Page 84 of Jaded Princess
But that was how it worked, wasn’t it? One moment, and your sister’s dead. Two moments, and the man you love has walked out for good. Three, and you lose your best friend. Four, and the FBI comes in, barrels raised, but there’s nothing to shoot, because the deal you made no longer counts. There’s no Trace, and there certainly isn’t Theo. Five, and you’re in jail.
My head hit air, then smacked onto sudden ground.
It was so quick I didn’t have time to voice pain upon impact but raised my hands in an effort to find delayed balance.
“What the—”
“Bo?” I asked the upside-down face. “You’re here?” Hope spiked like a lightning bolt. “You’rehere! Someone’s here!”
“Lady, you need to find another stoop to sleep this off.”
I scrambled to a sit, then tottered to a stand. “I thought this place was cleaned out. That there’d be no one left.”
“Just me. Oh, it’s you. What’s with the new hair?”
“Where’s Drea? Have you seen Theo? Trace—”
“Whoa. Slow down.”
“I can’t. This is an emergency. Theo could be hurt, or worse, and I don’t know where to start. Except for coming here. I thought you’d know where they took Drea, or if Trace found her and took her somewhere with Theo. If he’s holding them both hostage…” I trailed off, frustrated my thought process wasn’t working properly. “What could Trace need from Theo to convince their father he shouldn’t come home?”
“Huh?”
“Trace took Theo. Why?”
Bo took his time asking his next question. “Do you need to come in?”
“Yes.” I nearly knocked his shoulder off when I barreled forward.
I tracked the hallway, then the bathroom, then the main room before coming to a stop in the middle of the creaky wooden floors. Bo acted as spectator for the entire process, his back resting against the main wall, arms folded.
“Satisfied?” he asked when it was clear I was done mentally ransacking the place.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know. And I mean it,” he said when I opened my mouth to argue. “Drea left here on her own. Voluntarily. She finished her tea, went to bed, and when I woke up, her room was empty.”
“She was gone as of this morning?”
“Yep.”
I shook my head, attempting to make sense of the revelation. “But she was so injured when we saw her … God, was it yesterday? How could she have…” My brows smoothed out the longer I studied Bo’s face. “She was faking it.”
“Not all of it.” Bo shrugged. “Her bruises and cuts were obvious. But as for anything on the inside…”
“But how did she manage to convince so many people? Adoctor? If all she had was superficial cuts and bruises … Sax said he was getting updates from a doctor. A trusted family one who they used when in this country. Shit.” Another realization-bomb hit me between the eyes. “The doctor could have been on Trace’s payroll. Not Sax’s.”
“Don’t look at me. I just work here.”
“And you reported Drea missing to Theo when … this morning?”
At last, there was hesitation in Bo’s features. I stepped forward. “Bo, what aren’t you telling me? Need I remind you that Sax, yourboss, could be somewhere under duress, and when he gets out, he’ll be mighty pissed. At you. Especially if you’re in any way responsible for his temporary incapacitation.”
“Look, I don’t get involved in their family business.”
“I’m not asking you to. I only want the facts of exactly what happened today and your role in it.”
Bo uncrossed his arms. “I’m not sure if I should getyouinvolved in their family business, either.”