Page 36 of Sweet Deception

“Yeah, she has to be.” Maya pauses. “You know, after Lucy was taken, I started going over all our conversations. I keep coming back to that big event she mentioned…the modeling summit that Sophia Whatever’s agency was getting her into.”

Maya’s talked about this before, and just like that first time, my intuition radar beeps off the charts.

A modeling summit is the perfect cover for a human auction. But I haven’t shared that worry with Maya yet. We can try to locate the “summit” without shoving horrifying visuals of Lucy on an auction block into her head.

Thankfully, even though I will, she doesn’t linger on the idea.

“And what about those other mafia families?” Her voice thins with fear. “They’re not the ones who came after you, are they?” I can almost picture her clutching the phone too hard, pacing, wild with worry about her little sister and now me too.

I didn’t think of it, but Maya’s right.

Darren came after me tonight, and he’s mafia. Maybe the men who had my apartment surrounded were mafia, too, even if they weren’t in cahoots with the Gallaghers.

My mind floats over the other families I’ve been researching.

I sigh. “You mean the Kings? Or Red Hill?”

The rattle of a lock unlatching registers, and I abruptly end the call and whirl around.

My heart plummets to my feet when I find a bright-eyed Darren standing there.

“How—” I stammer.

He holds up a key. “This is my house, not yours.”

In a single, fluid, and distressingly powerful motion, he grasps my arm and plucks the phone right out of my grip.

“Who were you talking to?” His face is cold, flat, and agitated.

I swallow but don’t speak.

His sharp eyes flash with anger. “Who did you call, Veronika? Did you tell them where you are?”

The murderous expression on his face loosens my lips. Yes, I want to keep him on the ropes, but pushing this man over the edge would be a potentially fatal mistake. If he snapped, I doubt anyone in the nearby radius would survive.

“Just a friend of mine.”

His fingers fly around my throat in the same second my phone starts vibrating in his hand. Maya. She’s calling me back.

I’m not breathing as he presses down on my neck with his giant hand.

“You’re going to talk calmly to your friend as if I’m not here.” He hits the greenAcceptbutton without another word and puts Maya on speaker.

“Nika?” Her voice bounces through the bathroom. “What happened?”

“Sorry. The call dropped.” I try to keep my tone normal. “Anyway. Forget about the families. They don’t matter.”

“But what if…” Maya sniffs. “What if they’re the reason she’s gone?”

This is such a difficult conversation to have with Darren’s laser-beam eyes incinerating my face and one of his hands around my neck. “We’re going to find her. I promise.”

“Yeah…” Even though I’m in some deep shit, relief clangs through me at the dash of hope in her tone.

“Get some sleep. We’ll talk soon.”

The call ends, and I check Darren’s expression for a reaction.

We’re back to serial-killer blank.