Page 75 of Queen Rose

Nate

Daphne pushes a mug of coffee under my nose. I wrap my hand around its warmth and give her a nod of silent thanks. The group gathered around the kitchen island at the Danbrook home is worn out and sad. Worried. Nervous. After the police encouraged us to go home and get some sleep, we’d ended up driving all over River Rock searching for Aria. No luck. None of us will be sleeping tonight.

I don’t know if I’ll ever sleep again. Visions of Conner following Aria up the stairs play on repeat in my head. If only I’d realized what was happening. If only I’d known the guy I’d seen several times at her home wasn’t her dad. Fuck! No wonder she’d get all nervous meeting me to go out. If he’s there as much as Xander says he is, and she’s been freaking out and running to Xander for as long as she has… Oh, God, what has it been like for her?

Hell. Hell on earth. And now that he has her, she’s trapped there.

I don’t want to think about what Conner walking in on us earlier is costing her. My chin drops to my chest in defeat. What if he’s punishing her right now, and I can’t do a damn thing about it?

It’s disturbing that when someone goes missing—an obvious kidnapping—that there is almost fuck-all that the cops can do right away, and none of it actually feels like something is being accomplished. They’d taken their time talking to Aria’s parents, who were less than helpful. And of course, it’s not that big a town, so the same detectives who’ve been working on Christina’s murder are looking into Aria’s disappearance.

Her dad had the balls to suggest that maybe his daughter ran away with Conner because she’s turned eighteen. Way to twist the story, you self-absorbed, no good, poor excuse for a father. He looked the other way. I knew he did from the second I saw the self-righteous denial in his eyes. Liar. I wish I hadn’t heard him say that because it’s almost as if he’s trying to cover his own ass.

Has he not put two and two together? If Conner is capable of taking off with his daughter or abusing her—which I said straight-up to his face while the cops were there—then could he not also be the person who murdered his sister? And if he could do that to Christina, what’s stopping him from doing the same to Aria?

The detectives, at least, paid attention to what I was saying. The wheels of justice have been set into motion. But goddamn is it agonizing how slowly they move. I don’t know how we’re supposed to wait.

Conner is a deeply disturbed individual. A pedophile. A murderer. And I shudder imagining Aria in his hateful, abusive hands. My head throbs. I want to be able to do something, because not knowing what’s happening to her has my guts twisting. I want more than anything to rush to her rescue. But how the fuck can I do that when we have no idea where she is?

In the middle of the stone island, my phone starts playing a song as it rings. “Shit. I haven’t told my mom yet,” I mumble, reaching for the device. It takes me another full second to realize it’s playing the song I’d set for Aria’s ringtone. Everyone turns at once to face me as my heart jumps, and I snatch it up in disbelief. “Aria?”

The silence in the room is deafening.

“Nate,” she sobs, breathless. “I don’t know where I am.”

“Breathe, baby. What’s happening?”

Daphne shoves her phone near mine. She whispers, her voice breaking, “I’m recording.”

Another sob. “He’s going to hurt me. Conner’s going to hurt me.” Her voice shakes. “He killed Christina because of me.”

Pain, the likes of which I’ve never known, slices through me. My chest seizes as I stare into the horror-struck eyes of our friends. “Baby, look around. Tell me something about where you are. Is there a window or anything? Can you give us any clue at all?”

Aria’s voice is quiet now, like by giving her something to do, she’s able to calm herself. She stutters, “I-I’m in the basement of a house. Concrete walls. I-I don’t know. I don’t recognize anything. I can’t really see much. There’s a window, but it’s really high on the wall. I see trees. Some power lines. Wait.” Her breath huffs out. “There’s a sign for Moretto’s Hot Dogs.”

Everyone winces. Those signs are all over River Rock.

“But it’s got graffiti on it. Someone made the hot dog look like a dick.”

My heart rate goes through the roof. I know the neighborhood. That’s my side of town. Before I can say anything there’s some shuffling on the other end, and Aria cries out.

“The fuck do you think you’re doing?” Conner’s angry voice hisses through the phone. All we hear after that is a sickening crack and the call ends.

My eyes flick around the circle of us as shocked gasps and nervous whispers fall from their lips. Scarlett whimpers, “Oh, God,” her hand shaking on its way to cover her lips.

Micah huffs out a breath, “Daph, text that recording to the detective we talked to. You’ve got her number, right?”

Daphne nods, fingers flying over her phone.

“How the fuck are we going to find her? There are a million Moretto’s signs in this town,” Xander groans, looking pained.

I’m already up, shoving my feet into my shoes and stuffing my phone in my pocket. “Oh, we’re going to find her. And I’m not waiting. I have an idea of where she is. And I’m going to make Conner pay.”

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