Page 113 of Broken & Bound

“Don’t tell me. The Crystal Chamber?”

My mind drifted there because it was going to be one hell of a room. The Crystal Chamber was an exhibitionists’ and voyeurist’s dream come true. Similar to the one we had here now, but dialed up ten notches.

It boasted floor-to-ceiling mirrors and a one-way glass panel with a stage in the center. It featured adjustable lighting, hidden cameras feeding to individual screens both in and out of the room. It included comfortable lounge chairs and couches with direct views of the stage.

I smirked and cocked my head to the side with a shrug. That was safe, at least. His phone rang, saving me from having to actually answer. It was Alek’s ringtone.

Thank God for the Reaper.

Sebastian put it on speaker and chuckled. “The dancer and I are discussing first dibs—”

“Get your asses over to St. Thomas’ immediately,” Alek barked, his voice tight and urgent.

I dropped the papers, and my heart surged with adrenaline and a sense of dread. Just from his tone alone, I knew something was massively wrong. I pulled my phone out and checked it to see if I had any missed calls.

Nothing. I triple-checked my text thread with Isabella. All that was there was the last message she’d sent me. It was from earlier in the day.

PRINCESS:

Just finished eating lunch. Here’s proof. My last appointment is in thirty minutes. See you tonight, my lion.

“Slow the fuck down, Alek. What the hell is going on?” Sebastian exclaimed.

“I don’t know. No fucking clue, but it’s bad, man. Nikki is…” Alek broke. “Just fucking go, now.”

“Okay, I understand, but what’s at the hospital, or shall I ask who? Jesus, did something happen to Nik? Tell me.”

“I’m headed to Kinsley. She’s at the police station. Just get your fucking asses to St. Thomas, now,” Alek barked once more before hanging up.

The police station? What the hell had Kinsley done? I immediately dialed Bella. No answer. My hands trembled as I dialed Marcel. No answer. I tried Tori. Same thing, no answer. We flew out of the office and sped toward the hospital.

“Keep trying them, damn it,” Sebastian yelled.

So I did. Over and over. I kept calling the three of them. My hands trembled almost uncontrollably. Maybe Bella’s phone had died. She was safe. Surely. Tori probably forgot hers at home. She did that sometimes. And Marcel was in with a patient. I was overreacting.

But Alek had mentioned Nik. He even used his childhood nickname for him, which wasn’t common. Fuck. Ivan. If anything happened to any of the King brothers, Kinsley would be devastated.

Sebastian navigated the streets like a Formula One driver. It was a blur of honking horns and curses, all courtesy of him. Aside from that, the silence in the car filled me with unspoken fears.

We made it in record time, and as we rushed in, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding. My heart pounded inside my chest. We glanced around frantically, not knowing who to ask for information. A nurse, noticing our panicked expressions, pointed down the hall.

“Waiting room’s that way,” she offered.

We took off, rounding the corner fast enough that I almost collided with Sebastian when he cut too close. And then I stopped. Not by choice. My body just… froze. Time slowed to a crawl.

Marcel stood near the center of the room, one arm wrapped around Victoria as she clung to him. She wasn’t just crying. She was shaking violently, her entire frame trembling like she couldn’t hold herself together.

And her yellow dress… My eyes locked onto it.

It was soaked in blood. Too much to be anything other than devastation. Dread consumed me, even before my brain could catch up. For a second, I couldn’t make it connect.

Couldn’t understand why there was that much blood on her. Why did Marcel look like that? Sebastian cursed under his breath beside me. We looked at each other, both having the same thought—the same fear.

“Declan?” we said at the same time, the name ripping out of us as we moved forward.

It made sense. It had to be him. That’s why we were called here. That’s why they didn’t answer the calls. God no, not our boy.

Victoria shook her head before we even reached them. Her eyes held mine, and in them I saw the answer before her mouth formed the words.