Page 129 of Chandelier Sin
“What sort of thing?” I had no choice but to ask.
“B & D. To the highest bidder.”
“I don’t see that happening,” I scoffed. “He’s too possessive of her.”
“You’ve certainly put a lot of consideration into their relationship.”
“I see what most people don’t,” I said, my throat tight with suppressed rage. “When?”
I was trying my best not to blame the victim for staying in a situation she should have escaped.
Then it hit me. If Eve’s child had lived, if she’d kept the baby, where was it now?
A sick feeling filled my gut.
Jewel addressed Rylee. “When you’re ready to accept the Board’s offer, come find me.”
She pivoted and walked away.
With no time to recover from Jewel’s scorched earth, Rylee and I stood up.
Jake was stalking toward us, having crossed paths with Jewel and barely acknowledging her.
Jake appeared curious as to why I was with Rylee.
My expression reassured him I’d tell him everything later. “What’s up?”
He looked harried. “I left Stella with another sub in one of the chambers. Went back and they’re gone.”
“I’ll help you find them,” said Rylee, hurrying off.
“Check the dungeons,” Jake called after her.
Rylee waved to indicate she would.
Finding them was a priority, and yet, getting Eve out of here before they hurt her was imperative.
“I have a bad feeling,” said Jake, “that someone came for them.”
“We don’t know that for certain,” I said, trying to reassure him.
“One of them mentioned getting a drink.”
“I’ll check the bar—maybe help Rylee search the dungeons.” I started to walk away, but he grabbed my arm.
“It’s what we thought,” he said.
I gave a nod. “Stella’s a spy.”
I hated being right.
“I took her to Chrysalis,” he admitted. “Hosted a session with her. She didn’t know any of the tools.” He gave a shrug. “I invited Cameron into the session.”
I knew what had followed. “Within seconds Cole had analyzed her.”
Stella’s duplicity wasn’t a revelation. How they’d met was too much of a coincidence. Whoever set this up had to know we were smarter than this. Or maybe they just wanted us to be distracted.
“I liked Stella,” he admitted. “A lot.”
