Page 92 of Kings & Corruption

Neo had asked me how it went with Nikki when I got back in the car, but I hadn’t wanted to say anything until I had all three Kings together. I wanted to ambush them, to prevent Neo from warning Rock and Oscar so they could keep bullshitting me. I’d spent the drive home sulking in the passenger seat, replaying everything Nikki had said and trying to figure out what the actual fuck was going on.

Rock was standing over a pot of soup, wearing an apron and holding a wooden spoon.

He set the spoon down and glanced at Oscar and Neo.

“Don’t look at them,” I said. “Look at me.”

Oscar crossed his arms and leaned against the island. “Listen, tiger, if you just sit down and —”

“Don’t you dare condescend me, Oscar.” I glared at him. “I want answers. Now.”

Rock dared another glance at Neo, awhat-the-fucklook in his eyes, but rather than say something rude or patronizing, Neo just shook his head. I wondered if he was feeling guilty about what had happened between us on the road, because somewhere under my anger and fear for Emma, that’s how I was feeling.

I didn’t owe Rock or Oscar anything in terms of an explanation — we weren’t exclusive or anything — but it still felt like a betrayal.

I hated that.

“We don’t think it had anything to do with Emma,” Rock said, setting down the wooden spoon.

I laughed, but it came out more like a bark. “How can you say that? All the missing girls were from Bellepoint, and they all had a habit of coming here to party.”

I’d found out that last part later, after Nikki told me Emma had known something was going on at Aventine.

“A lot of girls from Bellepoint come here to party,” Neo said calmly. “Only four of them have gone missing.”

I spun on him, still standing near the garage door. Somewhere beyond the kitchen, I could hear the sound of a football game on the TV in the living room.

“Only? Only four girls?” Tears had sprung to my eyes, and sorrow warred with rage in my body. “How can you say that? Every one of those girls had people like me who loved them.”

“I’m sorry.”

I almost passed out from shock. Neo Alinari apologizing? To me?

“That came out wrong,” he said. “I’m making the point that the percentage of girls who came here to party and went missing is statistically small, not to minimize their disappearances, but to keep us from focusing where we shouldn’t.”

I was still recovering from the fact that Neo had apologized, that he’d even sounded sincere for the first time in his life. I wanted to go back to just hating him, but between the memory of his mouth on my boob, his cock throbbing against my stomach, and his almost-human disposition, he wasn’t making it as easy as I’d hoped.

“It seems like we should be focusing on the detail that girls from Bellepoint are going missing at Aventine. What do they have in common?” I asked.

“No offense,” Rock said, turning off the burner on the stove, “but you’re looking at this wrong.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re focused on what the girls have in common,” Oscar said, “instead of what makes them different.”

I tried to make sense of what he was saying. “I’m still not following you.”

“The other girls were black, Native,” Neo finally said from his spot by the garage door. “And they were made to look like they left voluntarily.”

The words were coalescing into something that finally made sense. “Whoever took Emma took a risk,” I said. “They knew she wouldn’t be under the radar.” Something else clicked into place. “And they didn’t have time to make her disappearance look intentional.”

“Exactly,” Rock said.

“Are you asking the same question we’ve been asking yet?” Neo asked, his voice cold.

“You first,” I said.

“What was the rush with Emma?” Oscar’s dark eyes searched mine. “Why was it so important to make her disappear? Important enough that whoever was responsible was willing to risk all that attention after spending years covering their tracks?”

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