Page 40 of Evil Villain (The Royal Court)

But no.

Reality came crashing back into me and it made me anxious, but also reminded me of what I was doing in the first place. I had a family to get back to, a real one. My mother, my brother, my best friend, and the love of my life. They were waiting for me and this was an active effort to move in that direction. I was glad for the opportunity. We turned off the video game and each spent a little bit of time showering and getting ready, then we fed Concrete and left in Felicity’s hot rod.

Not surprisingly, the car show took place at night, and instead of being at a convention center like a regular show might be, this one was outside in something akin to a warehouse district close to the coast. Like a scene out of a movie, everyone filing into the show was receiving a mask to wear, likely to protect identities. I was shocked when I saw some police officers standing around, but the booze most of them were working on and scantily clad women dancing around them led me to believe they were dirty cops paid by some powerful men to keep things orderly.

I was slightly nervous that getting in would be difficult, but Felicity knew the right things to say to the guy guarding the entrance, and then we received our masks and were allowed inside. It was helpful that, despite being 18, my muscular stature and overgrown facial hair made me look older, and I kept close to Felicity as she led me further in.

“Okay,” she whispered to me when we were safely inside. “It would probably be best for you to not be seen asking about Connor, even if your face is covered. I’ll ask about him, I just need you to stay back and stay discreet.”

“I don’t want to do nothing,” I said. “I’ll ask around too, I just won’t ask about Connor.”

“Deon, that’s not a good idea. He could have people here. If you even ask about something related, you could end up getting caught,” Felicity said.

“The same is true for you. It’s not like Connor doesn’t know who you are.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t want to just be passive in my own fate anymore. I want to do something.” There was more hesitation in her expression than I’d seen up to that point, and I could tell she really didn’t want me to do it. “We spend less time here if we divide and conquer. We each hit up a few places, ask a few questions, and then get the hell out of here before any dust kicks up.”

She took a deep breath in, held it, and then let it out. “Okay, but Deon, you have to swear to me that if anything seems suspicious, even a little bit, that you find me so we can get out of here. I mean, if someone lingers on you for more than a few seconds, you need to tell me.”

“I will. I promise,” I said. “Same goes for you.”

Felicity did a little side-step, like she wasn’t certain she wanted to leave, but eventually she walked away, and I did the same. The entire yard was arranged like a car show with beautiful, luxurious cars spaced all around. Display boards were set up with stats for each of the cars, but no one was looking at them. Everyone was mingling and talking to one another, and the people that seemed to be informants for the cars were at the center of all the attention. No one was in the market for a car, so it was just a matter of figuring out which industries were which.

Thinking about Connor, there was one aspect of his life I’d had more than my fair share of experience with, and that was the number of women that he used to his personal gain. I wasn’t an idiot—Connor was a good-looking man—but word spreads fast in a small town like Postings. Not only that, but Felicity was a woman from well outside of Postings, and just so happened to be a woman in a very specific, very useful capacity. The same was true for my mom, Connor’s former wife Alicia, and Miss Abrams at Postings Proper High School. Somehow, Connor was digging up women who were of use to him in very specific ways.

So I was looking for a trafficker of some sort, potentially someone who trafficked specific women’s information without them knowing, as opposed to the women themselves.

I wandered around for a bit, standing near the back of different conversations and listening for anything that sounded like what I was looking for. The different things I heard made my stomach turn. More than anything, I just wanted to leave and get away from all of those deplorable people before I ended up punching someone in the face, but I kept my family in the back of my mind, both the one I had currently and the one that was waiting for me back home, and resolved myself so that I could find the information I needed.

Finally, I came across a man in a rather high-scale suit, standing near a brand new Mercedes. Unlike a vast majority of the other cars, there wereonlymen situated around this one, and very few of them were discreet about watching the women walking around. I was surprised more of them weren’t salivating.

I approached the collection of people and got close enough to stand near the back of the current conversation taking place.

“So, you’re sure she’s the right one?” One man asked the suited man.

“Sir, trust me on this. Not only is she beautiful, but she’s got a sick mother. Once you’ve spent enough time, she’ll do just about anything to get the money she needs for her care,” the suited man said.

The guy talking to him smiled. “Perfect.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash and peeled about ten, one-hundred dollar bills off the wad and handed them over. In exchange he received a manila envelope and the suited man gave him a knowing nod. “Best of luck.”

The man took his envelope and walked away and then the suited man turned his attention to me. “Why hello.”

“Hi.” Even though I didn’t see anyone who I thought would recognize me, I wanted to use as few words as possible, just in case.”

“Are you in the market for a beautiful car today?” he said.

“Possibly,” I replied. “I’m browsing.”

The man took a step back and raised an eyebrow. “Browsing?”

“Yes.” I looked over my shoulder to make sure no one was looking at me and then turned back to face the suited man. “A teacher possibly.”

He crossed his arms and I got the funny feeling I’d done or said something wrong, though I wasn’t sure what. “I’m not in the business of teachers anymore. Not since all of that mess in Postings.”

My heart started to beat a little faster. I was in the right place at least. If I could just get the guy to relax a bit, I’d be in a better spot. “That’s a shame. I’d pay well for one.”

The man looked over my shoulder and nodded his head. I glanced back in the direction he was looking and saw two masked people staring back at me. In a slow-motion, heart pounding moment, one of them reached up and lifted the mask on his face up, revealing that he was one of the two who’d captured and tortured me before I managed to escape.

Shit.

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