Page 85 of Bitter Queen (Advantage Play 4)

“Because she snuck into his room to check on him,” Dex returns. “We found a rope hanging off the balcony. We think Sei climbed the trellis then hid the rope in the vines to use for a quick escape before searching for Q. When he found her, he threatened to kill Will if she didn’t go quietly.”

“Fuck!” I yell again, slamming my fist against the wall.

Grabbing the neckline of my shirt, Dex shoves me against the wall. “Listen to me. You have every right to be pissed right now, but we’ll find her.”

“When?” I spit back at him. “How? We’ve been searching for weeks to find Sei but haven’t turned up shit. How the hell are we going to find him before he touches her? Before he tortures her all over again?”

He shakes his head back and forth. “I don’t know. But we will.”

“Get the kid out of my sight. Now.”

Dex’s booming voice yells, “Regina!”

The pitter-patter of footsteps follows his demand before a disheveled Regina rushes into the room with a silky, black robe clinging to her skin.

“Go get Will some milk or something,” Dex finishes. “And clean him up. We’ve got shit to do.”

With a gulp, Regina pulls Will into her arms then ushers him out of the room without a single word.

“It isn’t his fault,” Lou mutters while continuing to search for answers on the monitors.

My fear for Q feels like it’s strangling me, but I drop my chin to my chest. Q would kill me if she knew I took my frustration out on a kid. It was unacceptable. Shame fills my lower gut fighting for dominance over my anguish as I mutter, “I know.”

“Go search the south side of the property. See if you can find anything. I’m going to keep looking for any footage, but he cut the power and jumbled our connection.” He pauses before adding, “The bastard knew what he was doing.”

I feel like spiders are crawling along my skin. Like I’m being dragged to the damn shed. Like I’m drowning. Like I have a gun pressed to my forehead, but there isn’t anything I can do about it. I gotta try, though. For her.

Rocking back on my heels, I announce, “I’m gonna go see what I can find.”

Kingston steps in the way and forces me to look at him. “We’re gonna find her, D.”

I nod, then step around him and walk down the silent hallway, lost in my thoughts.

He’s right. Even if it’s the last thing I do, I will find her.

I just don’t know if it’ll be too late by then.

32

Ace

“Hey,” I greet Regina and Will as I enter the kitchen. His hair is still wet from a shower, but his eyes are wide with fresh fear.

He looks like a different kid than the one I’d slowly been growing accustomed to. Hell, he looks like the one that showed up on our doorstep, cradling his arm to his chest like an injured animal.

Q’s missing. And the only witness we have is the scared little boy in front of me.

Regina sets a warm glass of milk in front of him before acknowledging me. “Hey.”

“How are things down here?”

“About as good as can be expected.” Her fear is simmering just below the surface. I can see it. I can feel it. I can almost smell it. She’s just as terrified as the rest of us.

“Any luck upstairs?” G asks, trying to keep her tone even. It’s funny. She might be Regina to everyone else, but she’ll always be G or Gigi to me.

I shake my head. “Nope. Hey, Will, I was wondering if I could ask you a few more questions?”

“I don’t know anything. I swear!” he bursts out, his lower lip quivering.