Page 127 of Liars

Kaylor’s broken exhale sent a shudder down my spine.

“It’s a story that goes back years. The Ravens and Vipers have a history that oozes bad blood,” Rusty began to explain.

I didn’t need to hear this fucking tale. I knew the details. I’d lived them. Unlike Kaylor’s father, mine had never hidden who he was or the legacy that came with the name Corvo. My brothers and I grew up in the fold of an organization and what it meant to be a Raven, what was expected of us.

I forced my brain to function through the noise, my fingers pressing harder into the phone. “Kaylor,” I said urgently, praying she’d hear me, praying she’d say something to let me know where she was, but Rusty must have heard me because the call abruptly ended.

The screen flashedCall Disconnected.

“Fuck!” I roared, throwing the phone onto the desk so hard it bounced. My body shook with fury, betrayal sinking its claws into me.

Mason and Maddox were both staring, tense, and on edge. Nash shifted beside me.

“What the fuck do we do now?” Maddox demanded.

A crack split through me, sharp and sudden, and there was no stitching it back. I slammed my fist into the desk so hard the wood splintered. “We get back what’s ours,” I stated, snatching her phone back up.

I didn’t care what I had to do.

I was going to find her.

And Rusty was dead.

I had no choice. This wasn’t a call I wanted to make. Ever. But finding Kaylor was more important than my pride, more important than my goddamn ego. Getting Brock Taylor involved in Crew business? A terrible fucking idea, but he was family to Kaylor. If anyone knew where she was, it was the damn Elite.

I could feel Maddox’s glare drilling into the side of my skull before he even spoke. “What are you doing? I have Raine on the line.” He had his phone pressed to his ear.

“It’s not Raine I want to talk to,” I shot over my shoulder, digging out my phone.

“Kreed,” he growled, a warning I ignored. “Who the hell are you calling?”

Their footsteps followed, heavy with frustration and something darker—uncertainty. We didn’t ask for help. Not from outsiders. Especially not from the Elite, but what other choice did we have?

“If we want her back, we need his help,” I said flatly, a numbness taking over. “Unless you have another way to locate her?”

Mason, Maddox, and Nash just shuffled their feet, staring at the ground.

That was what I thought. We had nothing. No backup plan. No contingencies. Just desperation and failure choking the air around us.

We’d been so fucking arrogant, thinking we could pull off this scheme my father had set into motion years ago. We’d all been on board. We’d all wanted revenge. The rage over my mother’s death had never left me, never faded. But still…

I had a personal reason for not wanting to give Kaylor up.

“Maybe we let her go,” Nash muttered when we reached my SUV, dragging a hand through his hair.

I glowered at him over the hood, my arm flexing as I gripped the door handle. “You want to give up?”

“I don’t want to go to jail.” His voice was sharp, but there was a raw edge to it, uncertainty creeping in like poison.

“They’re the ones who should be behind bars,” Maddox seethed. “None of this would have happened if they hadn’t shed blood first.”

The thought burrowed deep into my chest, refusing to let go. We weren’t the villains in this story. We were the ones cleaning up the mess left by the real monsters.

My mind raced through worst-case scenarios, each one more terrifying than the last. Was she safe? Was she scared? Had she finally realized she should have run from me the first chance she got?

I ground my teeth.Fuck that.“If anyone wants to bail, get out of the car.” I gave them a single chance to leave, but no one moved. Taking their silence as acceptance, I swiped through my contacts, stopping on the name I hated seeing on my screen. Then I hit dial. Every second was a moment wasted.

The line rang once. Twice.

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