Page 117 of Glorious Rivals

Calla lilies on the water.The house always wins.

“You four,” one of the men barked, ignoring Grayson’s question and taking his life into his own hands, “in the chopper!”

“Allow me to rephrase,” Grayson said.“Which one of you would prefer I not devote considerable time and resources going forward to making you regretnotanswering my question?”

The man on the right broke first.“We were told to secure all of the players and get you back to the yacht.Oren’s orders.The heiress is AWOL.”

A change came over Grayson’s body, and Lyra felt a shiver crawl down her own spine.

“What do you mean,” Grayson said, grabbing the man by the front of his shirt, “the heiress is AWOL?”

Chapter 84

GRAYSON

Avery.Completely off the grid.No sign of foul play—but missing.That was all Grayson had been able to extract from Oren’s men.Now those men were searching the island for Brady Daniels, and Grayson and the rest of the players were en route to the yacht.

Grayson zeroed in on the helicopter pilot—also one of Oren’s—and attempted to extract more information, but the pilot didn’t knowmore.

Because, Grayson thought,Oren’s men don’t know about Alice.

Grayson wanted to believe that he was getting ahead of himself, that Avery’s sudden disappearance might have nothing to do withAlice, but then Grayson thought about Prague—ash on Jameson’s skin, cuts on his neck.

Threats were issued.

Grayson didn’t even wait for the helicopter to touch down on the yacht before he leapt out of it.Two seconds later, Lyra landed a foot behind him, the result of her own leap from the chopper.Ittook everything Grayson had not to shut down and shut her out, but he knew from experience that he wouldn’t do anyone any good like that—that he wouldn’t doAveryany good like that.

This time, I will not freeze.Worst-case scenarios flashed through his mind, and Grayson let them come.

“We need to find Jameson,” he told Lyra.“Or John Oren, Avery’s head of security.”Behind them, the helicopter had finished landing.Rohan and Savannah were climbing out of it.

And there’s no one here to meet us.Grayson held Lyra’s gaze for a fraction of a second, and then he took off, tearing through the yacht, knowing damn well that Lyra could and would match his pace.Jameson and Avery’s suite was empty.Grayson wasn’t certain where on the yacht security was being headquartered, so he went for the next best thing.

Alisa’s office.

Grayson didn’t bother knocking before throwing open the door.Inside, Alisa and Jameson stood huddled over Alisa’s phone.

“And that’s all?”Jameson was saying, his voice unrecognizable, his eyes locked on the phone like it was the only thing that mattered in the world.“That is, word for word, everything the Woman in Red said?”

The Woman in Red.Grayson filed that phrase away as the voice on the other end of the call replied: “Yes.”

Grayson knew that voice.“Gigi.”

Alisa glanced up at him.“Knox has her.She’s safe and on her way here.”

Gigiwas safe, but Grayson knew just by looking at Jameson:Avery isn’t.

Grayson went to his brother but addressed his next words to Alisa’s phone: “Gigi.It’s me.What do you know?”

Grayson’s sister was fully capable of talking ten thousand miles an hour.A veritable avalanche of information poured out of Gigi.A woman in red, Calla Thorp.Another woman, Zella.

Eve telling the former that Lyra knew something about calla lilies, Alice Hawthorne, and omega.

A warning from the latter that if Gigi was asked a certain question, no matter how coercively it was phrased, she could say no.

And then there was the phrase that Gigi said most frequently—over and over and over again.The time forwatchingis done.

Before Grayson could reply to the onslaught of information, Jameson reached forward and ended the call.