The Last Shadow (Shadows and Strings #3)

Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Frankie

After a night that felt more like a wrestling match with insomnia than actual sleep, I stumble out of bed and drag myself through my morning routine. The clock’s mocking me, a reminder that waking up without Damien’s arms wrapped around me is a special kind of hell.

I miss the warmth of his chest pressed against my back, the steady rhythm of his heart that usually lulls me into a blissful slumber. It’s infuriating, really. I’m bone-tired and seething, but a quick shower later, I’ve got a plan.

My stomach rumbles nervously as I take the elevator up to the executive offices of Wolfe Industries. The sleek office building is intimidating as hell, but I stuff it down the same way I do when I have to question the alibi of a Hollywood studio executive or the child of a legendary celebrity. I swallow the nerves and focus on my mission, which helps me stay calm.

I smile when I spot Jess even though her words from the wedding are stamped on my mind. Be careful who you trust. I’m always careful, but her words linger and make me question everything and everyone. “Hi, Jess. Is he in?”

She looks cautious, but she gives a slight nod, forcing a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “He is. Go on in.”

I nod and take a deep breath in front of his door, exhaling as I grab the handle and twist it slowly. Damien is inside with his gaze on a bank of screens, looking every bit the god of the tech world everyone thinks he is.

“I don’t have time now, Jess.” He doesn’t even look up and I take in the sight of him, beautiful and commanding and so in charge of his world.

“You want me to come back later?” I nibble my bottom lip, something I often do when I’m nervous and I don’t like it. This is my husband, the man I pledged my life to, a man who I shouldn’t be nervous around.

He blinks quickly before shaking his head. His gaze flicks from the screens to me. “Francesca. What are you doing here?” His gaze is dark and intense when it settles on me. “Is everything all right?”

“No.” I fold my arms across my chest and watch him carefully. “I’m not okay, Damien. I don’t like fighting with you.”

He sighs and stands from the buttery soft office chair. “I don’t like fighting with you either.”

“I was worried about you.” I hate that I sound weak, something I’ve worked hard my entire adult life to avoid. “I’m glad to see you’re okay.”

His lips tug into a reluctant expression of satisfaction. “Me too,” he says, wrapping me in a warm hug. “Fuck, Francesca, I’m sorry.”

I bury my face in his chest. “I’m sorry too. I trust you but I’m worried about what this guy might do to you.”

His chin rests on top of my head. “I trust you Francesca, of course I do. I never would have married you if I didn’t and I need you to know I wasn’t talking to The Butcher last night.”

That provides me with a sense of relief but I’m also more curious than ever about who he was talking to last night. “Good. That’s good. I’m glad.”

“Between the wedding and things with Olivia, I’m a little stressed out, I guess. But I love you kitten, and I don’t ever want to fight with you.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t want to fight with you either, but I want you to be safe. I need you to be safe because my biggest nightmare is that the killer will make a move on you, and I’ll be too far away to save you.”

“My little protector,” he growls and fits his lips to mine. The kiss starts off hot as fuck and I melt into his broad chest and inhale his expensive masculine scent.

“I’m sure it goes against your toxic masculinity but it’s my job to keep you safe. I’ve searched high and low for a man like you, and there is no fucking way in hell that I’ll let some twisted fucker take you from me.” I mean that with my whole heart.

“You won’t have to because I’m not going anywhere, my pet.” His arms tighten around me.

“Good. I really am sorry about last night. I love you and I worry.”

“I know and I’m stressed and taking it out on you. I’m sorry too, kitten.” His lips descend on mine once again, soft and insistent. He licks my mouth, teasing me until I open up for him, giving him access to whatever he wants. A slow moan escapes and Damien kisses me deeper, with more intensity. “It won’t happen again.”

“It will,” I laugh. “And that’s okay. We’ll figure it out just like we did now.”

He growls and kisses me again. “I hate sleeping without you curled into my side.”

“Me too. I slept like shit,” I tell him honestly. “Now I get why they say you shouldn’t go to bed angry.”

“Then we won’t. That’s a promise.”

I hug Damien so tightly I hear his heart thumping in my ear. It’s strong and powerful just like him. Steady and comforting.

“Hungry?”

I nod against his chest. “I could eat.”

We order some delivery, and I spend an hour with Damien inside his office, eating breakfast and making up for the events of last night. He still doesn’t tell me what the call last night was about, but I don’t push it, now isn’t the time, instead I enjoy having breakfast with my husband.

Everything else can wait until later.

“You spoil me,” I tell him and pat my full belly. “Thank you for breakfast.”

“I’ll spend the rest of my life spoiling you, Francesca. I wish I had time to make up with you properly.”

I laugh but it sounds more like a giggle even to my own ears. “I do too, but that’s what tonight is for. Tonight, at the penthouse, Damien. Just me and you.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” His mouth finds mine again and I swear that every single kiss he lays on me pulls me under. By the time he pulls back, there’s a fine sheen of sweat on my forehead and my back. “Until tonight, Mrs. Wolfe.”

I shiver. “Yeah, until tonight.”

Damien walks me to the door but his phone rings when he pulls it open. “Have a good day at work, Francesca.”

“I will. Stay safe.” I watch him for another long minute, admiring his beauty when he answers the phone, easily slipping into boss mode. Feeling proud of my man and satisfied with how we left things, I leave the office and nearly slam into Jess on my way to the elevator.

“Mrs. Wolfe. Is everything all right?” Her smile is professional, the same one I bet she uses with everyone who comes through this office.

“Yes. Just a small disagreement between newlyweds.”

“It happens,” she offers with a sympathetic look in her eyes. The look darkens and she steps inside the elevator with me, standing so close I can smell her expensive perfume. “I shouldn’t have ambushed you at the wedding the way I did,” she begins. “But if you want to know the truth, the real truth about everything, I suggest you ask your partner. Jay.”

“Jay? What’s this got to do with Jay?”

She nods. “Ask him. He has a lot of answers that might surprise you. Starting with your home,” she says before she hits the button and steps off the elevator. “Good luck.”

Good luck? Who the hell drops a bomb like that and then says good luck as if I’m going to audition to be an extra on Law & Order ? My mind is racing by the time my feet hit the marble floors of the lobby and it’s so loud I can’t think of anything else when I reach my car.

I think of all the recent incidents with Jay that I was willing to brush off, but further examination paints them as suspicious. His mysterious appointments are at the top of the list, but also vanishing during the questioning of Laurel Kinney. None of it makes sense and it didn’t make sense at the time, but Jay is like family, and I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

And let’s not forget that he was at my house when it burned down.

That’s a thought too far but I have a full head of steam worked up by the time I enter the precinct. I’m not in the mood to bullshit with my coworkers the way I usually do because once again, I’m on a mission, this time I need to find my partner, my surrogate father and find out what the fuck he’s hiding from me.

“Frankie.” His face lights up the way it always does when he sees me. “What’s up?” He notices my dark expression immediately and gets to his feet inside the war room. “Is it Damien?”

I shake my head and watch Jay carefully. He looks genuinely worried about me or Damien. I’m not sure but I need the truth. I can’t afford to just wait and see. “Damien is fine,” I sigh and take my seat, folding my hands on top of the desk. “I need to ask you something.”

“Sure kid. Shoot.”

“How did you know about the fire at my house?”

His brows dip. “It came across on the radio and I rushed there after recognizing your address.”

That makes sense. “Why were you listening to the radio?” Neither of us was on shift that night. “I mean, I figured you’d be cuddled up with Cassandra.”

He shrugs. “Even a stud like me needs a night off, Frankie. What’s this about?”

I let out a frustrated sigh and keep my gaze on Jay, studying his face. “This is about lies, Jay. About me figuring out who else is keeping vital information from me.” I lean forward and arch one of my brows. “What are you hiding Jay?”

“Shit, Frankie, we all have secrets.”

That much is true. I have my own secrets that I keep for various reasons, but those secrets don’t overlap into my regular life. “Okay, what secrets are you keeping from me that I need to know about?”

He studies me, doing that quick darting back and forth thing that suspects often wear in an interrogation when they’re trying to figure out what we know. “Who’s in your head?”

“Right now? You Jay. I have a lot of thoughts in my head right now and I don’t like them. Not one fucking bit.” I stare at him until his resolve cracks.

“Damien talked, didn’t he?”

“It should’ve been you,” I answer instead of confirming or denying anything.

“I didn’t think he’d ever tell you. Shit Frankie, it’s not about keeping secrets. It’s about keeping you safe.”

I shake my head. “You know, I’m really starting to hate that fucking word, Jay. It’s not your job to keep me safe unless we’re out in the field. I expect you to have my back but not lie to me.”

“It’s not a real lie, just a lie of omission.” He tosses his pen across the desk, watching as it rolls off the desk and falls to the floor. “I’ve known Wolfe for a while. He’s one of the biggest names in the city.”

“So, this entire fucking time you’ve known that he was at Hope House? Known that his life was in danger, and you never said a fucking word?”My heart is stuck in my throat thinking about all the ways Jay has fucked this investigation. “You created months of useless work for us and why? We could have saved Zeke!”

He’s shaking his head like I’m just being some emotional woman, and it pisses me off. “Whoever this killer is, he was always gonna go after Zeke.” His words are so casual, so fucking nonchalant that it drives me crazy.

“Do you know who it is Jay?” I hold my breath in anticipation of his answer. Please don’t let him know who the killer is. Don’t let our entire relationship which expands half of my life, be a lie. If there’s any real justice in this universe, that won’t be the case.

“Do I know who’s out here dropping bodies around my city?” He laughs angrily. “How the fuck can you ask me that, Frankie?”

“What am I supposed to think, Jay? All this time you pretended like you only knew Damien from the press. You discouraged me from dating him, hell you acted like you hated him when you knew him, perhaps better than I do!” I shake my head. “Is there another reason you didn’t want me to date him?” My heart is galloping like a racehorse. “Well?”

“Yeah, because he’s rich and those guys think the laws don’t apply to them.”

For the first time in my life, I know Jay is lying to me. “What does Damien have to do with this?”

“Nothing, I swear. I mean, I don’t know other than he also lived at Hope House.” His eyes are begging me to believe him, but my conscience is telling me not to believe anyone as easily as I did five minutes ago. “I didn’t keep anything from you that would impact the case.”

“Except you did because you know who was staying at Hope House and you probably have a good idea why those men are dead.”

“There are about fifty different reasons those men could be dead considering all the shit those kids got up to, but nothing specific comes to mind Frankie. I swear.”

I want to believe him. He’s been at my side since my entire world came crashing down. Twice. But right now, all I see is a liar and that’s the last thing I want or need to deal with. “I need some space.” I stand and shake my head. “I need to get out of here.”

“Come on Frankie, let’s talk about this.”

“No Jay, there’s nothing to talk about. You know I hate lying and you’ve been lying to me for months.” Possibly years.

“I did it to protect you. You’re pissed at me and rightly so, but I hope you save up some of that anger for your husband who also lied to you.”

It’s a truth that’s been kicking around in the back of my mind for a few hours that I’ve been reluctant to address. Damien lied to me too and I’m not ready to face that just yet.

I leave the precinct and walk around the city to clear my mind. When that doesn’t work, I take a drive up PCH and hope the shoreline does for me what nothing else has been able to.

Give me clarity.

Give me guidance.

Ignoring calls for six hours isn’t the adult way to handle things but right now I have to look out for myself since no one else does.