Page 9 of Drowning in Darkness

I smile and set down my glass. “You came prepared. I admit I’m intrigued.” I’m not in the slightest. I want out of this room full of men who know to keep their mouths shut and excuses buried. Each one of them has top lawyers on retainer who will work hard tonight. They need to burn in hell, each sin they’ve committed returned tenfold.

“Hands.”

“You bitch,” Owen snarls as he staggers to his feet, holding his bleeding shoulder. “You shot me.”

Correction—most men know to keep their mouths shut, apart from this idiot who is seeing red at the fact a woman turned the tables and hurt him.

Owen kicks out at the blonde crying on the floor, catching her in the chin and snapping her head back against the other woman. Fuck.

Camryn hollers commands to restrain Owen, ignoring his injury. Maybe he’ll do us all a favor and bleed out.

“Kill the bitch, James,” Owen shouts as two agents wrestle him to the ground and bind his hands behind his back. Pretty sure those cuffs are on too tight. Good.

Graydon catches my eye, a question in them I’m not enjoying. Who is Willa? How did she make it inside the room, and what did I miss? The answer is simple: she is his reckoning. I invited her, and I missed nothing. He might be a problem, one I’ll have to deal with outside of the FBI’s influence. Accidents happen even to rich men. A fault in the brake line of their pretentious cars, a random mugging gone wrong.

“Don’t make me ask again,” Camryn snaps, the restraints held tight in her hand as she stands over me.

I finish my bourbon and stand to stretch my arms high in the air, lifting my T-shirt. Camryn cocks her head as if I were anything but cute. I like this about her. Sure, some of this is a well-rehearsed act between us, but she has zero interest in experiencing the dark side. She is law and order personified.

I offer my wrists.

“Behind your back.”

I obey, and the metal clicks into place.

Around us, the room continues to unravel. Owen screams threats. Graydon watches everything with narrowed eyes. Agents move between clusters of people, gathering statements and securing evidence.

Yet all I can see is the empty space where one terrified girl should be.

Camryn shoves me toward the doors and nods at Agent Thompson, a capable guy who has been with the bureau for fifteen years. He has no issues working for a woman younger than him. He sees her brilliance and lets it shine, which is refreshing and in complete contrast to the world I’ve been raised in. He’s also the only other person in this room who knows I’m working for them, not against them.

I throw one last glance over my shoulder.

Fifteen. Still fifteen.

Camryn pushes me across the room as I give a devil-couldn’t-care grin to the men. She hustles me beyond the double doors, and the moment they swing shut behind us, the mask slips. “Left,” I mutter.

Camryn doesn’t waste time asking questions. We move quickly through the corridor, our footsteps echoing against polished floors.

“What is it?” she asks.

“One’s missing.” The answer leaves my mouth harder than intended, and I see the realization settle across her features.

“Shit.”

Exactly.

I lead her toward my office. “Code is one, three, zero, six.”

The lock disengages with a quiet click before she pushes inside and releases my restraints. I’m already moving. The security system flickers to life beneath my fingers. Camera feeds flood the monitors as I flick between hallways, guest suites, storage rooms, and service entrances. Every second that passes tightens the knot in my chest. Nothing. I cycle through them again, slower this time, refusing to believe she has simply vanished. The longer it takes to find her, the worse the outcome becomes.

I’ve spent years around men like Owen. I know how they think. What they enjoy. The excuses they make to themselves while destroying another human being.

A corridor appears on the screen, and movement catches my eye, making me freeze. One of Owen’s security guards is dragging a girl by the arm. Her feet skid across the concrete floor as she struggles to keep up with him. Even through the grainy footage, I can see the panic in her movements.

The image flickers, and for a second, the screen goes black. When it returns, they’re gone.

“Where?” Camryn demands.