Sierra running is strange, but Sierra keeping her phone is stranger. She has to know we’ll come for her.

“Find her,” Kotya barks at me. “I’ll be there in two minutes.”

Easier said than done. I end the call and enter the building.

There’s a concierge on staff, because of course Sierra’s father would have paid for a building with a concierge.

“Hi,” I say, approaching him. “Sorry, can you help me? I’m here to see Sierra Winters. Could you call her and let her know I’m here?”

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