Hawke jumped up from the mess, wiping blood from his face, his head tilting to the side. “Did you just say you don’t know?”
My jaw tightened as I stared at them. She hadn’t checked the car the entire time. Why now?
Lux stepped closer and glared at me. “Find her now.”
“We can always go hunting?” Rem suggested, sounding too eager.
Ignoring them, I pulled up the feed of the security cameras the good old governor had around his estate. They were too easy to break into. I flipped through the multiple feeds until I spotted Keegan’s car.
It was home, but I rewound the feed, watching her take off for school. She didn’t return until about an hour ago, around two am.What were you doing?
My curiosity peaked. Lux moved behind me, and I showed him her car was home.
“Doesn’t explain why the tracker is off,” Lux pointed out.
“I’ll make sure it didn’t get damaged.”
Although we both knew the likely chances of the tracker getting damaged were slim to none. We didn’t spare any expense when it came to our gadgets.
“You lost her. You have to watch her,” Lux said.
“Why not just break in?” Hawke asked. His eyes were shimmering with mischief as he stared at the guarded mansion on my tablet screen.
“No,” Lux and I said at the same time.
His lower lip popped out. Rem caught Hawke before he could escape and go anywhere. We had two wildcards in our group, and how Lux was acting, he was ready to add another. I hope he didn’t. Keegan didn’t look like the kind of person who would handle the things we did. She might be volatile, but she wasn’t a monster.
“She’s right there. I’m with Hawke. Let’s just lay eyes on her,” Rem said.
Lux shook his head. “We will see her at school.” He pulled up his phone and grimaced. “Hawke, you’re with me. Rem, finish up the shit with your brothers. Tell them they are interfering with the kings’ business.”
Rem laughed. “Yeah, they will pay their cut. I’ll make sure.”
“Samson.” He glared my way.
I knew what he would say. I nodded, already rearranging my schedule so that watching Keegan fit in. Gone were my evenings of solitude.
I wondered if Keegan would sit quietly as I cut open a person and took them apart until they were nothing more than puzzle pieces lined up perfectly, waiting to be reassembled.
* * *
Keegan walkedthe halls with her head held high and a smile on her face. She was an enigma to me. She didn’t fit anyone’s mold, and I couldn’t figure out why Richard Quell would place her in our school. Her mother didn’t come from any of the families that were established here. She didn’t even have money. She brought nothing but her beauty. Keegan’s mother wasn’t exactly model gorgeous, but she was the type of beauty that was natural. It was easy to see what kind of woman Keegan would grow up to look like.
Keegan came unprepared for everything. From how she acted at school, she was ignorant of how things worked here. She didn’t clear the hall when we walked by and deliberately got in our way on multiple occasions. Her steady clashes with the girls in the school were becoming a norm.
The cool air slapped me in the face as I took a seat on the bench outside. Keegan had gym, and I’d normally be attending my computer science class, but all work was sent to me while I skipped. I sat on the bench and watched her. Her brown hair was tied up, dancing in the wind as she ran the track. She outpaced most of the girls who didn’t take the class seriously. It went by fast. I checked on a few things as I sat there.
I’d finally figured out where the guy came from. Sending him back in multiple pieces was the least I could do. I even ensured to sew his fingers together and wrap them around his neck like a bow.
My head tilted back as I glanced up at the clear sky, remembering the peace I’d felt while slicing through flesh and peeling it back. There was an art to it, especially when keeping the victim alive as long as possible.
A whistle pierced the air, and I sat up, watching Keegan run back over toward the school. She glanced my way but said nothing when our eyes met. She’d looked my way multiple times since I’d started watching her closely. Yet she hadn’t said anything to me.
Her flesh was tan from all the running she’d been doing. Sweat beaded on the back of her neck and disappeared into her shirt. It felt like I was enthralled watching every muscle move and the breath she took as she made her way back inside. The moment she was gone, I blinked and shook my head.
I’d need to switch with Rem or Hawke. I needed a break from Keegan’s keeper. I was starting to get too invested in her like the others were. Luxious had intervened more times than he normally would. However, he never told the girls harassing Keegan to stop.
Lisa’s loyal pigeons were eagerly waiting at the door that led from their locker room, phones out. I already knew what they’d planned for Keegan, but the question was how would she react. There were too many possibilities for me to narrow it down.