Black Bird (Nevermore Duet #1)

CHAPTER 6

THE WEB

The white board. It only came out on special occasions. Those occasions being the ones where the case had so many working parts that neither Athan, nor Rhaena could manage to keep them all in order in their minds. Athan swiveled in his chair at the precinct to stare up at it, holding his third mug of coffee in his hands. Rhaena had told him last night. She told him about her meeting with the EverLife CEO, about Conrad Stratford being there when she arrived, the tension between the two men that was way too obvious, and all the interesting details about their conversation once they were alone.

Nick Specter was a slippery little fuck. Athan already knew that after having to continue to deal with him to supply the coven with a steady amount of blood to keep them satisfied. He hadn’t kept his dealings with Specter from Rhaena. She knew everything, but never let on during their meeting that she had any of that knowledge. It was almost amusing to hear all the ways the CEO had tried to skirt around his dirty secrets. He did believe Specter though, when he still claimed not to have any idea who contaminated the lab with illness … they had covered their tracks immaculately. When Rhaena had presented him with the lab results from the hospital and pointed out that EverLife had pulled them all on numerous occasions, she’d said Nick’s face turned green.

Athan spun the silver ring on his thumb, the only thing that kept his temper from flaring. Nick had explained to Rhaena that after the break-in at the facility, the fact that Sarah had been attacked by the what or who , in Boston that they still hadn’t found, and the fact that Sarah was alive and was to be their new employee in one of the highest paid positions that wasn’t administrative … the documents he’d taken were a necessary precaution. She’d pressed him about his thoughts on the reports since she knew he’d obviously gone over them and Nick had simply said that it was strange. He also offered to allow Sarah to test her own blood if she so wished, to see if her talent that they’d hired her for could be put to use to perhaps help solve her own case. In doing so, it would also help put to rest the other cases around the city that branched out, but all seemed to come back to this mystery creature.

The grimy little prick …

While Athan had showered after their romp in the kitchen, Rhaena had come to the conclusion that the pot of gold everyone seemed to be after was Sarah’s blood. Athan couldn’t disagree, especially after showing her the documents Sarah had given him from her apartment. He’d left out all the other details about what happened at her place. He must have looked over those papers a thousand times after Rhaena went home for the night. He’d find out who was after her. He’d find them and kill them. He couldn’t figure out why it had overwhelmed him with guilt after he’d thoroughly plowed through Rhaena’s toned body on that counter. The force in which he’d taken her, and every inch he slammed into her from behind … he’d thought of her . He couldn’t stop it, nor help himself. He felt guilty for that, although he’d warned Rhaena about that the last time she’d tried to screw him, but he also felt dirty … like he was somehow being unfaithful to Sarah, even though they’d only met twice, and she was with another man.

Stratford. Rhaena had agreed that there was something connecting that family to this case. It would make perfect sense, because … how? How did these two people end up together? And so began the web. Athan stared at the picture of Sarah that hung right in the center of it. He started to wonder if she’d been in the center of all of this, even before he’d fed on her. Rhaena carefully drew lines that extended from Sarah’s photo and hung other photos at the end of those lines. Bubbles with names and bullet points with what little pieces they had that were starting to come together.

“Northwood and Kane … my office.” Foley’s voice rang over the precinct. Rhaena glanced toward him and Athan shrugged, sitting his coffee on the desk and following her to the captain’s office. “Shut the door and have a seat.” They did, and it was hard not to notice that Foley seemed … pissed.

“Everything alright, sir?” Rhaena asked nervously.

“Well … that depends. Unless you’ve got something that just broke this case wide open, I’m pissed enough to throw at least one of you off of it.” He gave Athan a pointed stare. He wasn’t the only one. Rhaena flinched at the statement and started staring too. Foley tossed a newspaper into Athan’s lap. Shit … he was front page news. “Trouble in paradise … St. James cozies up to Boston’s finest …” Foley read without taking his eyes off Athan’s face. Below the large photo of Sarah leaning over his shoulder at the stoplight was another photo of them in front of her apartment smoking … then another of him following her upstairs.

“Sir … this isn’t what it looks like,” Athan started, as Rhaena snatched the paper from his hands. Her face was red with rage.

“It never is, and I can understand that. But it doesn’t change how it looks, Kane. And you better have a damn good reason for this. You got two minutes to convince me not to send you home and give this case to someone else.”

“Sir, please. We’ve found some threads and I need him here to help me pull them.” Rhaena pleaded.

“Where were you, Gloves?”

“At the EverLife campus, questioning the CEO. Just give us a moment to explain.”

Foley took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of him. “I wanna hear from you first, detective.” His attention focused on Athan. “Why was our vic on your bike? ”

“I went to the hospital that morning to ask her if she’d given permission to EverLife to extract her lab records after this attack. She hadn’t given it. In fact, she hadn’t even started signing paperwork to start her job there.” Athan looked through the blinds toward the white board, Rhaena seethed from beside him.

“The vic works at the lab?” Foley asked.

“She was just recently employed, sir. I could show you our board if it would make this easier.”

“Let’s go.” Foley gestured toward the door and Athan let Rhaena out first, then Foley and they all moved over, Rhaena stewing in her desk chair and the captain taking a seat on the edge of her desk while Athan started pointing out things on the board. He showed the captain the lab reports, explained all the connections, and tried earnestly to let him know exactly why he felt the need to get her out as quickly as possible. “Look, I can agree on that, and I would say that it makes perfect sense … but all the public sees now is a woman that’s already in the spotlight because of who she’s engaged to, let alone the fact that she’s been on the news since she lived through this attack. And here you are … lookin’ way too comfortable with her, smoking cigarettes, and taking her upstairs to do what everybody else will no doubt perceive as the obvious. Do you know how that makes us look?”

“That wasn’t my intention, sir. I understand. I just wanted to make sure she was safe, and that someone was with her before I left. I swear to you, I was only doing my job. I left with more than I started out with.”

“No shit, you did.” Rhaena grumbled under her breath, earning a chuckle from the captain.

“Was there more?” Foley asked.

“She gave us these.” Athan handed him copies of Sarah’s personal documents and he looked them over. “These were given to her when she was still in Seattle. We think that’s their objective for getting her in the door at EverLife, but we’re trying to figure out why. Look … sir, I—I understand what you might be thinking, but I’m still concerned for her safety. I’m asking permission to stay on this case.”

Foley pushed himself off Rhaena’s desk and stood. “You’ve got one more chance. Don’t screw this up.” He pointed his long finger at Athan. “In the future, if you’re on the job … drive a damn car. Now you understand how easy it is for things to get out of hand.” Athan nodded and hung his head. Foley turned toward Rhaena. “Northwood … get the press on the phone that ran this issue and tell them to fix it. If they need to talk to me then put them through. I’m sure I can count on you to get their knees wobbling if they want to try to leave Boston with a bad taste in their mouth about their police department.”

“Yes, sir.” Rhaena blinked, looking back down at the newspaper.

Foley looked back up at Athan and smirked while he slowly shook his head. “Good luck, detective.” Athan knew he didn’t just mean with the case as the captain headed back toward his office and patted Rhaena’s shoulder on his way past. She looked at him like she could peel the skin from his bones .

“Rhaena … it’s—” She threw her palm up and shook her head.

“I’m trying to umm …” She clicked her nails frantically on her desk and bit her lip. “I’m trying to turn over this new leaf. You know … where I don’t take this keyboard and bash your face in when you make stupid decisions that really don’t concern me. So …” She rose from her chair and grabbed the drawstring bag under her desk with her athletic clothes. “I’m gonna go to lunch. I’ll deal with the press when I get back.” She didn’t look him in the eyes at any point during that conversation and he watched her head toward the training center.

Athan sat back down in his chair, leaning over his desk and thumbing over the scruff of his chin as he sighed and closed his eyes. His phone dinged on the desk beside him, and he looked down at it, drawing his brows and swiping it open.

UNKNOWN: … she looks mad.

Athan looked around and caught sight of someone smiling at him from across the precinct at the elevator. “Shit …” he mumbled, standing as Sarah started walking toward him. Foley watched from his office, his eyes darting toward Athan as she passed by. He was on his desk phone and unable to immediately jump up to pound his hide. Thank God. Damn, she was gorgeous … black hair shining and bouncing over the shoulders of her ribbed black and white striped, long-sleeved top. Her chest tattoos peeked out of the deep vee of the front, interrupted by the bib of her black overall shorts that she wore over sheer black pantyhose that showed all of her thigh and leg tattoos. The heels of her ankle-high black boots clacked across the floor and every head turned to look at her as she approached the back of Rhaena’s desk. Her eyes dropped to the newspaper still sitting on it and she traced a finger across the page.

“Fuck …” she whispered, looking up at him. “I’m sorry, it’s why I came. I wanted to apologize for this. It only just came to my attention last night. Looks like I was too late to warn you about it.” Athan couldn’t stop himself from staring at her.

“How did you get my number?” he asked. Sarah smirked.

“Maybe I’m stalking you, detective.” She raised a brow. He tried not to smile. Sarah turned her head to the whiteboard and stepped up to it. He supposed it was a little late to flip it over now. “So … you’re not the only one who thinks Brent and the good senator are part of this whole shit show, huh?”

“Just because they’re on the board doesn’t mean that they’re guilty of anything. We call it the web. It’s anything related to you that we can connect the dots with to figure out the bigger picture.” She didn’t turn around. “Why? You find something else?” He glanced over to the captain who was closely watching and still on the phone. Sarah clutched her black jacket in front of her and slowly turned as she answered.

“Well … there have been some … developments.” She raised her left hand, revealing her missing engagement ring. Athan’s mouth parted.

“Shit … I’m—I hope it wasn’t— ”

“No, no …” She fluttered her hand and lowered a thigh to the edge of his desk. “I think that’s been coming since before all this. It’s just too much, and … we don’t work.” Her eyes lowered to her lap. “Nothing works right now, really.”

“Sounds like there was something else.” He pushed, trying to fight off the urge to move closer. She pulled out her phone and turned it toward him. It was a photo of the crime scene where she’d been found, and Conrad Stratford standing behind the yellow tape looking very much like he didn’t want to be recognized. “Where’d you find this?” Athan asked, looking back up at her.

“All over the articles online from the day or two following when they found me out there. I showed it to Brent last night, too. Although … he seemed pretty genuine that he didn’t know anything about it. I told Wren first, and that’s actually what we were discussing when you came to the hospital. She agrees with me that if he’d been looking for sympathy, he would have been a little less discreet about his visit to the crime scene. And if you’re asking me … if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck …” She shrugged her slender shoulders and tightened her mouth. That mouth … he couldn’t stop himself from wondering how it tasted. If it was anywhere near how her blood had tasted when he’d put her in this position, he didn’t deserve to know that answer. He handed her phone back to her and his eyes drifted toward her neck.

“Agree.” They met each other’s stare. “How are you feeling?”

Sarah pulled her hair back and exposed the wound. He tried not to react. There was no damn way it had healed that much from a little dab of rubbing alcohol. It was closed up and healing nicely, still pretty angry-looking, and colored with deep bruising, but not at all the way it should have looked after this small amount of time. “Much better. When it’s healed enough, I think I’ll probably cover it. I haven’t decided what I’ll put there yet.”

“Any more dizzy spells? Weird reactions?”

“Nothing worth writing home about. Speaking of home …” She glanced down at the papers on his desk. Her papers. “Were you able to get anything out of those?”

“Actually, yes. And I think they saved my ass this morning with the Cap. Thank you.” He handed them over to her. “I made some copies. You can have those back.”

“How much trouble are you in?” Sarah made a wincing face and squinted an eye. He didn’t want to admit that he found it adorable.

“I guess that depends on who you ask.” He chuckled. She looked at Rhaena’s empty chair.

“Ah … damn. I’m sorry. I really am. Maybe I can talk to them? Ease them off a bit? Who can I talk to?”

“That’d be me, ma’am,” Foley said from the far side of Rhaena’s desk. He reached his large hand out as Sarah stood and faced him. “I’m Malcolm Foley, Captain of the 12th. You must be Sarah.” She took his hand and shook it .

“Yes, sir. Pleased to meet you. Thank you for all you’re doing, I can’t stress that enough.”

Foley smiled at her. “Likewise. I hope all is going well with recovery. What can we do for you?” Sarah reached down and picked up the newspaper.

“Well, I came down here to try to explain this. It’s really not what it appears to be, sir. I didn’t want anyone getting in some kind of trouble. Excuse my language, but … these assholes follow me everywhere I go. They’re relentless. It really wasn’t his fault. Your detectives have been on top of everything. I want to take full responsibility for this.”

“That’s not necessary, Miss St. James. It’s being handled. Detective Kane explained himself and isn’t receiving anything other than a reprimand. I did stress to him, and I’ll extend this to you as well … should either of my officers be required to transport you anywhere, they’ve been advised to use the appropriate vehicles.”

“I understand. Thank you.” Sarah patted her hand against Rhaena’s desk. “Is detective Northwood available? I wanted to speak with her as well, if that’s possible.”

“The 12th is at your disposal, Miss St. James. Northwood should be back shortly. You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to. There’s coffee and snacks in the break room.” Foley smirked at Athan. “Detective Kane can show you around.” Athan swallowed hard and rubbed at the back of his neck. “My door is open anytime.” Foley gave her a polite nod and she responded in kind as he turned and walked back to his office.

“Do you mind if I hang around? You can be honest. I’m tougher than I look.” Sarah smiled at him and the whispers in his mind were clear enough to let him know that whoever they were, they didn’t want him to let her leave. He also couldn’t argue that he didn’t want her to go … especially since she was now single.

Christ, what was she doing to him?

“I believe that.” He stood, shoving his phone into his back pocket. “Coffee?”

“Please.”

Thank God for sturdy punching bags. Rhaena couldn’t imagine how bad Athan’s face would have looked had it been that instead. She’d spent her entire lunch hour pommeling her rage into this thing after seeing the photos in that newspaper. No wonder he hadn’t answered her when she’d kept asking where he’d been. He had told her that he’d been in her apartment. He never told her they were there alone, or that she’d hopped onto his bike and snuggled up to him the whole ride there. No matter what he said, he couldn’t argue how flirtatious that picture at the stoplight had looked. At least from their vic, as she couldn’t see his face through that helmet at all. She did, however, see the look he was giving her when they’d shared a cigarette outside her home. Rhaena kept reminding herself of what she’d decided last night after she caved and let him satisfy her every need in that kitchen. That if anything ever did come about between them, she wouldn’t interfere. But controlling her jealousy proved harder than she’d expected … even if she did truly want his happiness.

She felt much better after her quick shower, and her knuckles weren’t nearly as sore when she packed her bag to head back to her desk. She’d been taking the captain’s advice and working on her posture, as well as her contact and the position of her arms when she hit. As Rhaena reached the last step and started into the hallway leading back into the precinct, Jenkins met her and fell into step at her side.

“Did he find out about you tailing him?” he asked. Rhaena turned her face toward him as they walked.

“What? No … why?”

“Well, y’all both seemed pissed before you stormed out. I figured it either had to be that or the fact that your vic looks like he could have picked her out of a fucking catalog.” She scoffed at that and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah … she does.” Rhaena stopped short. “Wait—how do you know what she looks like? Or did you see the papers?”

“What papers?” Jenkins knotted his brows. “She’s here. They’re in the break room.”

Rhaena tried to contain her bubbling temper. “What?”

“She’s—she showed up right after you left. She talked to the captain and said she was waiting for you. I figured maybe you were expecting her.”

“Ha …” She stormed forward and shook her head. “No, I can’t say that I was. Thanks for the heads up.” Jenkins was smarter than he looked. He knew better than to follow after her or continue that conversation. She might need to consider taking that dude out for a drink.

As Rhaena approached her desk, she found both empty, and a black corduroy jacket draped over the crack between the space where the two desks were pushed together. She dropped her bag under her chair and glanced up toward the break room. Captain Foley, Athan, and … Sarah … were talking amongst themselves. Athan perched against the counter staring after her like she was the most enchanting thing he’d ever seen, and Foley seated across from her at the break room table, sipping coffee while they continued to chat. She supposed they weren’t in much trouble, then. Good. But it still didn’t ward off the heat of the simmering anger that was still inside her. Athan didn’t owe her anything. She knew that. But he was always so sharp. Always so dedicated to helping her find the answers and cover up their world and this … this was changing everything. She was changing him.

It could have been because he was at fault this time, and maybe overridden with his own guilt, which was very much the case here but … aside from that, the life they had before it happened was gone and she knew it. It didn’t make it suck any less. Rhaena grabbed her tumbler and started toward the break room. She watched Athan the entire walk over. He never looked away from that girl once. Didn’t even notice her until she was halfway through the door.

“Welcome back, Gloves.” Foley smiled, almost sympathetically. He knew, she supposed. Knew that she had some sort of feelings for Kane that were more than the closeness of being partners. How long he’d known, she couldn’t be sure. He hid it very well. Sarah turned in her seat, touching a hand to her neck when she’d craned it too much.

“Detective Northwood!” Sarah stood, reaching her hand out. “Good to see you again.” Rhaena glanced at Athan first, who watched her like a wolf protecting his pack, and then back at Sarah, taking her hand and shaking it.

“And you. This is a surprise.” Rhaena turned away and snapped the lid from her cup, stepping over to refill it at the water station.

“Well … I got here a bit too late. I initially came to warn you guys about—about …”

“I get it,” Rhaena said, perhaps a bit too dryly. Everyone was silent, the only sound being the splashing of water as it rose in the tumbler. “You seem better.” She finally turned around, facing them and the lid snapped closed … loudly. “I’m sure the Stratford boy is happy to have you home.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that … exactly that.” Sarah shifted on her feet and Athan decided to finally break the tension.

“We should go back to the board.” He met Rhaena’s eyes and there was a look in them that she’d never seen before … something predatory, but not in the way she’d known him to look when he needed to feed. This was something else. Something territorial.

She’s marked. I fucking marked her …

It’s like they’re branded to us … forever …

I either have to sire her, or kill her …

Rhaena watched them walk back to the desks. Watched the way he barely touched the small of Sarah’s back as he led her forward. Watched him nearly snarl at any of the uniforms that looked at her when they walked by. Foley broke her concentration with a hand on her shoulder.

“You okay, kid?” he asked. She shook herself out of a daydream and looked up at him.

“Yes. Yes, sir … sorry.”

“He ain’t the one, Northwood.” His tone was light and soothing. “I stay out of personal business. You know that. But I’m just offering some friendly advice, from someone who already went down this rabbit hole. Don’t date your partner. Just trust me.”

Rhaena gave him a tight smile. “Thank you, sir.” He nodded and left her to gather herself before she felt confident about walking into the snake pit. She unwrapped a straw from the container on the counter and shoved it into the hole in the lid, watching Athan as he slid a chair to the end of their desks in front of the white board. Sarah sat and pulled her knees up to her chest, flipping through the papers she’d given him at the apartment. Any time he turned away from her, Rhaena caught her staring after him in the same way he had when he’d thought no one was looking. It was more than being marked … they looked like— “Oh, fuck …” Rhaena’s eyes widened at the thought.

Do vampires have mates?

Something sank in her gut like an anvil. She turned away from the window in the break room and one of the rookies popped into the doorway.

“What’s up, Northwood?” he said, with a shrill voice that sounded very much like the poor guy had never quite made it out of puberty. “You okay? You look like you’re gonna puke.” He grabbed a coffee mug from beside her.

“Yeah …” Rhaena breathed, too stunned by the possibility to say much more. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.” She shuffled past him and walked out the door, making her way back to her desk and shaking it off before she had to play nice at the table.

She eased her chair out and tried not to look too horrified as she sat down. It seemed channeling that image was working, or Athan was too enthralled with their vic that he didn’t notice. But Sarah did.

“You okay, friend? I swear, I only had a couple of questions. I also thought maybe it would help in some way, but if you need me to go I can—”

“No, no … I’m good. It’s um … not the best time of the month for me.” Rhaena had actually meant how near it was to the full moon, but Sarah took it differently. That seemed to do the trick, anyway.

“Ohhhhh … I gotcha. No bueno.” She winced back. “Mine are always hell on earth, too. I go from moderate bitch to murderous demon slayer. Even Wren can’t stand to be around me that week.”

Athan swiveled in his chair. “Okay … ladies? If you want me to go, just say so? I can listen to plenty of shit, but I can’t deal with this one. Lines have to be drawn here.”

Sarah snickered, and Rhaena found herself joining her when she spotted the look on Athan’s face. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable. “Actually, Kane … why don’t you give us a few minutes. I’ll talk with her and catch you up later.” Sarah gave him a smirk and he eyed Rhaena like he could eat her alive but … he stood, grabbing his gun, and looping his badge over his head.

“Alright. I’ve got somebody I need to pay a visit to myself.” He swiped a hand through his hair and nodded once in Sarah’s direction, that look still a blistering flame in his eyes even though he seemed like he was trying hard to hide it. “See ya.” He stepped around her and started walking toward the elevator.

“Thanks for the coffee,” Sarah called, but he didn’t turn back to acknowledge her. “Not much of a talker, is he?”

“Be grateful for that. He’s a real shit,” Rhaena said, sipping from her straw.

“I could see that.” She laughed. “But he seems like the kind that wouldn’t bother me as much. It’s the shady ass, bratty ones like Brent that make me want to go slam my face into a wall. ”

“Mmm …” Rhaena hummed, swallowing down her water. “Let’s talk about that. You said that’s why you wanted to see me? Is everything okay?” Sarah raised her hand and wiggled her bare ring finger. Rhaena set her cup down. “Shit … what happened? This wasn’t because of what I asked you at the hosp—”

“No, no … it wasn’t you. Trust me. I told you things were a little off before the attack in the alley. We’re just not … right?” Sarah shrugged her shoulders and pinched the bridge of her nose. “He’s just—I don’t know. We’re two different worlds trying hard to co-exist, and it just doesn’t feel strong enough to even fight for. I love him … but I don’t … love him, you know?”

“Why tell me?” Rhaena asked.

Sarah was quiet for a moment. “Well one, because besides Wren … I don’t really have another female to talk to about it. She hates him, she always has. It didn’t surprise or upset her when she came back last night, and I told her we’d broke it off. And two …” Her mouth curled up on one side.

“Two …?”

“He doesn’t look at me that way anymore.” Rhaena shifted under her stare.

“What way?”

“The way he did when you came to my room.”

“Oh!” Rhaena shook her head and turned forward to face Athan’s empty chair. “No … I think he was just trying to piece together where he knew me from. That’s not—I would never … no.”

“Well … if you did, I wouldn’t be upset about it. So, if he tries to ask you out, and you actually wanna go? Get to it. You won’t hear any argument from me.” Sarah tossed her palms up and leaned back in her chair. “Also … now that you mention it, that was the other thing I came to talk to you about.”

“Which part?”

“You said that you knew him because you worked security detail for Conrad, right?” Sarah clutched her knees to her chest. Rhaena nodded. “Well, at the hospital you told me that I should be careful about him … the senator. You said you were working a case of your own and weren’t actually a uniform then, but a detective. I know you can’t tell me much, but … what do you know about him that I should know?”

“Do you have any reason to believe you should be worried? Especially with this case?” Rhaena watched Sarah turn her head back to the white board where the senator’s campaign photo was hanging at the end of one of the many lines branching out from the middle. They hadn’t started the bullet points for that one yet. “Sarah?”

“I feel like he’s involved,” Sarah said softly, not looking back at her.

“Attempted murder is a serious accusation, hun. I need you to be more specific.” Rhaena knew full well who was responsible for that mauling that she couldn’t help but stare at while Sarah wasn’t looking. But if she had any reason to think that, she had to dig a little deeper for it .

“I don’t think he tried to kill me. I told you I don’t even truly believe what did this to my neck was even a human … but I do think he’s involved.” She finally turned her face toward her again. “I told Detective Kane yesterday that people are after me. That they’ve been after me ever since I lost my mom.”

“Yeah, he told me about that. The details were a bit disturbing. But what does that have to do with Senator Stratford?”

“I’ve been with Brent for two years. You asked me how long when you came to the hospital. I thought back on that after you left that day … I didn’t apply to that school. I also didn’t sign up for the blood drive for the senator’s campaign the day that I met Brent. Don’t you find it a bit odd?” Rhaena drew her brows and crossed her arms as she turned her chair back toward Sarah.

“Go on …”

“Brent was overly charming that day. I know that now that we’ve obviously gotten to know each other. And what are the odds that out of all the other techs in that tent … he ended up in my chair? On top of that, I never questioned what was so striking about me for him to ask me out before I even pulled the needle from his arm, considering the type of girls he usually would be attracted to …” Sarah smirked again. “Like you.”

“You think this was planned …”

“Yep.” Sarah’s mouth tightened into a thin line. “I would have probably missed all that had you not said what you said, but then I found this later that night.” She pulled her phone out and turned it toward Rhaena.

“What the hell?” Rhaena breathed, taking it from her and staring at the photo of Conrad Stratford behind yellow tape.

“Exactly. You’re the detective, so you tell me. Does that look like a person that wanted to be photographed?”

“No … no it doesn’t.” Rhaena cut her a look. “Can you stick around? I’ll be right back.”

“Sure. This is fun.” Sarah snorted.

“Grab yourself some more coffee. I’m gonna go dig up your crime scene photos. I’m not sure how much you wanna relive.”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks anyway. I won’t go anywhere.”

“Okay,” Rhaena said, shuffling from her chair and heading up the hall to find Jenkins. Damn, this girl was onto something. She almost felt stupid for not putting it together herself. But it was definitely something worth investigating. Whether or not it was connected to Sarah’s attack was a different story … but if it wasn’t related, then why was this man at her crime scene? And why go, but not offer a statement about the family’s position on the matter? Sarah was right, he definitely looked like he was trying to blend into the nosey onlookers behind the line. For the first time since she’d met this girl, she was glad to have her around.

He deserved it. Deserved every bit of the shame he felt leaving her apartment after she’d given him back that ring last night. A massive part of the man he thought he was wanted to tell her the truth when she’d asked why he asked her to marry him. He almost had. He would never be deserving of someone like her. It was never supposed to actually work. Brent kept reflecting on the moments she’d mentioned when she broke it off … he was never supposed to actually fall for her. He couldn’t truly say he did fall for her, but he found himself already missing her. Maybe it was more the friend he had in her, who actually knew who he was underneath the facade, that he was missing as he pulled up to the mansion he used to call home. His father never told him the real reasons he’d forced him to play this game and involve her in it. He was getting some answers today.

Brent slammed his car door shut and hopped up the steps, nodding to the security guard as he let him inside and started toward his father’s office. Halfway down the hall, his mother’s voice called out to him, and he staggered back, peeking into the open door of the library and finding her sitting in her usual spot, a chair she liked with a matching footrest that was covered in floral material. A nurse smiled at him as he walked in, busying herself with something on a tray and then scooting out to give them privacy.

“Hey, Mom.” He smiled sadly, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

His mother, Pat, had picked a vibrant yellow head scarf today. It was the color she liked to wear on her good days when she wasn’t too sick to entertain company. Although she was in good spirits, as she always strived to be, he couldn’t help but notice how frail she was beginning to look these days. She’d had cancer for nearly four years now, and judging by the bag hanging over her chair that was steadily dripping poison into her withering body … any hope they had of beating this was starting to seem bleak.

“You look sad, baby. It better not be because of me.” She cupped his cheek and part of his heart shattered. Two years ago, he’d be taking this out on a keg at a frat party, or some ambitious blonde that wanted his arm for the night. That was before he’d met Sarah. Now she was gone, too.

“Nah … I uh … I got dumped.” He smirked, kneeling eye level with her and tugging her blanket higher up.

“No … the smart one? Why? I really liked her.” She lifted his chin and narrowed her eyes. “What’d you do?” Brent scoffed and rolled his eyes as he smiled.

“Why do you always assume it’s something I did?”

She smiled back at him sweetly. “Because you Stratford men always assume we don’t know how stupid you are.”

Brent took a seat on the footrest and gathered her cold hands into his own. “We’re just … too different I think, Mom. She knows it, too. It’s for the best. She ended it before I could, that’s all.”

“You love her?” she asked gently.

He thought about it for a moment and raised his face to look at her again. “Not like that.” She nodded in understanding .

“Well, it’s better to figure that out before you’re married to that sort of miscommunication. That’s what breaks hearts.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He sighed deeply and looked around. “He’s gonna be pissed.”

“Who? Your father?”

“Mmhmm … I’m not looking forward to this lecture.” Brent ran a hand through his hair.

“Is that why you came? He’s not here.”

“What? Where is he?”

“Not sure … you know he never tells me much of anything. We’ve seen a lot less of each other lately. I don’t think he can bear to look at me. Especially during chemo. I can’t blame him, though. I do look a bit like a husk.” She chuckled.

“Stop, Mom … no you don’t.” He stared down at the book in her lap. “What you reading?” She lifted it up and smiled.

“What you should be reading. A Bible.”

He swallowed hard and tried not to tear up. “You trying to tell me something?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to tell you I’m reading the Bible.” She chuckled.

“Stop, Ma. You know what I mean.”

She stilled and her smile faded. “It’s coming whether we like it or not, Brent. I need to prepare for that as much as you and your father do.”

He couldn’t think of a way to continue the conversation without bursting into tears. What a shitty week. What a shitty situation. Everything just seemed like it was falling apart. One thing had to go right. Just one. He blew out a deep breath and bent over to lay his head into her lap. Pat brushed his hair back and stroked his face, saying nothing else as the nurse crept back into the library.

“Sir, Detective Kane is here to see you?”

“Shit …” Nick Specter palmed over his face as he held the button down on his desk phone. “Send him in.” The door swung open and Athan Kane stormed in, every inch of him looking as if he’d rip his ass apart. Nick backed his chair up nervously as he continued past the seats in front of his desk and rounded the corner, heading straight for him. He raised his palms and dropped his mouth open, shaking as Kane grabbed him with one fist by his collar and raised him clean out of his chair as if he weighed nothing. “K-Kane! What are you doing? Please!”

His assistant stood horrified in the doorway, gaping at the two men, and pressing her hand to her chest. “Sir! Should I call someone?!” She gasped.

“You can call him a coroner in about five minutes if he doesn’t start talking,” Kane said, bringing Nick closer. His voice was guttural … lethal .

“Close the damn door, Kerah!” Nick shouted, waving her off. She quickly did as he asked, and the door slammed shut. “What is this about? I’ve done nothing wrong!” Nick nearly pissed his pants as Kane’s canines grew longer and he bared them with a growl that sounded anything but deadly. He could have sworn the guy’s eyes even turned from an icy blue to almost black.

“Lie to me again, Nick.” He seethed, hoisting him up until his feet raised from the floor. He was going to kill him … Holy shit, he was about to die. Nick gripped Kane’s forearm and patted at it when he started to struggle for air. “You ready to talk?” Nick gave him as good a nod as he could manage, and Kane dropped him back into his chair. The pride in him didn’t want to allow the detective a chance to see him clutch his throat, but his self-control had already been lost. He gasped for breath.

“What do you wanna know? I already told you I don’t know who broke into the labs, and I answered all your partner’s questions too!”

“Maybe you answered hers, but you haven’t answered mine. If you think the missing blood supply is a problem for you, then maybe I need to be a little more forceful, so you’ll understand your fate when you start fucking with something that’s mine. ”

“What are you talking about?!”

Kane leaned over him, bracing both hands on the arms of his desk chair and sneering into his face, his tone deathly quiet. “Sarah St. James.”

“Man, come on! You’re not the first person to ask me about this girl! How am I supposed to keep up with who’s laying claim to her?” He could feel his bladder about to fail him as Kane’s growl rumbled a breath away.

“You can start by giving me all the names of whoever came asking about her before me.” He flicked his raven black hair over his brow. “Or I can rip your sorry ass throat out and tear this office apart until I figure it out for myself.”

“Do you know what they could do to me, Kane?”

“I’d say your priorities are a little fucked, Nick. You wanna gamble your life on whether or not I’m bluffing when I say I’ll keep draining and slowly torturing you until you give me what I’m asking for? Should I start describing all the ways? Or is your imagination just as fucking bad as your judgment?”

“S-Stratford. Conrad Stratford. I don’t know why he wants her. He’s orchestrated this whole thing, I swear.” Nick shook his palms, pleading for some space between them and Kane gave it, conceding a step and straightening.

“Orchestrated what?”

“Her getting the position at the main lab upstairs. It wasn’t even available until he—” Nick pressed his mouth into a thin line and shook his head, hating to even blow this cover. He might as well be a dead man in every way after this conversation. And if he didn’t do it, there might not be anything left of him or anybody that knew Kane was here. He couldn’t risk anyone else’s life. And what was the cost of someone as crooked and awful as Conrad Stratford if this coven he’d foolishly linked up with killed the old bastard?

“I’m waiting. And I’m not a patient man, Nick.”

“He paid me off to get her in here. Paid me more to try and get sealed government files for him.”

“Sealed files about her?”

Nick nodded, adjusting his collar. “About her and her mother. Medical records that aren’t available to anyone without government clearance. High end shit, that I told him I’m not authorized or equipped to get… but he insisted. I’ve had no luck. The only thing I was able to do was get her lab reports from the hospital after she was attacked by one of your people out by the club.” Nick saw a slight change in Kane’s posture when he mentioned the last part.

“So that was why you signed them out? To sell them to Stratford?”

Nick nodded again, shame filling every pore. He hung his head and sighed. “Look, I know it’s wrong, okay? I know this whole thing has gotten so fucked up that I can hardly do anything to mop it up now, but you both have got me by the balls here. Kane, I spent that money. I was about to lose my house. I’ve got a kid, man. Stealing files and giving a girl a job seemed harmless until I realized … it wasn’t. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, least of all some innocent kid.” When he looked back up, the detective appeared normal … human. Something that he said must have eased him at least a little.

“Stratford is smart, but he’s not smart enough to be doing this alone. Who is he working with?”

He wanted to hurl himself out the nearest window and spare himself a painful death. Choosing a quick splat on the pavement would be the easier option. Nick met his eyes—which were back to that pale blue. “How do you not know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Stratford is working with your coven leader. You might as well finish me off, cause if I don’t play their way, I’m as good as dead anyhow.” Nick could have sworn on everything he had that the entire room dropped ten degrees colder.

“You didn’t think to tell me this when I’ve been the one negotiating on her behalf for this blood?!”

“Forgive me, Kane! I try not to ask too many questions in regards to whatever dark business goes on between a bar full of immortals that live off human bodies! I ain’t trying to be one of those! And I wouldn’t be if it weren’t for you coming to me with this proposal for the blood supply in the first place.”

Nick watched Kane as he peeled both his hands through his hair and blew out a frustrated breath. He couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the guy. Kane had never told him what his reason was for initiating this bargain for the blood, but he did know that it at least kept Boston safe from this coven. “Is she your girl?” He dared ask. Kane turned his face toward him. “The chemist … you said she was yours? ”

He was silent for a moment and stared off toward the window. “Yeah, something like that.” A muscle feathered in his jaw.

“Look, man … if you can figure some way out of this shit, then I’ll help in whatever way I can. But I’m in too deep. I don’t know what to do.” Nick drew his brows when it appeared Kane had some sort of light bulb go off in his head. “What’s wrong?” He didn’t answer, instead striding off toward the door. “Kane!”

“I know who broke into your labs. I’ll be in touch,” he said, throwing the door open and hurrying past the trembling assistant as he disappeared around the corner.