Page 101 of Perfect Order

Unknown: We have no idea where she is.

Unknown: Then find her.

Unknown: You’re asking the impossible.

Unknown: It’s the only way.

NOVEMBER

Beckett Miller states emphatically he will not discuss Erzulie’s location or what she’s working on. “What she’s doing is healing.” But the way he clutched his fiancée’s hand belied those words.

With Wildcard Music refusing to comment as well, we’re all left wondering, has something happened to the sexy Kylie Miles? Has she walked away from music entirely after her stunt this past summer?

— Viego Martinez, Celebrity Blogger

I plot and wait on the edge as two lives stand ready to crash together, not giving a damn about either. If they want me bad enough to have killed Lee, to have threatened Kane, they can have me.

But I won’t bleed alone.

I’ll take everyone involved in doing so out with me.

So help me God.

My fingers fly as my lips curl into a cruel smile. “You wanted it all, you motherfucker? Come and try to get it.”

I pluck a picture of Kane and me that I tucked in the corner of one of my monitors. “It’s not just for Lee anymore.” Pressing my lips on top of his beloved face, I drop the photo next to my keyboard before my fingers begin dancing.

DECEMBER

Kane

It’s been over a year since singer Erzulie lost her sister. It’s also been about that amount of time since she’s put out any new music. Fans appreciate her grief but are getting restless for her songs that have been described as “sending quivering tingles down my spine.” When can we expect to see the artist on stage again as well as a new record? @wildcardmusic

— StellaNova

“You’ll never guess who came by today,” my mother tells me.

I’ve just returned from a session with my trauma therapist, and I was hoping a call home might lift my spirits. All it’s doing is reminding me is the world goes on, even if my heart is stuck in neutral. Waiting for direction.Something.Anything, Crash. Give me some sort of sign,I plead silently.

“Who?” It’s a tight squeeze for my heart and lungs to fit inside my throat, but somehow, they all fit.

“Well, she has short dark hair,” Mom teases.

It’s possible Leanne cut hers, though the thought of her long blonde tresses that were spread across my pillow being hacked away pains me. “Mom,” I push sharply.

“Son, you are seriously lacking in a sense of humor as of late. Brit. And she brought Maddie with her.” My mother waits for my reaction.

Any other time, any other universe, the news would release the tight squeeze around my heart. But it’s four months to the day since I’ve heard Leanne’s voice. I’ve just stepped out of a meeting where Caleb declared her missing.“Unless we go to the government and start snooping, we have absolutely no leads.”

My breath comes out roughly. “Great, Ma. Can we talk later? I’m at the office.”

“Kane, you’ve waited years for Brit to heal enough to come see this family again,” my mother spits out. “What is wrong with you?”

What the hell am I supposed to say?I fell in love, Ma.And within months, I drove her away because I’m a fucking ass? Oh, and now she’s missing? Plus, she’s an operative for an agency I don’t even know the name of? So, I don’t know if she’s been pulled into some basement onto a computer or is dead. I rub my hand over my forehead. “It’s just been a rough couple of months.”

She clucks. “I saw the news about Beckett and that Erzulie. You should keep him away from her.”

Her words cause me to snap. “Don’t say a damn word about her. Nothing. None of this was her fault and…never mind.”