Page 59 of Reign By Wrath

A hand snatched my wrist. I didn’t have a chance to think about screaming before I was pulled into the dark.

Cato spun me around and pressed me against the door. “Luna.”

I never heard such urgency in his voice.

“Look.”

“Look at what?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

I took out my phone and tapped the flashlight again. Lifting it overhead, my eyes bugged.

Right then, I understood the real reason Everleigh kept this place so secret, she refused to let her best friends know about it.

We were inside the mind of Everleigh Starling.

Photos, scribbles, newspaper clippings, article printouts, with blue string connecting it all even from across the room.

I ducked the string, getting closer to the far wall. Of course it drew my attention. Smack-dab in the middle of all the crap she pasted to the wall was a picture of a young Alistair. Below him were pictures of me, my mom, and Winter. I squinted, reading the information she put under our names.

“Fucking hell,” I breathed. “She’s even got the full names and birthdays of my old friends from Catholic school. There’s stalking and then there’s this.”

“Over here.”

I went to Cato, drawn to where he pointed. I scanned the wall up and down, trying to make sense of what he wanted me to see. It was a mess of interwoven string that made it hard to read.

“But this looks like... Oh my gosh.” My phone slipped through my fingers. “I need to speak to Saylor. Now.”

***

ITUMBLED OUT OF THEcar, running to the guard booth. My good friend, Frank, raised a brow at my banging on the glass.

“Can I help you, miss?”

“Frank, let me in. I have to speak to Saylor.”

He blinked lazily. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“Look, I know it’s late, but it’s an emergency. Raise the gate.”

“Miss, I cannot let you onto the grounds. You’re no longer on the approved-guests list.” I blew back. What? I was removed that fast?

“Okay, fine.” I rebounded fast. “Then, wake her ass up and tell her I need to speak to her. Trust me, she needs to hear this.”

“I’m afraid not. The Burkhardts do not allow strangers to disturb their sleep with demands for entry any more than they allow them to wander about their property.”

“Stranger?” I gaped at him like he was insane. “I’m not a stranger. I’m Alistair Burkhardt’s daughter.”

Frank looked me dead in my face. “Who?”

He snapped the glass partition shut, returning to his work. I was dismissed.

I flicked from him to the fifteen-foot-tall gate. How high could I scale that thing before he jumped into action and wrestled me down? How guilty would I feel when my boyfriends killed him for trying?

Stifling a groan, I ran back to the car. Wilder, Rafael, Cato, and Lucien gave me matching “what happened?” looks.

“He won’t let me in. Alistair must’ve left, and the minute he did, his family went back to pretending he didn’t exist.” I plopped in the back seat, grabbing my head.

Why did I chase him away? Why did I think I could do all this without him? Standing in that creepy room, I saw how in over my head I truly was.

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