Page 68 of Reign

I said I took care of it.

That’s not an answer.

It’s very much not an answer.

My brows pull together.

Adriana. What does that mean?

Three dots appear.

Disappear. Appear again. Then nothing.

Wonderful.

I stare at the empty message thread for another few seconds, then decide I don’t currently have the emotional capacity to interrogate a pregnant woman over text while thirty thousand feet in the air. I toss the phone faceup onto my lap.

“Problem?” Riot asks.

“No.”

He says nothing, but I feel his silence. It sits beside me like a person.

“Adriana says I have a place to stay.”

“Good.”

“She said she took care of it.”

Riot doesn’t even blink. “That sounds like Adriana.”

“It sounds suspicious.”

“It sounds handled.”

I give him a flat look. “You are disturbingly comfortable with ominous arrangements.”

“I’m comfortable with safe ones.”

I roll my eyes and check my email again and freeze. For a second, I don’t understand what I’m looking at. My body recognizes it before my mind gives it permission to.

Elite Membership Services: Follow-Up Questionnaire

The cabin goes too quiet. The plane hum disappears beneath my pulse. My thumb freezes above the screen.

No.

No, no, no.

That was supposed to take two to three business days. I guess private sex clubs owned by cartel men have better response times than university financial aid. My mouth goes dry. I open the email before I can stop myself.

Dear Lena,

Thank you for your interest in Elite. Before a private consultation can be considered, please complete the attached questionnaire regarding experience level, boundaries, preferences, safety expectations, and desired structure.

Discretion is our standard.

Choice is required.