Page 65 of Deadly Little Games

Just as I’m about to inquire further, she moves into the bustling crowd, making a beeline for Dominic. I squeeze the key between my fingers—this is our one and only shot.

I watch as Nadine takes Dominic’s hand, leading him over to the seat by the fountain, out of view. The guys follow my gaze and I pass Hazen the key.

“Nadine?” he asks, and I nod.

Lucas frowns but doesn’t say anything.

“We have to break into his office. Now,” I say, placing my empty glass on a passing tray.

“You what?” Amirah asks, glancing between the four of us before she shakes her head. “I have no idea what’s going on, but I’ll be the lookout.”

I smile. “And that’s why you’re my best friend.”

We make our way back through the foyer and toward his office. Hazen uses the key to open the door, flooding the room with light as Gage and Lucas enter, then me, while Amirah remains by the door.

She closes the door behind me, and I take a deep breath. Hazen is already searching through Dominic’s drawers, while Lucas lights up one of his cigars.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Hazen growls, snatching the cigar from between his lips.

“Hey, I need that,” Lucas whines, and I roll my eyes.

Hazen slowly opens the window before chucking it outside. “We’re supposed to be discreet, not leave evidence, you idiot.”

Lucas shrugs while Gage sifts through the papers on Dominic’s desk.

We spend the next ten or so minutes going through everything with a fine-tooth comb. With every passing second, my heart races uncontrollably, and I’m anxious that Dominic might walk in through the door. We have found nothing.

After slamming a drawer shut, I cringe at the loud noise and hastily pick up a fallen pile of paper, handing it to Hazen from under the desk. Moving the last piece of paper, I do a double take. There’s a phone underneath it. I pick it up, showing it to Hazen.

“Is this his?” I ask, handing it over to him.

He studies it, then presses the on button. It comes to life, and Hazen grins. “Yep.”

He tries to open it, but it’s password-protected. Hazen curses. He tries multiple combinations, but nothing works. It won’t be long until it locks him out, then we are fucked. This is all for nothing. We haven’t found a single fucking useful thing.

He tries one last code and thenbam—the phone lights up.

“Unbelievable,” Hazen whispers.

I raise my eyebrows at him. “What was it?”

“My birthday.”

Hazen shakes his head, and I snatch it out of his hands and start going through Dominic’s messages. Nothing catches my eye, just business shit, but then one name stands out. Mia. What the fuck? My finger hovers over her name for a second before I click on it, then a bunch of messages load, and my breath catches. I lower the phone to the desk. Nude photos of Mia stare back at me.

“What the fuck?” Hazen snaps from beside me, and Lucas leans over my shoulder.

“Holy shit, isn’t that Alec’s girlfriend?” Lucas asks, stating the fucking obvious.

What the fuck? How long was this going on? Did my brother know? Is that why he’s dead? A million questions filter through my head. Then it all clicks. That’s why she was so cozy in Dominic’s office, and why she seemed so comfortable waltzing into his house. I’ve been so naïve and distracted that I didn’t put it all together before.

Picking the phone back up, I read every single text message dating back months ago. My thumb freezes on Alec’s name.We need to get rid of Alec. My stomach twists, and I think I’m going to be sick. The phone drops from my hands, landing on the desk with a thud.

“Um, Freya, isn’t this yours?” Gage asks, pulling something from between the couch cushions. The silver catches my eye, and I move toward him. There in his hand is a necklace identical to mine. My fingers instinctively clutch at mine around my neck.

“That belongs to Alec,” I whisper. Tears well up in my eyes and my chest constricts, making it hard to breathe.

Gage approaches me, his fingers lightly touching my neck as he fastens the necklace, allowing it to rest against mine. When my legs give out, Gage catches me, and I hold onto him tightly for support. Like he’ll take all this pain away.

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