Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
Glacier eyes and gorgeous tattoos flash through my mind, bringing with it an ache I can’t shake, but I stomp the photo out as quickly as possible and refocus. Only then realizing our family members are not the only ones who have joined us. None other than Otto freaking Henshaw is following on their heels.
Damiano pulls in a long, steadying breath beside me, and when I flick my eyes his way while remaining facing forward, I catch the sharpness of his clenched jaw.
Using my peripheral, I peek at the girls, knowing that they’re doing the same.
The only time our parents have been in this place at the same time was the first day of our term here at Greyson Elite and never again after that, and that day, Delta’s shit for a mom was here to stand for her, not the senator. My father and Bronx’s do come, making their random visits as if to show support and to appear as devoted members of our union. They also show their faces to remind people of who they are, maybe how big and strong and influential others need to see them as. Because that’s exactly what they are.
But Mr. Henshaw? He doesn’t belong at their side. He may be on the council with Calvin, but he’s not a part of our core that makes up the Greyson Union, and this is Greyson Elite. So again, he does not belong at their side while they stand strong in front of all of our students and staff.
Calvin clears his throat and I wait with bated breath for him to begin to speak.
“Again, good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for making your way in here as quickly as I asked. We won’t keep you away from your studies any longer than we must, so we’re going to get right to it.” He glances around the room, and I watch as his chest rises with a calculated inhale. “It has come to our attention that four nights ago, a student of ours went missing.”
The whispers begin instantly, but the second Calvin raises his palm, absolute silence falls once again.
“A little after six p.m. on Thursday evening, Oliver Henshaw was seen leaving the male locker room with his gym bag slung over his shoulder. He returned to the dorms, using the underground tunnel as required, and was spotted entering the shower before returning to his room. What happened after he stepped into his assigned dorm that night, we do not yet know.”
Those whispers return, but louder and louder as the smallest hint of panic works its way through the auditorium. My eyes flash to my father’s and he’s looking directly at me, face blank and eyes pointed but not on me.
Damiano speaks without so much as moving his lips. “What he’s saying is there’s no footage to be found.”
I give a curt, nearly unnoticeable nod and his chest inflates.
Someone tapped into security and erased any proof of where he might be. A gap in surveillance.
From four days ago, the day he interrupted my moment of self-destruction.
There’s no doubt in my mind the entire day’s footage has been reviewed, the little incident in the pool not missed.
Subconsciously, my palm wraps around my arm, the skin still sensitive there from the bruise Oliver left behind. This time when I look up, my father’s eyes have narrowed, and his chin lifts the slightest bit. So little that if I wasn’t staring directly at him, I wouldn’t have noticed, but he’s not the only one who’s staring. So is Otto Henshaw and he doesn’t look happy.
Did they see him put his hands on me?
Did they watch as I forced panic into his mind, waiting until the last bit of air left in his lungs was useless to him before allowing his head to breach the surface?
I don’t realize my lips have curled until Otto’s hardens.
Yes, I believe they might have. If not, he most definitely made a call home to Daddy afterward. Perhaps to brag that I agreed to his little date night after his hint of blackmail.
But missing?
That’s as bold as it gets and I can’t help but wonder if my own father is to blame for the disappearance of his “friend’s” only heir.
I didn’t speak a word of it to him, but this might be one of those situations where my and Sai’s agreement to keep my father out of things is trumped by his need to keep me safe. Putting hands on the daughter of Rayo Revenaw is the furthest thing from allowed, but if Sai was there and did see, why is my father looking at me with keen eyes, trying to decide if I know what he doesn’t? When really, I have no idea what he does or does not know or what he assumes that I do.