Page 122 of Kings & Carnage

The thought of him excavated a hole the size of the Grand Canyon in my chest.

Would I ever see him again? Would I get to tell him how much I loved him?

“Your sister died because she was nosy. Like you," Roberto said, clearly the spokesperson for the group of men, a group of men I’d realized were representative of all four houses at Aventine. “But yes, the other girls were entertainment. Men like us, powerful men, have to blow off some steam. You can't blame us for having a little fun.”

"I do blame you, you sick fuck.”

The other men laughed and Roberto stepped toward me and landed a hard slap across my face.

"You're going to find out how sick I really am, you little cunt.”

…you little cunt.

It was like traveling through time, back to the moment when I freed Neo from the closet.

Full fucking circle.

I drew in a breath, tried to keep myself calm. My choker was still around my neck, the Kings’ symbol pressed against my flesh like a caress.

They would find me.

"Is this what you did to her?" I asked. "To all of them? You brought them out here to hurt them? Kill them?”

I needed to know. After all this time, after everything I’d been through, I just needed to know.

"Is that what you want?" Roberto asked. "To know?”

I drew in a breath. “Yes."

"Then it's your lucky fucking night, little rabbit," the dark-haired man, clearly a member of the cartel family, said.

Roberto shot him a look that shut him up, and the other man looked down at his feet, clearly chastened.

"Carlos is right," Roberto said. "You're going to find out firsthand what happened to your sister.”

Terror clawed at my throat, but there was something else there too.

Relief.

At least now I would know.

"Let me explain the rules of our little game," Roberto said.

"What game?" I asked.

The other men still had a hold of my arms. Their grips had loosened but trying to run now would be a mistake.

There were four of them. I had no shoes, no weapon.

I could only hope another opportunity would present itself or that the Kings would arrive on the scene soon.

"Let's call it… a chase," Roberto said, pacing in front of me. He looked up, as if searching the sky for the right words. "Like tag.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Tag?"

He picked up a long stick. "Yes, tag. I’m even going to help you out by drawing you a map.”

He scribbled in the half inch of snow that remained in the clearing. "You arehere." He dragged three lines from the cabin in three different directions. "There are three other cabinshere.”

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