Page 88 of Chaotic Curse
I want to argue, to demand they bring her home, but I swallow it.Raven would never put Belinda in danger.
“Okay,” I say, even though my chest still feels tight.“What do you have on Reyes?”
Vinnie leans back, one arm over the back of his chair.“I tracked Reyes to West Lake Hills.Ritzy.Gated.Security’s probably a nightmare.But it’s a start.”
He hands me a photo.
I hesitate before touching it, as if the image itself might burn me.
The moment I see his face, the air in the room changes.My spine goes cold.
“That’s him.”The words scrape my throat raw as I hand him the note from the flowers.
Vinnie nods and takes the note.“You still have the chocolates?”
“In the trash in my suite.I don’t think the staff emptied it yet.”
“Good.Bring them over.We’ll have toxicology look at them.If one was poisoned?—”
“It was,” I say, cutting him off.“I’m sure of it.”
He doesn’t question me.Just makes a note and then looks at me in that way that says he’s about to drop something I won’t like.I’m not sure why.I’ve seen everything in my short life.Bring it on.
“Derek Wolfe?”he finally says.“One of the names you gave me.”
I clear my throat.“Yeah.”
“You ever hear of Wolfe Island?”
“No.”
Vinnie sighs.“The man was a pig.Worse than a pig.A fucking demon.Wolfe Island was a private island where Wolfe kept women as prisoners.He catered to the elitest of the elite.Men paid a million dollars per day to stay there.”
“And…?”I clear my throat again.
“The men hunted the women.”
I cock my head.“Uh…what?”
He rubs at his forehead.“I wish I were kidding, Dani.It turns out that Wolfe wanted to purchase you from your father.For his island.Your time with him wasn’t solely business.It was an audition for you.”
My stomach twists.
“Your father refused,” Vinnie says.“Said you were worth more as a long-term asset.Wolfe didn’t take that well.He had to be escorted out.”
“He’s dead now,” I remind him, even though my pulse hasn’t slowed.“So what’s the point?”
“Some of Wolfe’s guests are still alive.A lot of them used fake names.One in particular—Gordon Brown—shows up in your father’s circles.”
I raise an eyebrow.“I never met anyone by that name.”
“Doesn’t mean you didn’t meet him,” Vinnie says.“He might have been introduced as someone else.”
I still don’t see the motive, but I trust Vinnie’s gut.
The doorbell rings, and I jerk involuntarily.
Vinnie pushes up from his chair.I stay frozen, the photo of Reyes still in my hand.
