Page 105 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)
He gasps. “I will prove you wrong. If I had a frog tongue, you’d certainly know. Let’s just cement the idea of my kisses in your head. You know, for the future…”
He ducks down and presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth. I hold still as he places baby kisses all around my mouth, down my throat. He stops and hovers over one spot. “You scratch here. Why?”
I shiver. “Detective Masters told me they found a sedative in Amber’s blood, and… I don’t know. I just picture someone coming up behind her and sticking a needle in her neck.”
“That’s specific.”
I shrug. “We should get up.”
“Or kiss some more.”
I shake my head and climb out of bed, moving faster than him this time. “With morning breath? No thanks.”
His chuckle chases me out of his room.
I focus on brushing my teeth.
“Hello?”
Liam steps into the bathroom, holding my phone out.
“Yeah, she’s right here. Hold on.” He mutes it and says, “Whitney’s mom?”
Huh. “Weird.” I take the phone and unmute it. “Mrs. Travers?”
“Ah, Skylar. I’m sorry for calling you so early, but I was hoping you were with Whitney.”
I squint. “Why would I be with Whitney?”
“She was headed into the city for a Halloween party.” Mrs. Travers pauses. “She said you would probably be with them. Taryn and Jeff, and someone else…”
“Willa.” I clear my throat. “I was with Taryn, but I didn’t see Whitney. I didn’t know she was supposed to be there.”
“Okay, thank you.”
It sounds like I’m about to lose her, so I blurt out, “Wait. Is she okay?”
“She’s not answering her phone,” Whitney’s mother says carefully. “It’s early, though. She could be sleeping. I’m just… being overly cautious.”
I meet Liam’s gaze. “Okay. Right. I hope you hear from her soon.”
We hang up, and the phone slips through my fingers. She’s gone—I can feel it in my bones. Maybe not dead, but taken.
My knees buckle.
He catches my waist and lowers me to the floor, sinking with me.
“Breathe, angel,” he says. “You’re assuming the worst.”
I meet his stare. “I am assuming the worst because this is a pattern. How long will they wait to report her missing?”
“Legally, I think twenty-four hours, but they’re smart. I have a feeling they’re going to talk to the media long before that.”
“Right. Yeah, that’s good.”
My phone chimes with an email alert.
“Oh, shit.”