Page 123 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)

He doesn’t ask me how I might be familiar with the name. He doesn’t say anything, really. He just sighs and watches. Then, finally, “He wants to talk to her.”

“He can’t.”

“You, then.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “Fine. Give me… give me a minute.”

He hesitates. “Liam… you can ask for a lawyer. If you want. Call Eli’s dad.”

“Why?”

“Detectives sometimes get things wrong,” he mutters. “Sometimes they go after the wrong people. Don’t you know that by now? From what happened to Caleb?”

A bullheaded detective at my door.

But he’s asking for Sky, not me. He’s asking because she has something to do with the missing girls.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say.

I release Sky, and she releases me. It must be automatic, because her expression doesn’t change. I press my finger to her cheek, then follow Dad upstairs.

* * *

Detective Masters is as I remember him. He’s a middle-aged man who’s managed to keep himself fairly trim over the years. There’s a little beard on his face that wasn’t there the last time I saw him. He keeps it trimmed close to his face. There are flecks of gray in there, too.

“How long has it been?” he asks me. “Six years?”

Since he was here last? Investigating Sky.

“Well, only about four if you count the time you arrested my best friend under false charges.” I cross my arms over my chest.

Masters nods once. “That was an unfortunate error on my part. I apologized to Mr. Asher.”

“Right.”

“Where is Skylar?” he asks.

I shake my head. “She’s sleeping. It’s been a long week. To what do we owe this pleasure?”

He grimaces. The careful facade he usually wears has slipped. “The Travers family received a ransom note this morning.”

Something smashes behind me, and I whirl around.

Mom stands there, barefoot amidst a shattered glass. Her hand is still out, curled into a fist, like it just slipped from her grasp.

“Don’t move,” I say, picking my way toward her. I’m wearing shoes, but even if I wasn’t I would’ve gone to her. She doesn’t breathe until I get to her and scoop her up. She’s a bit heavier than Sky, less birdlike.

She huffs out a breath, then shakes her head when I set her down on the rug. “Thanks.”

“You okay?”

She nods, then eyes the detective. “That’s why you’re here, right? Because of the ransom.”

He nods once. “It means she’s still alive, and the police in Boston are growing a bit more desperate to talk to Sky. See if she knows anything.”

“She barely remembers her own—”

“Liam,” Mom snaps.