Page 197 of Vicious Games

Enzo snorts under his breath. “Of course he is. Old habits die hard.” He then grabs his laptop and leaves the room without another word.

The moment he’s gone, Frankie crosses the floor and sinks onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her face into my shoulder. Her tears fall freely, soaking into my shirt, and I let her cry. I hold her close, rubbing gentle circles on her back. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll find her.”

Her voice is a whisper, barely holding together. “Who would do this? Who could be that cruel—to take someone like Anna? She’s so innocent. So pure. So… good.”

“Jude thinks maybe that’s why they took her,” I explain, hating how my voice cracks at the end. “She’d never see such danger coming. She always thinks the best of people.”

Frankie pulls back just enough to look at me, and I wipe the tears from her face before kissing her—soft and slow, trying to anchor myself to her calm, to anything that keeps me from falling apart.

“This might sound stupid,” she murmurs, “but when Mina said Anna might’ve snuck out to meet a boy, I thought maybe… maybe she knew about Anna’s secret crush too.”

“What are you talking about? What secret crush?”

“You know who I’m talking about,” she says, giving me a look. “That boy she’s always texting.”

“Babe, does this look like the face of a guy in the know?” I ask, pointing to myself.

Her brows pinch together. “You seriously didn’t know Anna was talking to a boy?”

“Jesus Christ, Frankie, this is the first I’m hearing about it.”

“Then who did you think she’s been texting all these years?”

“YEARS?!” I shout, surging forward, Frankie instantly jumping off my lap.

“You don’t need to yell, Lucky,” she snaps, arms crossing over her chest. “I know that you’re tense, and scared and tired, but there’s no need to shout. I hear you just fine.”

Fuck.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You’re right,” I say, dragging a hand down my face. “It’s just—Frankie, that kind of intel could’ve helped us hours ago.”

“I didn’t think it was relevant. I mean, we’re looking at someone who has a grudge towards the Outfit, right?”

“Maybe not,” I say before shoving my chair toward the desk and start hammering at my keyboard with new resolve.

“What are you doing?”

“Cross-checking every guy from Sacred Heart who was in her class and seeing if any of them have been spotted in the area.”

“What makes you think it’s someone from school?”

“Because if they’ve been talking for years, that means whoever has her has been in her life for just as long. And aside from church, charity work with Mom, and school, Anna doesn’t go anywhere. So if someone seduced her, pulled her in…it’s gotta be someone from Sacred Heart.”

Frankie chews her bottom lip, eyes darting between me and the screen. “Yeah… I guess that makes sense. Maybe this isn’t as bad as we think it is.” Her voice is small. Hopeful. But I can see the fear in her eyes. The last time any boy showed any interest in Anna, it wasn’t the good kind.

And we all know what happened to those two fuckers freshman year.

Still, I can tell Frankie wants to believe we’re close to finding Anna, untouched and safe. That this is the thread that’ll unravel everything.

God, I hope she’s right.

I pull up every name of every guy Anna’s ever come into contact with—every friend, classmate, church volunteer, charity kid, even anyone who’s ever liked one of her damn posts on social media. I narrow the list down to those close to her age—plus or minus two years.

When I’m done, I’ve got twelve names. Twelve assholes who, from what I can tell, are all painfully unworthy of my sister.

I hit print, grab the pages, and snatch Frankie’s hand.

“Where are we going?” she asks, breathless, as we tear down the hallway.

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