Page 129 of The Darkest King

“Sit. Take a breath and try to think about what she might have said,” I reply.

Mack picks up the T-shirt. He recognizes it, just as I have.

“She got changed. Why?” he asks. Like me, he’s trained to think critically and guide witnesses or hostages to remember information.

Sienna stares at the T-shirt. “Ummm, shit, where. Think, Sienna. Think.

“Take your time,” I tell her, meaning the opposite.

“Yes. Yes, she, ahhh, she changed into my dress because it’s fancy—” She begins clicking her fingers and pointing at Mack. “The Silver...Silver.”

I know at once where she means. I’ve been there a handful of times.

“The Silver Ring. It’s a bar in midtown. When did she leave?” I glance at Mack, and he’s pulling up the address on his phone.

“Ten minutes away,” he says.

“When did she leave?” I ask Sienna again as I stand.

“Twenty minutes ago.” Sienna wraps her arms around her middle. “Is she going to be all right? Oh my God, Mia. You will find her, won’t you?”

Absolutely, and anyone trying to stop me will wish they hadn’t.

“Yes. Mia belongs to me. I’m going to bring her home,” I say, then nod to Mack. “Let’s go.”

As we race down the stairs, relieved we have a lead, I know this is just the beginning of a long night. Finding Mia is just one piece of the puzzle.

I’ve been toying with an idea since we left my penthouse. It’s insane, but it might work.

Or it’ll backfire.

First, because I have no idea if Mia has told anyone about what she saw. Sienna didn’t mention it, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s unlikely she would compromise her friend.

Mia loves Sienna. I know that.

But she may have told her brother and her father.

So, this is a risk I need to decide if I’m willing to take. My heart is slamming into my chest every moment I don’t have her in my arms, and I know my priorities have shifted in the past hour.

I’m about to make a life-changing decision.

One that could mean the end of my life.

Or win the trust of the one man who could give me the answers I’ve been searching for.

The power, ironically, will lie in the hands of the woman I love. The daughter of my enemy.

Mia Mancini.

WE PULL UP outsideThe Silver Ring, and I turn to Mack. “Get hold of Nathan, while I go in and see if they are still here. Find out where he is.”

“Got it,” he says.

He doesn’t say anything about the call he just heard me make, except for a handful of curses and shakes of his head as I was talking.

“And Mack, don’t tell him about the conversation I just had. He needs to be in the dark on this.”

Mack nods.

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