Page 48 of Sweet Deception

I know there’s nothing I haven’t already seen, but when I click on an image and Lucy’s face pops up, it’s like a kick in the solar plexus by a moose.

My hands shake as I slam the laptop closed and slide off my stool in the same motion.

“That’s enough for tonight.” Before Darren can ask, I’m across the room. “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

Chapter Seventeen

Veronika’s light, flighty footsteps echo as she hightails it upstairs and back into her bedroom. The second she’s gone, I reopen the laptop and find myself staring into a stunning woman’s bright brown eyes.

This must be her missing friend.

The picture is connected to some thread Veronika was sifting through about that modeling agency she mentioned.

It doesn’t take me long to develop a fuller picture of what’s happening, though I admit I’m still lost on why this woman traveled to Vegas and cloned my phone.

When I perform an image search in the Kings’ secure persons database, only a few seconds tick by before a police report of her friend’s abduction pops up. The missing woman’s name is Lucy Marlow, and Veronika Kotova and Maya Marlow, the victim’s older sister, filed the report.

I sit back on my bar stool, confused as hell.

With a few swift clicks, I download the report to the desktop of this laptop, along with everything else I’ve found. The process still isn’t finished when my phone buzzes in my pocket.

A text from Finn.

My eyes swipe over the several lines of his message.

Apparently, Rory O’Conner, spymaster and another one of my closest friends, found some intel confirming Troy Sullivan’s involvement in this so-called modeling summit. The overkill in the event’s security measures gave it away.

I hit the call button.

“What have you learned?” Finn’s gruff voice shakes the line.

“The hacktress started talking. She’s heard of the summit. From her end, she believes there’s a modeling agency that acts as a front. Someone she knows went missing after an audition.” I remember the bitter expression on Veronika’s face from earlier. “She thinks Troy or whoever’s running it is trying to sell the models, who will be on display at the event.”

“High price human trafficking then…” Finn trails off. “I’ll circle back when I know more. See what else you can get out of her.”

Finn and I don’t bother with goodbyes. The call drops, and I jump to my feet. I grab the laptop before striding toward the staircase.

Upstairs, I study the closed door to Veronika’s room and replay her reaction.

I’ve seen enough people in pain to recognize genuine distress, but something doesn’t add up here. I just can’t figure out what.

She helped until the moment she saw that photo, and then she shut down completely. She cares about her friend. Hell, she’s allegedly risking her life for the girl. Shouldn’t seeing her face have motivated her to keep going?

Isn’t time of the essence for her too?

There’s only one way I’m going to get any answers.

When I open the door to her room, Veronika’s standing by the window, moonlight highlighting the graceful line of her neck. She jerks around, suspicion animating her delicate features. Her guarded eyes slide to mine the second I’m throughthe door, and that well-kept mask snaps back into place. She’s got her shields up.

I forgot what this room is like at night. The bars on the window create cross-shaped shadows across her face.

She’s fucking gorgeous.

In the moonlight, her pale blond hair appears silver, and the contrasting navy walls cast her skin in a luminous glow.

“Tell me about Lucy Marlow.” I enjoy the way she stiffens as I wade into the room. “And this time, princess, try the truth.”

Somehow, I sense that I’m close to discovering what’s actually going on, but the real question is, will she be honest?