“Silvia?” I asked, the probability settling cold in my gut.
Kreed nodded. “That’s our guess. It would make the most sense, considering the same MO, same demographic, and same part of town.” He paused, his fingers drumming once against the table before stilling. “Rusty’s gone, but his mess isn’t. It wouldn’t surprise me if she picked up the pieces and got a little promotion in her twisted world.”
Mason swore under his breath.
It wasn’t lost on any of us why Kaylor was so quiet. I understood the haunting look in her eyes.
“It means we need to find her,” Kreed said, leaning forward, elbows braced on the table, his posture radiating intensity. “Or someone who can tell us where she’s set up shop before this turns into a patternagain.”
“Remember how Mason and I chased that guy through the woods,” I began, glancing at Kreed and Raine. Mason shifted in his seat beside me. “Tonight, there was a car outside Mallory’s house just sitting there with the lights off, staring at her house. When I got out to confront him, he took off.”
Raine’s brows slanted together. “You think someone’s watching her? Perhaps she could be their next target.”
“I don’t want to think it, but I also don’t want to ignore the signs,” I replied.
Kreed frowned. “If you’re right, and this guy is connected, it could be the lead we need to trace back to Silvia.”
“You want to use Mallory as bait?” Mason asked, knowing how Kreed’s brain functioned, but I wasn’t sure I liked the idea. Actually, I was sure I fucking hated it.
“No,” Kaylor said forcefully, speaking for the first time. “We’re not putting anyone else in danger. If anyone needs to be bait, it’s?—”
“Don’t even fucking think about suggesting it’s you, little raven,” Kreed cut in, shutting her idea down before it could be voiced.
“I’m with Kreed, menace,” I agreed. “You’re not putting yourself on the line. Never again.”
She glanced around the room, clearly outnumbered by four fiercely protective Corvos. She knew how this went. Sighing, she sank deeper into the plush chair.
“Could it be possible that someone at school is passing on information, helping to pick targets?” I asked, speaking out loud what I’d been marinating in my head.
“Why do you ask?” Raine retorted, unzipping his sweatshirt.
“This new girl, Mallory, has been getting stalker notes at school. Someone is leaving them in her locker, in her textbook. And tonight, at the church, there was a message to her in the bathroom written on the mirror.”
Mason’s eyes whipped toward me. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he hissed.
Kreed cleared his throat. “So you think this might be an intimidation tactic?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Maybe I’m grasping at straws, but something feels off.” It could be that I so wanted the two events to be connected.
Kaylor toyed with the ends of her long hair. “Well, we know Poppy nor I received any notes, but we were unusual cases. We didn’t fit the profile. It was personal. We need to find out if this is a pattern.”
Mason’s fingers rapped on the table, and I could tell he wished he had a deck of cards to busy his hands with. They helped him focus, direct his energy. “How?” he asked. “The girls taken are still missing.”
“Maybe there was someone who didn’t fall for their tricks. If she exists, we need to find her,” Kaylor offered.
“And I’m assuming that duty falls to us,” Mason muttered.
Raine’s brows shot up, disappearing beneath the dark hair falling across his forehead. “Unless you want to talk about what you were doing at the church tonight?”
Mason grinned. “You know what the fuck we were doing. It’s pretty obvious.”
Kreed snorted humorlessly. “You guys threw a party?”
Mason took the bottle from my hand without an ounce of regret on his face. “Got to uphold Corvo tradition.”
Raine shook his head. “Sober up by Monday. Fill in the guys. Have them start asking the questions. I want to know before the end of the week if any other girls at Public have received anonymous notes.”
“I have just the person to start with.” I looked at Mason, catching his eye. We were both thinking the same name. There was one girl at Public who stuck her nose in everyone else’s business. She was notorious for uncovering dirt.
