All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Author:Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group

The girl’s eyes rolled back in her head. She collapsed. Tory leapt forward. In the row in front of us, Aaron pushed his way to the aisle.

The curtain came down. An uneasy murmur spread through the audience. The people around us had no idea what had just happened. They had no idea what it meant.

You.

Need.

Nine.

The thought came to me in pieces. I forced air into my lungs.

“Nine.” Sloane’s voice somehow managed to reach my ears through the dull roar of the crowd. “Tertium. Tertium. Tertium. Three. Three times three—”

“Please remain in your seats,” a deep voice commanded over the loudspeaker. “The show will resume momentarily.”

Judd took one look at the potential for chaos and jerked his head toward the nearest exit.

“What about Townsend?” Dean said as we pushed our way through the crowd. “He’s still onstage.”

Judd deposited us safely in the hallway. “I’ll go get Michael,” he told Dean. “You stay here and watch the girls.”

That got a substantial eyebrow raise out of Lia. “I do hope my dowry is large enough to attract a virile man,” she told me wistfully. “I’m so very helpless on my own.”

Dean was wise enough not to reply.

Once Judd was out of earshot, Lia lowered her voice. “So are we all thinking that either Aaron’s little girlfriend is our killer and she just had a psychotic break, or that our killer somehow hypnotized her into delivering that message?”

I nodded. After a second or two, Dean agreed. “Yes.”

“Tertium again,” Lia commented. “You think our guy considers that his name?”

Tertium, I thought. Meaning the third time.

The third time. The third time. The third time.

I need nine.

“It’s not a name,” I told Lia. “It’s a promise.” I turned to look at Sloane, to get her read on the numbers—but she wasn’t beside me. I whirled, doing a three-sixty.

No Sloane.

Lia cursed, then slammed back into the theater. An instant later, Dean and I were on her heels. Sloane was usually easy to spot, but in a crowd this large, the best I could do was follow Lia and think, Sloane came here to see Aaron. And the last time I saw her, she was talking about the numbers.

That meant that she was either trailing after Aaron or she’d gone straight to the source of the numbers. The girl. Either way, she was probably—

“Backstage,” I yelled to Lia, struggling to keep up with her as she pushed her way to the front of the auditorium. Two bouncer-types were positioned on either side of the stage. Lia leaned forward and whispered something in one of their ears. The man paled and stepped aside, allowing us to pass.

I truly did not want to know what Lia had told him, but I had to admit that her particular skill set definitely had its uses.

Backstage, I spotted Michael crouched near the girl, who was sitting up now. Judd stood behind Michael. Sloane wasn’t with them. That left one likely option.

“Find Aaron,” I said, “and we’ll find Sloane.”

“You son of a bitch.”

I turned, just in time to see Beau Donovan slam Aaron Shaw up against a wall.

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