The Broken Puppet (The Elite King's Club 2)

“What do you mean? What do you know about Khales?”

Her face turns hard. “I know he put a bullet right between her eyes.”

AFTER RUNNING BACK TO TATUM’S car, we both slip inside before she skids out and takes us toward the bank. “What the fuck does she mean? Bishop killed someone?” Tatum’s eyes are wide as she looks between me and the road ahead.

“I don’t think that was the first person he ever killed either,” I murmur, looking outside my window.

“You never did tell me what you saw in that basement, Madi.”

I want to tell her, but a strange part of me doesn’t want her to know something that could be used against Bishop. Stupid girl, I scold myself. Also, it’s safer for Tatum to not know anything.

“I don’t really want to talk about it, Tate.”

She smiles and pats my hand. “We’re getting the fuck out of here.” Pulling up to the curb, we both jump out.

I close my door. “You go to your bank and I’ll go to mine. We can carry ten each. That should get us through.”

Tatum nods, but something flashes through her eyes and I pause. “Are you okay?”

“We’re really doing this?” she quickly asks.

“You can back out now. I don’t want to drag you into my mess anyway.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “I’m coming with you. I have nothing here.”

I smile sadly. “Okay, then it’s settled. Meet back here in ten minutes.” Tatum nods and then quickly dashes into her bank as I cross the busy road to mine. Pushing open the doors with my head ducked, I collide into someone. “Sorry,” I mutter, stepping around them.

“Madison?”

I look up to see Ridge staring back at me. “Oh, hi,” I murmur, eyeing over his shoulder. I don’t want to take long here; I need to get in and out as fast as possible, no stopping.

“Hey, I was going to come look for you. Have you heard from Tillie?” he asks, tilting his head. I look at him, properly this time, and notice the tired bags under his red-rimmed eyes and his disheveled hair.

“No, not since we came back from the cabin. Why? Is everything okay?” Now that he said that, it is odd I haven’t noticed Tillie not contacting me. I’ve been so caught up in my shit that I haven’t stopped to think.

He shakes his head. “No, no one has heard from her.”

“I’ll call her. I’m sure she’s fine.” She could be anywhere, but then again, she could really be okay. From what she told me about her dad, I’m not entirely surprised she hasn’t gone home.

“Okay.” He pulls out his phone. “Can I give you my number so you can call me if you hear from her? Please, I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

I nod, surveying inside toward the bank teller. I really need to leave. “Sure.” He tells me his number, and I push it into my phone…. My phone! Shit! “Actually,” I start, going for relaxed tone, “could you write it down?” He looks at me, pauses, but then nods, drawing out a pen and taking my hand, scribbling it down.

“Thanks, I’ll call you.” I sidestep away from him and walk the rest of the way into the bank. There’s a fucking line. Of course there’s a fucking line.

Fifteen minutes later, I’m walking out of the bank, tossing my ATM card into a trash can nearby, and heading back to the car.

Pulling open the passenger door, Tatum is smiling at me from the driver seat. “I actually feel really fucking excited about this.”

“Makes one of us,” I mutter, taking out my phone. “Drive.” I pop open the glove compartment and pull out a pen and paper, transferring Ridge’s number then scrubbing it off my hand. “I’ll call Benny now.”

Tatum nods as she continues to drive.

The phone rings until a deep voice picks up. “Who sent you?”

“Uh… uh….” I look around, confused. What a weird way to answer the phone. “Tinker?” God, I feel ridiculous saying that name out loud.

A pause.

Silence.

“The corner, on the last stretch of Highway 4.”

“Uh, okay?”

He hangs up. I look down at my phone and then at Tatum.

“What’d he say?” she asks, looking between me and the road.

“We have to go to the corner on the last stretch of Highway 4.”

Tate nods. “I know where that is.”

“Give me your phone.” I put my hand out to her. “Do you need any numbers from it?”

She pauses, eyes glassing over slightly before she squares her shoulders. “No. No one will even know I’m gone.”

I smile sadly at her before winding my window down, tossing the cell out. Searching through my contacts, I take down a couple of numbers that might come in handy. Through my scrolling, my finger pauses over Bishop’s name, and my heart sinks slightly.

Fuck him.

Not only did he kill Ally, but apparently he killed Khales too. I pass his name and keep searching until I get to my dad. My heart sinks further, but I keep scrolling up.