CHAPTER NINETEEN
Victoria
The shrill ring of my cell phone pulled me from sleep. I patted around on my nightstand blindly until I found it, pressing the button on the side to stop the incessant noise. The guys took me to Temptat!on after leaving my father's. They'd originally only intended to grab dinner there. Az, of all people, had insisted we all needed to cut loose. I'd been too stunned by his sudden personality change to do anything other than throwback every shot he passed my way. I was nursing one hell of a hangover because of it.
My phone rang again, and I threw my arm over my eyes with a groan, my other hand flipping it open. "What?!" I demanded.
"Victoria, you need to get to the center immediately and bring one of the boys." Mrs. McMillan's voice came through the receiver.
"What's wrong?" I asked, bolting upright and tossing my blankets aside.
She let out a heavy sigh. "It's… Well, it's better if you just come down and see for yourself. But promise me you'll bring one of the boys."
Panic coiled in my gut. "Why didn't you call one of them?"
"Because this is to do with you, girlie. If I'd called them boys, they wouldn't have let you within twenty miles of this place."
"I'm on my way." I replied, swinging my legs over the side of my bed and stumbling to my closet.
"I'll be here when you arrive." She said, ending the call before I could say another word.
The seconds seemed to drag into years as I tore through my clothes, grabbing a comfortable pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Mrs. McMillan had never summoned me to the center before, and something in her tone of voice on the phone told me she only had now because something was seriously wrong. I dressed with urgency, rushing through brushing my teeth and hair before I slid my feet into a pair of black flats and raced from my room.
Rich's room was the only one on the same floor as mine. Knowing he would likely refuse to let me leave if I woke him in my current state, I hooked a left in the foyer and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Out of breath, I turned right at the top of the stairs and pushed myself to close the distance to Craig's room.
"Craig!" I panted, banging my fists against his door. "Craig, wake up!"
"He's already downstairs in the kitchen." Joey spoke from behind me, startling me.
"I need to get to the center. Now." I said, whirling to face him.
His eyes scanned over me, brows furrowing in concern, and he closed the distance between us. "What's going on, Sweetheart?"
"Mrs. McMillan didn't say, but she sounded concerned. I need to be there five minutes ago if she's calling me." I wrung my hands, moving back toward the stairs. "Craig set up the security. Maybe there's something on it? I don't know…"
Joey fell into stride with me as we descended back to the first floor, rubbing my back gently as we walked.
"First, take a deep breath. Whatever it is, it will be easier to deal with if you're not already psyched out before you get there. Second, you know we'll help with whatever is going on." His voice was soothing, and he grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it. I managed a worried smile.
We turned the corner, and I hurried down the gallery toward the kitchen. I could smell the food on the stove, and if I wasn't so worried, my stomach would have started screaming at me.
"Craig! We gotta go. Mrs. McMillan called and something's happened at the center." I called out and heard the sliding of metal over the cooktop and the clicking of burners flipping off. I nearly ran smack into him as he met us at the entrance to the room.
"Did she say–" Craig started.
"No, she didn't say anything. Just to make sure I brought one of you. You installed the security system, so I thought."
"Good thinking Princess. Let's go. J, fill Rich in when he wanders out. I'll let him know something as soon as I do." He said, pulling a small thumb drive out of his pocket and handing it to Joey. "Not sure what's up, so hang on to this. Do not lose it . If I need you to use it, I'll call with instructions."
Craig grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him as he headed for the door. He stopped long enough to slide on a pair of sneakers and grab a gun hidden in one of the fake plants in the entryway.
"You guys just stash guns anywhere?" I gaped. "How many times have I passed by that plant not knowing there was a gun hidden in it?"
"Since the attack on Temptat!on." He shrugged. "We normally don't leave guns stashed just anywhere, but after that, we wanted to be prepared for anything. Which meant hiding guns anywhere we could to always have them in reach. There's one in the drawer too."
The shock of finding out the guys had stored guns literally everywhere they could find in the manor allowed me to forget my panic about Mrs. McMillan's call. I was tempted to make Craig give me a thorough accounting of all their hiding places, but better sense told me I didn't really want to know. Instead, we made the drive in silence, my nerves returning as the youth center came into sight.
Rather than pulling around back like we usually did, Craig pulled to a stop on the curb in front. I was out of the car before he had it fully in park. Mrs. McMillan was pacing just inside the doors.
"Took you long enough." She spoke, her eyes snapping up to my face when I stormed into the center. "Did you bring one of the boys like I told ya?"
"I'm here," Craig said, entering behind me.
"Good. Maybe you can explain how this happened because lord knows I can't."
Mrs. McMillan turned on her heel, moving quickly toward my office. The woman was a few inches shorter than me, but she moved so quickly that I practically had to trot to keep up with her. I'd been so focused on keeping up with the older woman that I didn't notice the door to my office until Craig spoke again.
"Shit." He breathed. "It looks like someone took a battering ram and a couple axes to it."
He was right. The door to my office was bowed inward, the wood broken through to the other side in strange patterns that only made sense from an axe. By some miracle, it remained hanging by one hinge; the others ripped clean from the wall. The scene only grew more disastrous as I stepped inside. The filing cabinet looked like it had been crushed in on itself, and torn files and papers were strewn about. The chairs were also crushed and dismantled, torn apart by whatever had done in my door. Only the desk appeared intact.
I ran to the other side, intent on checking that my donor files were still secured in the desk drawers. The old corded phone and ancient desktop computer sat, smashed to bits where my office chair should have been, and the desk drawers had been ripped open.
"No, no, no, no." I wailed, dropping to my knees to rummage through the wreckage.
The donor lists carefully curated by my mother and I were gone. My chest heaved with a silent sob, and I planted my hands on the desk above me to hoist myself up from the floor. The movement brought me face to face with a blue Tiffany's box the size of the now destroyed computer monitor, wrapped in a delicate white bow. I hadn't noticed it placed neatly on the center of the desk, too focused on the damage.
"Let me open that, Princess." Craig said, moving toward me. "We don't know who did this and we don't wanna risk you opening something dangerous."
I pursed my lips and shook my head. Nothing on the way to my office had shown any signs of damage. Whoever had done this it was personal, and I needed answers now. Before I could lose my resolve or Craig could stop me, I snatched the bow and lid from the box. Nestled inside on a bed of soft white fur swatches was a heart. A heart with a picture of my best friend held to it by a small, silver letter opener, piercing her image through where her heart would be.
"What the fuck?" Craig breathed, peering into the box.
He continued to speak, but I wasn't listening. My eyes snagged on the corner of a matte card tucked just under the sick gift left for me. Carefully, I eased it free and scanned over the fancy scrawling text.
Remember who you belong to before your games get someone hurt.