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Mikael walks over to Misty, hovers over the edge of the bed, and runs his hands over her leg. She has a blindfold over her mask, so she jolts at his touch. Then he runs his fingers over the skin showing on her neck.

I don’t move my eyes off him as he nudges Misty up, so she’s on her knees. His hands are so soft, and she moves gracefully with him, almost as if putting on a show for the camera.

Dani is watching me carefully, as if studying my reaction. “Are you okay, Summer?”

“Yeah…” I barely speak as the video suddenly cuts out, and the screen goes black. I throw my phone down on the bed.

She shifts beside me as I stare blankly at the wall. “What are you thinking right now?”

Tears sting the back of my eyes. “I’m thinking how happy I am that’s not me,” I lie.

Her brows crinkle. “Do you know who has her?” she asks softly. “Is it one of them? Is it Lincoln?”

The dull ache hits my stomach.

Yes. Yes. Yes. I know who has her.

“No,” I whisper. The dull ache transforms into a pleasant warmth. Lying is comforting. She doesn’t believe me, but she looks too defeated to say anything about it.

“I wish there was something we could do,” Dani says, her eyes now bloodshot.

“She doesn’t look injured,” I mutter. “Or frightened, for that matter. It seemed like she was actually enjoying it.” I am well aware of how skilled Mikael is with his hands. He’s treating her like royalty.

Dani shifts uncomfortably. “Get up. We’re going to the kitchen.”

I groan. “Dani, I’m tired. I don’t have time to watch other people’s sex videos online.”

“I’m sure if you explain to our TA that our roommate was kidnapped by a masked lunatic, he’ll give you an extension. Now, get up. I don’t want to be alone right now.”

She pulls my hands and forces me up, and we head downstairs. An hour passes, then another. The guilt eats me alive the entire time.

Grant is dead because of me, and Misty’s next.

Dani pours me a glass of wine, which is the last thing I want, but the glass disappears quickly, and I pour myself another. By two AM, I’m finally calm enough to go to sleep.

Message received loud and clear, Shadowface.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-EIGHT

SUMMER

“Summer, are you in there?”

A knock sounds on Saturday morning, and Dani walks in; her eyes are still puffy, and she’s carrying a cup of tea and flowers. Her hair is down for once, rolling over her slender shoulders. She looks gorgeous as always in high-waisted jeans and a belly shirt. I understand why Xander would be into her. She looks stunning in a more natural manner compared to Bianca, whose appearance is more jarring. Dani, as hard as she pretends to be, is all innocence.

“The police won’t listen to me,” Dani says in tears. “I told them she wasn’t in any of her normal places and that a lunatic has her. They won’t put her in for a missing person case, because they say she’s not missing.”

I know why the police won’t do anything about it. They won’t interfere with anything that has to do with the Order.

“It’s like no one cares,” Dani says, shaken. “Just like no one cared about my father.”

Is this what it will be like when I go missing? Is this how it was for the other victims who sacrificed their lives?

No one notices or cares when they are gone.

She looks at me and sighs, placing my cup of tea on my nightstand and the flowers on my bed. “These came for you.”