Page 43 of Vicious Deception
My heart warms. I didn’t realize he’s the one who made this happen.
“How was Elliot?” she asks.
“He was . . .” My hand tightens around my mug. “He was broken up. He told us that he got caught sneaking into Oliver’s room, and that Ludo punished Oliver for it instead of Elliot. He didn’t elaborate, but he wascrying,Aubrey. He said Oliver was in so much pain—that he couldn’t bear to watch it happen again.”
“God,” Aubrey whispers. “I’m so sorry, Wren.”
Maggie is sniffing around in the backyard, and I watch her. If I look at Aubrey, I’ll see how worried she is, and then I’ll start crying again. It’s not that Aubrey wouldn’t understand, but I’m just so tired of all the tears.
“I’m worried that Holloway will torture him again before we can save them,” I mutter. “Or that he’ll kill them before the meeting. I don’t think I could go on if I lose them.”
“You’ll get them out,” Aubrey says firmly. “If there’s one thing I know about Ludo, it’s that he likes to draw the pain of his enemies out. He’s probably enjoying the fact that the guys are terrified. The longer they sit in it, the more scared they’ll be. He knows that.”
“I hope so.”
A gust of wind sends a shiver through me, so I take a slow sip of my coffee. For a few minutes, we sit in silence, watching the sun peek over the trees.
“How’ve things been for you?” I ask. It’s only been a couple weeks, but I’ve missed Aubrey so much, and I’m curious how her new life has been treating her.
“All right. I love my new apartment. It has a view of the ocean, and I put my writing desk right in front of a window.” She giggles. “I’ve been doing more staring out and watching the waves than writing. Might have to move my workspace to a different spot without the view.”
“Have you made any friends?”
“I think so,” she says. “My neighbors are really nice. They’re an older couple, and they both love to knit, which I think is adorable.”
“That is,” I say with a smile.
Aubrey looks like she’s about to go on, but Finn steps onto the back porch, his tablet in his hand. Immediately, Maggie bounds over to us, her tail wagging back and forth.
Pausing, Finn takes a second to scratch behind her ears. When he straightens, his expression is grim.
“We have a problem.”
Dread knots my stomach.No, no, no.
Finn strides over to us before holding out the tablet for us to see. He has the security footage from the guys’ mansion pulled up.
An unfamiliar sedan is parked in the driveway, and a woman is marching up the path to the front door.
“Do you know who that is?” I ask, absentmindedly petting Maggie.
“Meredith Moore—Oliver’s mom.”
My stomach drops. What if Holloway has men keeping an eye on the place? What if they take her since they can’t get their hands on me?
“I knew this would happen,” Finn mutters. “Oliver is close to his family. It’s been too long since she’s heard from him last. You need to contact her before she goes to the police.”
“Me? What the hell am I supposed to say?”
“I’ve only met Meredith once, and she doesn’t like me much, so it can’t be me.” Finn has already closed the app for the security system and opened up a browser. Within seconds, he has her address pulled up, along with her phone number. “You need to tell her something.”
“Like what? It can’t be the truth!”
“Think of something. Once she’s off the property, you’re calling her and scheduling a time to meet.”
“To meet? Where?”
At that, Finn pauses. There’s no way he’ll want her coming over here. In his mind, that would mean the farmhouse is forever compromised, and we’d have to move on. There’s his cabin, but I don’t think he’ll want to reveal its location, either.