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Fear shone in her eyes. “He was so mean. He hit me a few times.”

Anger surged through me.

“Did the clown man also hit you?”

She nodded. “He’s crazy. He kept calling me Christine, saying how I’m gonna make him lots of money.” Her hands trembled. “He gave me papers with people’s information and told me to memorize them. Then he’d test me. If I got it wrong, he didn’t feed me.”

I wanted to hurt Ghost so badly. He probably held back on hurting Aimee physically. If she looked abused while he took her around, people would question him.

“Christine is my mother’s name.” I brushed a hand down Aimee’s hair. “She was a genius like you. Did they make you do anything? Take you anywhere?”

After another twenty minutes of chatting, my perception of Orion had changed. Apparently, he and Aimee had talked quite a bit. She said his mom was an astronomer and an astrologer, and Orion was her favorite constellation based on the hunter in Greek mythology.

My friends and I smiled as she displayed her intelligence and excellent memory. I wondered if Orion knew who he was spilling info to.

What was his agenda? Why was he helping us?

I pulled out my phone. “I’m going to call your parents now.”

Aimee moved to a big, cushioned chair, and Kaylee squeezed in beside her. The two held hands as Aimee spoke to her parents. Tears streamed down her face, and Kaylee helped dab them away.

I wasn’t sure what Arrow planned to tell the authorities, but I had to get Aimee back to her worried parents.

“How are you doing?” Michelle rubbed circles on my back.

“An immense relief,” I confessed, blowing out a breath. I’d been so wound up that my body didn’t know how to react to this sudden lightness. Anxiety over Ghost still lingered, but the catastrophe that brought me to Providence had been resolved.

“The outcome turned out better than I hoped for.” Audri glanced over at the girls.

“Someone was watching over her for sure,” Kiera said.

I’d like to think my mom had something to do with it. “I’ll need to book a flight to take her home.”

“You can use Grayson’s plane,” Natalie said. “He won’t mind.”

I shouldn’t be baffled by the things these billionaires bought, but I was. “Why does he have a plane?”

She smiled. “Long story for the next girls’ night out.”

“Love makes you do unpredictable things,” Kiera said.

Michelle looked at me. “How are you and Arrow doing? He say those words yet?”

My chest tightened as Sylvia’s words bounced around my head.

If he hasn’t said those words to you, he doesn’t. He’ll leave you soon.

I didn’t know why I was even listening to her.

“Not yet. But I haven’t said them either. We’ve been swamped.”

“Who’s this Orion guy?” Audri asked.

“Could be a foe or an ally,” I said, hoping for the latter.

What were they discussing up there?

CHAPTERSIXTY-FIVE