River shakes his head, his jaw set tight. “Who is Grey anyway? I know the version of him in the media, but that can’t be who he truly is if he’s doing all of this.”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I have a theory that Grey’s younger brother Sylas is actually Maddy’s real father, and that’s how he found out about her,” Theo says. “Sylas has been missing for a while, and Grey refuses to report it. But I have a feeling that he might be keeping him locked up somewhere.”
“Why would you think that?” I ask, tapping my thumb against my lip. “Not that it isn’t a valid idea, but it had to have stemmed from somewhere.”
Theo slants forward and lowers his voice. “Because a few days before Sylas went missing, Grey and him got into this huge argument. Hours later, Sylas was gone, but his car was still in thedriveway. Grey had me take it to a storage unit over in northside, which is strange.”
“If Sylas is being held somewhere by Grey, do you know of any place Grey owns where he could keep someone hidden for months?” River asks, propping his boot-clad foot onto his knee.
“He owns a lot of houses in various gem cities, but he owns one place in northside. That’s my best bet of where he’d be—” He startles as fireworks explode from outside. “Can I go now? The longer I’m here, the more at risk I am of getting caught.”
River and I look at each other, making a silent agreement.
River nods, then grabs the bag and tosses it to Theo. “Thanks for the information. I think it goes without saying that this conversation stays between us. You know who my father is, so you know what I’m capable of.”
Nodding, Theo clutches the bag against his chest and practically sprints out of the house.
“What do you think about what he said?” I ask River once he’s gone.
River goes over and locks the front door. “He sounded like he was telling the truth. And as for Grey keeping Sylas locked up in northside, it makes sense. It’d be too risky to do that in a gem city.”
Gem cities are the wealthiest and most secure cities in the world. They’re for the richest of the rich to live, and poor people aren’t allowed to cross the city lines. River and Finn’s father owns like eight houses in gem cities. My father owned one, but my mother got it in the divorce.
“Do you think you can track this house down?” River asks as he collects the empty whiskey glass and heads over to put it away.
Nodding, I sit down and get to work. Ten minutes later, I’ve found the place.
“Ready to go for a drive to northside?” I ask as I collect my wallet and keys.
“You found it?” River checks, and I nod. “Damn, that was fast.”
“Well, after what Theo just told us, I had to find it quickly.” Because if he was telling the truth, Maddy’s mother’s life is in jeopardy.
CHAPTER 24
MADDISON
I wakeup with a simple opening of my eyes with no grasp of what I was dreaming about; however, I get the oddest sensation that something woke me up. A noise perhaps?
Finn’s lean arms are still circled around me, and his face is close. We left the light on when we dozed off, so I get a clear view of his closed eyes, slightly parted lips, and the way his solid chest rises and falls with each breath he takes. He looks peaceful, and that makes me not want to wake him up. So, as carefully as I can, I lift his arm off of me and roll out of the bed. I head over to the fridge to get something to eat. A couple of nights ago, a huge supply of food was slid through the compartment, so everything is fresh.
I grab an apple, a bottle of chocolate milk, and a yogurt. I’m preparing to sit down at the small table that’s in the corner near the window when a loud boom echoes from outside.
My eyes widen, and I nearly drop the food I’m carrying because I recognize the sound.
I heard these noises all the time growing up, so there’s no mistaking what it is. A gunshot.
Finn sleepily rouses from his sleep, rolling over and blinking at me. He’s half out of it, and the way his eyes glaze over, and hislips quirk into a smile when he sees me causes my stomach to spin in the most confusing way.
“God, you’re so pretty,” he murmurs, not quite awake yet.
I drop my food and drink onto the table and hurry over to him. He reaches for me and sketches his fingers across my cheek, something he’s started frequently doing.
I capture his hand and softly squeeze it. “You need to wake up, okay? All the way, because I just heard a gunshot outside.”
He rolls his eyes a few times, then sits up. I let go of his hand, and he rubs his eyes and scans the room.
“You heard a gunshot?” he asks as he throws the blankets off him.
