The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Flynn took a deep breath. Sure enough, the agony coursing through him was beginning to subside.

He sat up straight, his gaze steady on Vivienne. “You came all this way to see me. What else do you want to know?”

Vivienne tossed her lollipop into the trash can without a second thought. “I’m more interested in what you have to say.”

“I have nothing to say to you.” Flynn leaned against the headboard, his eyes closing, signaling he was done talking.

Vivienne, unfazed, shifted to a more comfortable position. “Is the infamous F-Poison your mentor? Is he dead?”

A flicker passed through Flynn’s eyes, but he remained silent.

“You’re not still waiting for F-Poison to come to rescue you, are you? That’s naive, Uncle Flynn!”

Standing up, Vivienne seemed ready to leave.

That got a reaction. Flynn called out to her, “You’re here to get the scoop on your mom’s abduction, right? Sasha’s.”

Vivienne froze, a piercing look shooting from her eyes like daggers sinking deep into Flynn’s skin.

Suddenly, Flynn felt as if flames were raging inside him, threatening to consume him entirely.

“Vivienne, I’m the only one in this world who knows what happened to your mom after she was taken. If you want the truth, you must cure me of this poison!”

Vivienne’s gaze softened, and Flynn felt immediate relief.

Struggling to his feet, Flynn approached the balcony. “Bring someone from the Perez family to see me.”

Vivienne’s frown deepened, but she left without a word.

Flynn chuckled, his eyes glinting with meaning. “There are things in this world that defy description. Only the ordinary can be understood.”

Vivienne gave Flynn a long, hard look before walking out of the stifling cell and exhaling heavily outside.

Maddox opened the car door for her. “How did it go?” He asked.

Vivienne shook her head. “He didn’t spill anything.”

slammed the steering wheel. “Flynn’s a slippery

Maddox. I’ve had enough for

claimed he knew all about her

really trust him that

he

from the Perez family. Didn’t

expression darkened. “He’s seen Dad and Yuri. What the fuck does he want next—to see

looked up. “Uncle, why don’t you think he wants to see you or

and I are in Rivenwood?” Maddox scoffed. “Maybe he wants both of us to

description. Only the ordinary can be

The ramblings of a

choosing

dropped her off at her home

into the bathtub,

from the Perez family, but who was he most

ran through the names of the Perez family in

Willa.

Willa was his only daughter. Flynn would want to see the one who shared

dry her hair, and then reached for her phone to

for

that Vesper is a ghost. We can’t even get a bead on him,” Draven complained. “Our

first time Draven felt this frustrated since he joined the Nine Mystics

in less than 10 feet, and after so many days, they could not obtain the tiniest information about him, not even his residence address. Draven was

Vesper would not be easy to track.

a pause on the other end, and then

is it?” Vivienne asked,

described

first, I thought it was the Perez family

opened the bathroom door. “Who’s helping Willa from the

a mysterious force backing Willa, a force we can’t quite grasp. I’m

failed to deliver on not just one but two assignments, Draven found it hard to face Vivienne with his usual

encountered a task it could not tackle. Yet now, they had hit two dead ends in rapid succession, a blow that Draven could not easily shake

tasked the Nine Mystics Society to investigate were unlike any they had encountered before. Running into dead

or Draven’s capabilities but rather on how much the person they were investigating