Page 66 of The Revenge

The man at the bottom of the steps is Preston du Pont. I recognize him instantly from the portrait that hangs on the wall above the stairs back in Denali House, but my attention isn’t on his face.

It’s on the gun he has pointed at me.

“Make a noise, and I will shoot you.”

“You wouldn’t...” I mutter, trying to keep calm.

“Listen carefully, because I’m only going to say this once. You’re going to walk down these steps and get into the back of that van.” He nods towards the small delivery van that’s parked beside him, one of the rear doors already open. “The security cameras have been disabled, and I promise, you’re not fast enough to outrun a bullet. I don’t want to shoot you, but I will.”

My legs seem to have locked in place, and my hand grips the railing like my entire body is fighting against Preston’s orders. Going anywhere with him seems like a bad idea, yet staying here is obviously worse.

One by one, I force my feet to move down each step, then over to the van. Even if I wanted to see if I could be lucky and run away, my legs won’t let me. There isn’t a large gap betweenthe ground and the back of the van, but even climbing in is hard work.

My speed is enough to irritate Preston because he rushes up behind me and shoves me into the van.

Everything goes dark as he slams the door closed behind me.

XXVI

Royal

After doing everything in my power to avoid these kinds of events over the last few years, I’ve forgotten how boring they are.

Gemini’s mother forced him to attend one the year he turned eighteen, and he’d begged me and Syn to come along with him—and then we collectively agreed that until our future wives dragged us to one of these, or that there was a business requirement, our attendance was optional.

Just seeing Tori and how incredible she looked in the dress she was wearing makes this evening a little more bearable.

The last twenty-four hours or so feel like the longest I’ve gone without seeing her, and I didn’t expect it to be as much of a hellish experience as it was.

Apparently, I like her more than I realized.

This whole situation is a fucking mess.

The only glimmer of light in this situation is that whatever happened that night, Syn also believes her brother didn’t kill JP. The guilt I was feeling at being attracted to the sister of JP’s murderer is gone, and even though he’s not mentioned it since, I don’t think Syn is upset with me about that anymore.

But if it felt like there was a gap between me and Tori before, it now feels like we’re on opposite sides of a wide, deep chasm.

If Salaway was sent by Preston to kill Tori, and if thatwasbecause he wanted revenge for his friend, and if wecanclear up that misunderstanding, we should be able to make things safe for Tori again... But I don’t know what that’s going to do for us—for me.

I’ve missed her.

I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours worrying about her being with Syn. Not because I think he’s going to make a move on her, but because I know Syn, and he’s more likely to say or do something that’s going to make that chasm wider.

I want Tori in my life.

Every woman here tonight is wearing a dress that’s black, white, or a combination of both. Tori’s one of them, but somehow, it’s always her that I’m drawn to. She stands out, drawing my attention to her like a beacon.

While there’s been no formal announcement about the auction starting, people are beginning to drift towards the dancefloor, their focus on the stage rather than dancing. If Tori doesn’t return soon, I'm not sure I’ll get the chance to dance with her tonight.

Frowning, I glance over towards the bathrooms. Tori’s been gone a while...

Surely, she’s not hiding in there to avoid dancing with me.

With more people on the dancefloor, I move over to wait for her by the bathrooms. As I do, the music finally comes to an end, and Elena Remington walks onto the stage to announce the auction will be starting shortly.

Gemini still hasn’t messaged to say that du Pont is here, but with everyone focused on the stage, now’s the best time for me and Tori to head to the meeting point we chose.

I’m tapping my foot when a woman comes out of the bathroom, and I'm able to glance past her. I don’t see Tori.

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