Page 87 of Vicious Desire (Fallen Royals 4)

“I had them run a blood panel,” he says in a low voice.

I straighten. “Because you think he was high?”

“Isn’t that what you thought when you had all your friends out searching for him?” Dad fires back. “Isn’t that all of our first thoughts?”

Well… he has a point. “Kaiden didn’t answer, either.”

“I haven’t heard that name in a while,” he says. “They’re still friends?”

Honestly, I don’t really know. They must be.

“What’s his last name?”

I glance at Dad. “West. Why?”

His eyes narrow, and he immediately stands. “Wait here.”

He disappears, and I shiver. I’m so glad Parker gave me the sweatshirt before we left the house. I curl deeper into it, tempted to lift the hood and yank the strings tight. Block out the whole world.

Why does the last name West sound off alarm bells in Dad’s head?

I shift, and something pokes my thigh.

That USB drive.

Slowly, I pull it out and examine it. I was happy to forget about it, but now… The note with it, the photograph… the timing wasn’t a coincidence. Parker found it, and Noah was jumped not long after.

I unfold the photo and read the back again.

Who’s next?

The photo itself, though… I don’t know why I thought it was Eli’s fault. On closer examination, this photo was taken from the street. The neon open sign glows in the upper corner, blurry and out of focus.

I stand. I need a computer.

The door opens, and Parker and Jake slip into the room.

“Dude,” she says. “We had to sneak past the nurses and your dad. What happened?”

“Noah was jumped,” I say.

I’m starting to doubt it, though.

“He just got out of surgery. And, um… I need a favor.”

Jake rolls his eyes. “You’re gonna get me in trouble, aren’t you?”

Well, I am good at that sort of thing.

“I need a distraction to get to a computer.”

Parker shakes her head. “You don’t. They have a computer room for patients to use.”

Jake eyes her. “How do you know that?”

She doesn’t answer, but I notice how closely he follows behind her.

Hmm. Interesting.