Ripped (5 page)

“Track me down?” I didn’t sit. I stood at the door and munched on my cold piece of pizza. How was I going to get rid of him?

“Well, track down your cell, anyway,” he said. “I still know your passwords for everything, so I just logged in and activated your GPS.”

I winced. His knowing my passwords was just another reminder of the intimacy we’d shared. I’d thought that I’d be spending the rest of my life with this guy. But now, he was just my vaguely creepy gay friend who knew my passwords to everything. It was probably time to change all the passwords up.

“And so, I found your phone.” He took it out of his pocket and handed it over.

“Oh, thanks,” I said. It was cool to have my phone back. “Where was it?”

“In Starling’s car,” he said. “She left it unlocked, or maybe she got stolen out of the car or something. I know she’s missing. You’ve got to be going out of your mind.”

I rubbed my forehead. “Starling didn’t take her car?”

“No.”

That meant he was right. She’d probably been kidnapped or something. “But I don’t understand. Who would want to kidnap Starling?”

“Maybe it’s the same guy who took you,” said Austin. “I mean, I was thinking the worst. I couldn’t get hold of you, and she was gone, and I was thinking that this guy had both of you, and that he was going to kill you both so that you couldn’t identify him. But if he let you go, then that doesn’t really make sense…”

“I don’t think it’s him,” I said.

“How’d you get away from the guy anyway?”

“I didn’t. He drove me home.”

Austin raised both his eyebrows. “You’re kidding.”

“He was really apologetic about the whole thing.”

“But he’s a murderer.”

“Yeah, but Prince Larbi was a jerk,” I said. “He treated Starling like a piece of meat.”

Austin got up, crossed the room, and held a hand to my forehead.

I slapped him away. “What are you doing?”

“I was wondering if you were running a fever and delirious. Because it just sounded to me like you were defending the guy who kidnapped you.”

“He didn’t really kidnap me,” I said. “He wasn’t holding me for ransom or anything.”

“Well, he took you against your will,” said Austin. “Honestly, I thought it took awhile for Stockholm syndrome to settle in.”

I made a face at him. But I felt guilty too, because I knew it was fucked up to be defending Ripper. How could I possibly defend someone who went by the name Ripper, anyway?

Celia poked her head into the living room. “Uh, I hate to be a dick, but I was planning on watching some TV tonight. I mean, if I had one in my room, I’d go there, but—”

“Sorry,” I said.

“I’m not trying to kick you out of your own living room,” said Celia. “You guys can totally chill in here with me.”

“We’ll go to Shell’s room,” said Austin, taking me by the hand.

Ugh. That was not cool. I did
not
want him in my bedroom. There needed to be boundaries.

But I didn’t say that. I didn’t know what to say.

I just let Austin drag me back into the bedroom.

And then I looked at my bed, which wasn’t made. And I looked at Austin. And I remembered how we used to have sex in that bed, and I used to think he liked it.

How
I
used to like it.

What kind of pathetic person doesn’t realize that she’s having sex with a gay guy? I twisted my hands together. “Austin, thanks for my phone and all, but the truth is, I’m actually feeling a little tired.”

“Of course you are.” He tugged up the covers on my bed. “Maybe you should lie down for a little bit.” He reached out and stroked my hair affectionately. “You want me to stay?”

“No, that’s okay.”

“It’s not a problem,” he said. “I’m here for you, no matter what. Whatever you need.”

What I needed was for him to go. But I didn’t know how to say that without being rude. And Austin was actually kind of fragile, that was the thing. It was worse now that his family had told him that he was the spawn of Satan and that they were praying for him to see the light and come back to Jesus and pussy. His foundation was gone. So any little thing made him crumple.

I sat down on the bed and buried my face in my hands.

He sat down next to me and rubbed my back. “It’s going to be okay, Shell. I’m sure they’ll find Starling soon.”

I had an urge to turn around and throw myself into his arms. It would be so nice to be close to him again. But it would also be strange, and it would just end up hurting even worse. I was beginning to feel like I might start crying.

And that made me feel guilty too, because I should have been crying about the fact that my sister was missing, not that my fiance had turned out to be a homosexual. But that was me, I guessed. I was always a little bit too selfish, especially when it came to Starling.

Hell, it was all my fault that she’d joined a harem in the first place.

I just never thought it would all get so out of hand.

She never used to be this way. When we were kids, Starling was the golden child. She was older than me by a year, and she did everything perfectly. She got straight As. She was the student-body president of her sophomore class. She won Homecoming Queen. She was captain of the flag team and she was a National Merit Scholar.

And then a video of her having sex with her boyfriend got put on the Internet.

Everyone in the school saw it.

She was never the same after that.

Her grades plummeted. She dropped out of all her extra-curriculars. She decided to go to a community college, and then she dropped out after two semesters but didn’t tell anyone.

She started working in some upscale gentleman’s burlesque club, which was just a nice way of saying strip club.

That was how she found out about the job with the prince. She actually auditioned for the privilege of being his personal whore. That was how Starling seemed to think now. She didn’t think she was worth anything other than being sexy. I hated that, and I wanted to help her.

I was never going to stop trying to help her, because it was all I could do to make up for what happened to her, anyway.

“She’s got to be out there somewhere,” said Austin. “Maybe she just found another prince or something. I mean, didn’t she just disappear when she first left to be with that Larbi guy?”

“No, she told us she had won an exchange program, and that she’d be studying abroad for a month,” I said. The gig with Larbi had been short-term to begin with, but Starling had apparently made such an impression on him that he’d extended her contract indefinitely, and he took her all around the world with him. She had been back in the states for only a few weeks, and I thought it would be my chance to get through to her.

But it turned out that it was only going to be her chance to be kidnapped and… and…

God, what was happening to her?

I did start crying then. I loved my sister, even if it didn’t seem like it sometimes. And my parents… Oh, holy hell, my father was probably flipping his lid right now. Starling had come out on national TV— “Did you see the news reports with Starling?” I asked Austin.

“Yeah, that’s why I was worried.”

“Did she admit that she was in a harem?” I said.

“She called herself Larbi’s girlfriend,” he said.

“Oh,” I said. “Good. So my parents—”

“Well, then all the commentators starting speculating that she was actually just part of Larbi’s harem,” said Austin.

“Oh,” I said in a different voice.

“You want to call your mom?” he said, and there was a hitch in his voice, because he couldn’t call his own mom anymore.

I looked down at my phone. “Not really, but I probably should.” I sighed.

My phone vibrated in my hand.

I jumped.

Austin laughed. “Steady there. Just a text notification.”

“I know that.” I was irritated with him for pointing out that I was nervous. I stood up, unlocking my phone.

It was a text message from a number I didn’t recognize. I opened it.

Come to Kingsley Park alone. Tell no one. No police. Or your sister dies.

I swallowed hard.

“What is it?” said Austin.

I opened my mouth to answer.

Tell no one. Or your sister dies.

“Nothing,” I said. “It’s just an update that needs downloaded.”

He nodded slowly. “Did that upset you, because you look—”

“You know what, Austin? You’re the one that’s upsetting me.” My voice was thick. I needed to get rid of him so that I could go and save Starling. I had to go alone. Sure, the whole thing sounded like a trap, and it was probably really stupid not to go to the police, but if I got Starling killed, I couldn’t live with myself. That simply wasn’t an option.

“Me?” He looked hurt. “What did I do?”

“You’re here. I’ve told you only eighteen trillion times that I need space, and it’s like you’re deaf.”

“But… I brought back your phone. Starling’s missing… Shell, we’re best friends.”

I shook my head at him, tears filling my eyes. “No. We’re not. You are the man who broke my heart, and every time I see you, it just brings it all back.”

He got up off the bed. “I never meant to hurt you—”

“I know that, but you still did,” I said.

He absorbed this.

I fiddled with my phone, turning it over end to end. “I want you to go,” I whispered.

His jaw twitched. Then he nodded, once, and turned to the door. He walked out, his shoulders bowed, and he didn’t say another word.

I collapsed on the bed. Holy hell, what had I done to him? Austin didn’t have anyone. I shouldn’t have hurt him that way.

Then I looked back at the text message. I
had
to do it. I couldn’t let Starling die.

CHAPTER FIVE

Cade

I got lucky, and I found her in about the tenth window I looked into. It was a bedroom, the curtains opened wide and light filtering out everywhere. I could see everything in the room, from her rust-colored comforter to her open closet, clothes spilling out onto the floor. The room was a little messy.

I liked that.

I didn’t like incredible order, like living in a museum.

However, the room had also obviously been decorated by someone with an eye for it. It was artfully minimalistic, just a few candles and knick-knacks. On the wall were framed cartoon-style drawings of people.

What was that about?

But I stopped thinking about her drawings when the guy came into the room.

Huh.

I thought she didn’t
have
a boyfriend.

Eh, what the hell was I doing?

I was a fucking peeping Tom, that’s what.

I felt a wave of shame run through me. I wasn’t generally this kind of guy, pathetically taking his pleasure by watching girls through their windows. And to be fair, I hadn’t started looking for her in the hope she’d take off her clothes in front of an open window or anything like that.

I guessed if that happened, it wouldn’t be the worst thing on earth.

But I simply wanted to see her again. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her.

However, it was becoming clear that she was in a relationship, not that it mattered, because there was no future for us anyway. Watching her through the window like this was obscene, and I needed to pack up and go.

But.

I didn’t.

I just watched the guy, watching how the two of them were sitting on the bed together, but noting that they weren’t touching. The guy seemed to want to touch her several times. He reached out and then pulled back.

Well, that was interesting.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe they weren’t a couple after all.

Not that I cared.

I was leaving any second now.

Except it wasn’t me that left. It was the guy. He got up off the bed and stared at her like a puppy that had been kicked.

Oh, they were having an argument. I could see it now in her posture. She was tense. She was yelling.

He left, skulking out of the room.

She sat down on the bed, burying her hands in her hair.

Then she studied her phone for several seconds.

Tossing it on the bed, she got up and went to her closet. She pulled her shirt over her head.

I winced a little, but I didn’t look away. She was wearing a nude, cotton bra. Nothing fancy. Still, I liked that it made her look practically naked. I liked that I could see her small waist and the individual slope of each of her breasts.

She tugged a t-shirt over her head, something dark and high-collared. She shed her pants as well. But she pulled on a pair of yoga pants so quickly I hardly had the chance to see more than a hint of her panties.