Page 78 of Vicious Desire (Fallen Royals 4)

“Margo, hang up.”

She glares at me. “You said you need to find him, right? More bodies means more area can be covered faster.”

I wince. “Fine.”

She hangs up and takes my hand. “It’ll be okay.”

I don’t think it will be.

And if he is hiding out in a drug den? Or if we find him high?

What’s the choice? His rehabilitation or the rest of my college fund?

Even a scholarship wouldn’t cover everything I need.

They lead me downstairs. I almost expect Noah to be there, but he’s not.

I tug at the ripped black jeans and black tank top I put on earlier. I was going for a dark and edgy look, but now I just feel a bit hopeless. Parker tosses an Emery-Rose Elite sweatshirt at me. It’s black with the silver emblem across it, and I slide it on gratefully, the warmth circling me.

Late September evenings and nights are getting colder.

We don’t have to wait long before headlights swing into my driveway, and my breath immediately catches. A second later, another car pulls in, and another stops at the curb. Eli’s truck. My heart skips, and I hate it.

I hate the way he makes me feel—that I can feel at all through the panic.

And that panic attack seems to be lingering, waiting to spring out and suffocate me again. It mixes with adrenaline.

“He brought all of them,” I accuse.

I call Noah again, and this time, I leave a message.

“Call me back,” I snap, then end the call.

Margo opens the door, and I keep my face blank as Caleb strides inside. He’s followed by Liam and Theo, then Jake… and Eli.

I move away. I need water.

Someone screams.

I race to the stairs, where Parker stands. She holds the envelope.

“I’m sorry, Riley,” she says. “I thought maybe it was from Noah, and you kept ignoring it…”

She holds out the contents for me: a small USB drive, flatter than ones I’ve seen before, and a photograph.

I reach through the railing for the items. The photo is perfectly timed: Noah’s fist arcing through the air toward Eli’s face. I flip it over and shudder. The handwriting is definitely male, sharp and jagged. They wrote in red ink, and the question mark is smeared a little.

Who’s next?

Noah told me Eli visited him at work. It was how Noah knew Eli was back in town—and what had Noah said? That Eli provoked him, and he handled it.

This is not handling it.

And now Eli wants to blackmail me.

I put the USB in my pocket and stalk toward Eli. His eyes widen, but he doesn’t retreat. He’s been hovering by the door this whole time, staying in the background.

How unlike him.

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