“We’ll get them, Liamon. With you working on this, I know we’ll put a stop to this.”
Shrugging, I roll my shoulders out of his hold and turn to leave. Only my nod acknowledges I heard him at all.
With one last fleeting look at Summer, I make my way back to my car.
Elise is a twisted bitch for this.
* * *
I stare up at the pictures of Summer’s lifeless body on the screen.
Madeline didn’t waste any time sending her missing parts along with pictures of her corpse to her parents, attaching a note informing them that until Emma’s handed over, Selected girls will keep going missing.
The Livingstons have been calling incessantly, wanting to know what will be done to compensate them for their daughter’s death. Not an ounce of care that they lost a child- just recompense.
We’re sitting around the table, working through files. We’ve been at this for hours and are no closer to finding Madeline.
Chair legs drag along the wooden floor as Karl stands abruptly. “We’re missing something, and it’s putting girls in danger- it’s putting our girl in danger,” he snarls.
He’s right. Whatever it is, it’s mocking our inability to see what’s in front of us.
“We need to do a more thorough investigation into Madeline’s connections with the law firm,” Rowan suggests, turning to me before he continues, “Liam, we need you to access the personnel files of every employee to see if there are any lingering ties.”
My face scrunches, even more confused. I thought we already established that there must be more than one insider. This town is riddled with Filiae Bellonae. Shit, there are probably people all over this town who’ve infiltrated the ranks and positions, gaining access to pertinent information. How else could that bitch Madeline know when to kill Lydia and take her place.
“We knew this already,” I reply.
Sebastian sighs like I’m dense and not some high-level coder with a genius IQ. “For someone so smart, you’re blind to the obvious,” he laments.
“What am I not seeing? We know our ranks have been compromised. I’ve been part of the team checking and rechecking everyone’s backgrounds,” I counter.
Karl returns to his seat, a bottle of soda in tow.
“Um, what are we, chopped liver?” August jokes, snatching the bottle from him.
Ignoring their antics, my attention returns to Seb. He rubs at his stubble-covered face, “You’re looking for connections with Madeline digitally. Whoever is feeding her information is too smart to leave that kind of trail. I think we need to broaden our search out of the law firm and into the school.”
I tip my head back, mulling over his suggestion. There are so many places we can extend our search, but the school happens to be one of the locations Emma’s been harassed and attacked.
“Okay, I see where you’re going with this,” I admit, shifting my attention back on him. “Expand our target area. Is there anyone in particular that we should be keeping an eye on?”
It’s August who responds, “Vivian Taylor.”
I look into Sebastian’s angry blue eyes. They’re darker than their usual azure color, to see if he’s on board with this.
The fierce set of his jaw and sharp focus says it was his idea.
“Her return makes no sense. Her divorce makes no sense. And her constant push to get back together makes no fucking sense.”
Hearing his argument and wanting to discuss it from all sides, I counter, “She easily could have moved back for you. She’s been emphatic about wanting you back. Also, people get divorced and move back to their hometowns all the time. Not to mention, being jealous and petty doesn’t make you the perfect suspect in subterfuge. If anything, it draws too much attention to you.”
“True, but her timing is far too fucking coincidental, and she doesn’t seem to give any of the other Selected as much trouble as Emma. Even on her first day here, she had it out for her.”
Also true. Vivian Taylor has been a thorn in Emma’s side, but I want to make sure Sebastian is doing this because he genuinely suspects her and not for some lover’s scorned bullshit.
“Her records came back clear in all of the searches. Are you sure this isn’t some extension of your vendetta against her?”
He slams his hands on the table. “Fuck her. I haven’t thought of Vivian as anything more than a hole to shove my dick into when I’m bored since her return. She does not affect me. That ship sailed long ago.”
I want to believe him. I know he considers himself over her. He might no longer love her, but she’s definitely had a lasting impact on him, and that’s evident by his inability to be vulnerable ever again.
A notification on my phone cuts my attention. Reaching in my pocket, I pull out the device and see it’s a message from Coop. He’s got the last piece of information I’ve been waiting for.
I guess Sebastian isn’t the only one haunted by his past.
Ignoring the message, I finally respond, “Okay, I’ll look into Vivian more thoroughly, and August will handle the law firm.”
All in agreement, we stand, heading for the door when August stops. He turns to face Rowan, and I see the mischievousness glint in his eyes, a smirk quirking his lips.
“Enjoy your date with Samantha tomorrow, asshole.” August chuckles as he exits the room. We all join him, laughing over Rowan’s loud groans of protest.
ROWAN
If there’s ever a reason to fucking hate the Selection process, it’s this. I can’t believe I have to take Samantha on a date.
Looking at my watch, I notice I’m half an hour late.
I wish I could postpone this forever.
I hop out of the car, huffing at what dumb shit she’ll have planned for tonight.
When the Fraternitas told us we had to go on dates, they didn’t say anything about having to be the ones to plan anything. So, I told Sam to pick something and let me know the time and place. She wasn’t getting shit out of me.
Walking up the steps, I pull open my door and stride toward the stairs, only to be stopped by my mother.
“Rowaniel, I thought you were already here,” her soft voice brings a smile to my face.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.