Page 8 of Merciless Prince

“So we’ll have to keep tabs on her for a while?”

“Yup. At least six months, I think. If she hasn’t said anything by then, we’re probably safe.”

He scratched his chin. “What about all the media files on her phone? Have your guys checked that?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t look like she took photos or filmed anything in the grotto that night. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t.”

Derrick sat up straighter. “Seriously?”

“Yes. My guys were only able to hack into all her shit a full day after she sneaked in to spy on us. So she could’ve transferred a bunch of stuff from her phone to somewhere else and then deleted the originals off the phone before that,” I said. “I doubt it, but we have no way of knowing for sure.”

“She could’ve talked about what she saw during that day too, and you wouldn’t have heard it.”

“I know,” I said. “I guess we can assume she didn’t, though, because we would’ve heard about it by now if she did.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” His nose wrinkled. “It’s fucking weird, right? I mean, not that I’m complaining, but whywouldn’tshe tell anyone what she saw?”

My left shoulder rose in a small shrug. “No idea.”

Over the last few weeks, I’d frequently wondered the same thing. Considering everything Shay witnessed that night in the grotto… what the hell would possess her to keep it to herself? Was it simply fear or confusion? Or did she have something big planned?

I had to hope it was the former, but I also had to assume it was the latter, for self-preservation.

“Maybe she didn’t actually see anything,” Derrick mused, rubbing the side of his head. “I mean, it’s pretty dark up in that cave, and you said she’s pretty short, right?

“About average,” I said, picturing her body. “Around five-three or four.”

“Well, that’s still pretty small, so depending on where she was standing, she might’ve only seen a tiny part of the grotto. So she might not have seen anything.”

I nodded slowly. “That’s true.”

“I guess that still doesn’t answer the question of how the fuck she found the tunnel in the first place, or why she decided to go in.”

“Or why she ran away,” I said, raising a brow.

His shoulders slumped. “Shit. Good point. She must’ve run away because she was scared of us, and…”

“And she probably wouldn’t be scared of us if she didn’t see anything,” I finished for him.

“Fuck.” He sighed and put his hands over his face. “And everyone wonders why I’ve spent the last few weeks on a massive fucking bender...”

I rolled my eyes. “You need to get your shit together,” I said. “The rest of us have been dealing with it. Especially me. Meanwhile you’ve done nothing but drink and put shit up your nose for the last month.”

Derrick let out another heavy sigh. “I know. Sorry. I’m just stressed as fuck,” he said. “If that little bitch tells anyone what she saw, we’refucked. It’ll be even worse if she has proof. Like a video.”

As he spoke, I gripped the steering wheel even tighter. It felt like a fist had grabbed my stomach and started squeezing.

Derrick was right. If Shay ever told anyone about that night—especially the cops—we were totally fucked.

It wasn’t like the old days where guys like us could get away with absolutely anything by throwing money at it. Things were different now. Public sentiment about the uber-wealthy elite was growing increasingly negative by the year, and it seemed like everyone was itching to see us get smashed into oblivion by a giant wrecking ball.

Shay could be that wrecking ball.

If she came forward with what she knew, my money and connections wouldn’t be able to aid me, because the authorities would relish an opportunity to take down a guy from a family like mine. I’d be charged, and so would everyone else who was in the grotto that night.

We wouldn’t just be facing any old charges, either, like tax evasion or petty theft.

We’d be going down for murder.