Page 82 of Princess of Hawthorne Prep

My mind continues to cartwheel. Even though I’d suspected that Aubrey had been behind some of the shady BS, I’m blown away by the extent of it.

I need to find Delilah and tell her about everything I’ve uncovered. Then I need to drop to my knees and beg her forgiveness. I’ve treated her like shit. Just like I threatened Aubrey, I made Delilah’s life hell. Not only did she tell me the truth, but she’s been dealing with Jasper’s psycho crap as well.

As I make it to the second floor, my sister walks out of the bedroom she’s sharing with Kingsley.

“Hey, do you have a sec?” she asks. “I’ve been thinking about everything that’s happened with Delilah.”

My step never falters. I’m a man on a mission and won’t be able to banish the unease sitting at the bottom of my gut until I speak with her.

“Can it wait? There’s something I need to take care of first.”

Her brows pinch together as her gaze sharpens. “What’s wrong?”

I can almost see her antenna go up as she braces herself for more shit to get dumped on us. That’s exactly what the past couple of months in Hawthorne have been like.

A fucking barrage of it.

“It’s nothing like that.” I pause before admitting, “I need to find Delilah. Have you seen her this morning?”

“No, I just got up.”

“Okay.” I huff out a breath. “Let me take care of this situation and then I’ll find you.”

Her teeth scrape over her lower lip. “All right.”

She falls silent as I stride down the long stretch of hallway. My heart picks up its tempo when I twist the handle and shove open our bedroom door. Once inside the sun-flooded space, I glance around, hoping that she’s returned from her walk. My gaze slides over the room only to find it empty.

Fuck.

I gravitate to the window and search the beach. There are a few people strolling the sandy shoreline, but none are Delilah. I would recognize her blonde head anywhere.

Maybe she’s in the kitchen grabbing breakfast.

The longer it takes to find her, the more tension floods my muscles.

As I swing around, ready to stalk downstairs, my gaze lands on the place where her duffle had been shoved up against the far wall by the closet. My step stutters when I realize it’s no longer there. That’s all it takes for a trapdoor to spring open.

And then I’m in free fall.

Why the hell would she just take off?

Sure…she locked me out last night, but we worked through it. We had sex and afterward, she’d slept curled up in my arms.

Air gets trapped in my lungs as I head to the ginormous bathroom and peek inside the opulent space. Already I know that all the girly stuff strewn across the countertop will be gone. Every trace of Delilah has been wiped away, as if she’d never been there in the first place.

It’s so tempting to punch my fist through the wall. Instead, I swing around and stalk from the bedroom into the hallway before meeting Summer’s dark gaze. Kingsley stands behind her with his hands resting protectively on her shoulders.

They’ve become a solid unit in a short span of time. It’s strange. Since we were born, it’s always been the two of us against the world and sometimes, even our parents. We were a team. And now...that’s how it is with him.

It’ll take time to come to terms with this new dynamic.

I shake myself out of those strange thoughts as my gaze slices to Kingsley. “Have you seen Delilah?”

There’s a heavy moment of silence as Summer tenses beneath his hands.

“She took off about ten minutes ago.”

I blink, unable to process the words coming out of his mouth. They doesn’t make sense.

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