Page 29 of Caged

“Just call us if anyone hears anything. We’ll leave our cards. If she does show up, please tell her to call her parents immediately.”

The officers turn to leave, and the room descends into chaos. I follow the two men as they head for the door.

“What happens next?” I ask. “Is she formally a missing person?”

One of the officers gives me an infuriatingly nonchalant shrug. “These situations happen all the time on college campuses. A girl goes on a bender with her boyfriend, doesn’t call her parents for a few days, parents get spooked and they call us. Things usually resolved themselves after a week.”

“A week?” I gasp. “But what if something awful did happen? What if she were taken?”

“If she doesn’t show up in a week, and the parents still are unable to contact her, usually that’s when we open an investigation.”

“Look, last time you saw her, she was at a frat party with a boy, right?” the taller officer reasons like it’s supposed to easemy paranoia. “She’s probably still there with him, you know, as girls are known to do at these fraternities.”

“No, I don’t know,” I snap. “What is that supposed to mean?”

The officers exchange knowing glances, and I have to actively tell myself not to rage-scream at them. “Just, call us if you hear anything, okay?”

I’m handed a set of business cards and then watch in utter dismay as the two cops leisurely walk down the stone path and back to their parked cruiser.

“Wait!” I call after them, bounding toward the sidewalk. “Are you going to stop by Sigma to see if she’s there or investigate?”

The two cops give each other an odd look as if they’re mocking my question.

“If we don’t find her after a week and they open an investigation, we’ll swing by,” the taller officer says in a cocky, dismissive tone. “Now, if you don’t mind miss, we’ll be going.”

Stupefied, I stand on the sidewalk as they pull away. What in the actual fuck was that? They literally implied Kasey, who was last seen at Sigma forty-eight hours ago, is probably still at Sigma, whoring it up, ‘you know,’like‘girls are known to do.’

A girl is missing.

A girl is fucking missing!

My fingers shake as I pull my phone from my back pocket to text Ele, because fuck that. If the cops aren’t going to give a shit, then we’re taking matters into our own hands, and all I need is a single excuse to burn that entire piece of shit fraternity to the goddamned ground.

12

MONROE

Seven Months Prior to Present Day,

Early February, Junior Year,

Sigma

“Puppy, I missed you,” Kieren groans as he lowers himself beside me on the bed and nestles his face against the curve of my neck. “I didn’t appreciate that you were too busy for me.”

I huff at his inaccurate retelling of events. “Kieren, I wasn’t the one who was too busy.”

He licks up my neck, landing on that soft spot right below my earlobe, and sucks a kiss like he is a vampire ready to rip into my flesh. My body warms with desire as his lips trail my jawline.

“That’s not how I remember it,” he whispers playfully. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

I writhe under him, my oversized white button-down and jeans feeling suddenly too hot. I want them off. I want that stiff erection of his currently grinding against my pelvis to push apart my walls.

Finally, I cave, knowing what he wants to hear. “I’m sorry,” I whisper as his lips plant lingering kisses down my sternum while he effortlessly unbuttons my top. When the last button is undone, Kieren flings open my shirt and hovers above me.

“So fucking pretty,” he rasps, admiring the soft lilac lace bralette that can barely contain my heaving chest. “It’s a shame I’ll have to punish you for ignoring me.”

His fingers dip under the lace fabric covering my right breast and pitilessly twist the delicate skin of my nipple. I moan, arching into the pain.