Page 179 of River of Deceit

I turn the vase, but there’s no note, no hint of where this came from.

The microwave beeps to let me know the food is done. I ignore it and start knocking on Sam’s door.

“Sam? Sam, sorry to bother you, but I need to know! Where did you get the flowers?”

No response.

The microwave says it’s close to 6 a.m. Normally I’d say that means Sam found some other place to spend the night, but she’s not like me. She doesn’t go out; she doesn’t have fun. She definitely wouldn’t be enjoying a sleepover with a guy.

“Samantha!” I shout.

Shit. I go to my room and grab my lockpicks. The keycard lock has a very small mechanical key lock on the underside, in case the battery runs out. It takes me a few minutes to fumble it open.

Nobody inside.

I go in, picking up Sam’s things and trying to find something that might give me an idea of where the fuck she might be.

I spot her tablet on the desk, and I tap it on. It asks me for a password, but that’s not the important part.

The background image is of Sam and Zayden, hugging.

They’re in the greenhouse, with the fucking blood red dahlias behind them.

My lips widen into a grin. “Oh, Zayden. I knew I didn’t like you.”

He’s the one. He’s the one who killed Rachel.

He’s the one who took Sam.

And it’s his fault Blaze, Asch, and River turned against me. I know it.

They wouldn’t have done that on their own. No wonder none of it made sense.

I mean, I still have to punish them, obviously. But once they grovel, I can forgive them.

Not like Zayden.

Zayden has to go.

I laugh, and I feel so much better already. The world is finally slottingback into place.

I’ll get some sleep, eat some food, and when I’m all rested up and have all the supplies I need, I can get some shit done.

After all, I’m a destroyer of worlds.

33

ASCH

The three of us sit in the living room of the small semi-furnished house Blaze rented for us. Three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a kitchen, a living room, and a basement rec room.

We got the TV set up, all of us quiet through the process.

My bedroom is almost completely bare, save for the bed and desk that were already included. I’d tried to salvage my stuff, but it was all black with smoke and soot, when it didn’t melt or burn.

It’s probably pathetic, how much I’m mourning belongings, but I barely scrape by as it is. The knowledge that I have to replace everything on the low balance in my bank account somehow is daunting.

I know Blaze will offer to buy me a whole new wardrobe without batting an eye, and this time…