Prologue
Now I have what I need.
The wait is over, and I’m ready.
Ready to seek revenge.
Yet a duel rages inside me, tormenting me.
How could everyone have forgotten me? Left me to rot in hell? How? How? How?
No.
Won’t go there.
Must be strong.
If only I could split off the weak part of me, leave it to putrefy in a swamp somewhere.
I must fight.
I must fight, and I must win.
Chapter One
Bryce
Silence on the other end of the line.
“Did you hear us?” I asked. “About the cufflink?”
Nothing. Maybe her battery had gone dead. If it had… Was someone listening in? Had someone…?
My heart hammered into itself, my chest heaving. “Marjorie? Sweetheart?”
“Sis,” Joe said, his tone panicked. “What’s going on?”
“Marj! Marj!” Franticness strangled me like a noose of fire.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
“Did she say where she was?” Joe asked.
“No. I just assumed she was home. But now I’m not sure.”
“Fuck,” Joe said, pulling out his phone. “Keep that line open. I’m calling the cops.”
“Marj!” I shouted again into the phone. “Marjorie! Talk to me! Damn it!”
“The cops are on the way,” Joe said. “Keep that line open, whatever you do.”
He didn’t have to make the demand. No way was I severing my only line to the woman I loved.
No fucking way.
“We’re coming, baby,” I said into the phone, hoping she could still hear me. “We’re coming for you. I love you, Marjorie. Be strong. I love you.”
“Fuck,” Joe said. “Holy fuck.”
I didn’t reply. Worry for Marj consumed my whole body. I literally shook from head to toe. I’d never been so frightened in my life.
“We’ll find her,” Joe said. “We have to. We found Ruby, remember?”
Yes, the Steels had found Ruby. They’d pull out every source and more to find their little sister.
But…
What if it wasn’t enough?
Vivid scenes exploded through my mind.
Marjorie falling, lying on the sidewalk hurt.
Marjorie being hit from behind and then dragged off somewhere.