during our last semester, we initiated a buddy system, and we always had to be with one other person in the group, right after Brayden went missing,” Kyle said. “We even tried our best to always keep you and Sicily in our line of sight at all times. With Connor out there literally snatching people off the street, we’ve pretty much committed ourselves to always staying together.”
That actually made me feel much better. “Thanks.”
“Deon told me that my dad manipulated even Venom,” Nathan said. “I guess Felicity was one of those women like Ciara and Miss Abrams that he was using to his advantage. He was able to exercise control over Venom that way, and he was actually the one who killed and dropped that body in front of you all those years ago.”
My jaw dropped. “I can’t believe that.”
“Fuck!” Brayden snapped. “It seriously feels like the more we find out about Connor, the more we learn that he’s been pulling strings since forever. What in our lives hasn’t been masterminded by him?”
“Not much,” Jaxon said. “I fucking hate that guy.”
“Still, the other thing Deon and I were talking about is how none of us would be here if it weren’t for him. Maybe a few things here and there might have happened, but the reason The Royal Court exists, the reason Cherri made it to Maine, it’s all because of him. I really think we need to start viewing this as a silver-lining,” Nathan said. “For as much bullshit as he put us all through, he also brought us together.”
“We should never, ever, say that around him though,” Cherri said. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to give that dick the satisfaction of thinking he did anything positive in our lives.”
“Agreed,” Avery said, and everyone else nodded along as well.
“Deon’s stuff is up in your room, and I think he’s planning on coming back tonight, so I think it’s just a matter of waiting now,” Nathan said.
We sat and chatted for a little while, some of us eating, others not, and eventually, Deon came back home. He walked into the kitchen and straight over to me, putting his hands on either side of my face and kissing me. “Hey, my love.”
I smiled at him. “Hi. I’m glad you’re home.”
“I’m glad to be home,” he said. He sat down on the stool next to me and started putting together a sandwich. “So, what are we doing next? You said you’ve been working nonstop right?”
“Well, right before we came to find you, we sort of hit a wall. I think the next thing we’re waiting on is—” Nathan’s phone rang at that exact moment. He picked it up and held it out. “Is this.”
“That’s not the first time that we’ve gotten perfect moments down to the second like that,” Colette said. “I swear our lives are so weird.”
“Hello?” Nathan answered. “Yeah, hey Felicity, what’s going on?” He went silent for a minute and then said, “Oh sure, hang on.” He pulled the phone away from his ear, pressed a button, and set it flat on the counter. “Go ahead.”
“Deon?” Felicity said.
“Hey, mama,” Deon said with a smile. “Miss you already.”
“Same here. I’m not even going to send you this video of Concrete walking in and out of your bedroom looking for you. It’d break your heart,” she said.
Deon frowned. “Yeah, please do not send me that video.”
“What’s going on?” Nathan asked.
“I heard back from Nico,” she said. “With that info about the warehouse you found and the lead we already gave him from the road show, he was able to track down someone quickly. There’s a guy there in Postings, who only goes by ‘T.C.’ and operates out of a night club there called the Black Star Night Club. It’s 21 plus from what I could see online, so I don’t know how you guys will get in, but Nico set up a meeting with him tomorrow night at 9:00 pm.”
“That sounds like a job for…” Sicily stood up off of his stool and put his hands on his hips like a superhero. “Super Sicily!”
“Oh yeah, Sis?” Felicity asked. “Fake IDs fall under your purview, huh?”
“Fake IDs were, like, freshman year,” Sicily replied. “I’ll have ‘em done by morning.”
Felicity laughed. “Nothing like having a shady agent on your side.”
“That’s right,” Sicily said.
Deon chuckled at Sicily. “I missed you, man.”
That seemed to double Sicily’s excitement. “Thanks, man. I missed you too.”
“Well, I’ll text you all the info so you have it in