“Jared!” She releases the long handle of the—shit, is that a fuckingaxeshe’s holding? I meet her staggering steps halfway, scooping her into my arms.
“I’ll deal with him,” Garrett says, rushing past us to secure The Raven.
“Are you OK? Are you hurt?” I ask, searching her for any sign of injury. I can’t tell if any of the blood on her face, chest, and hands is hers or not.
“I’m fine. My head hurts like hell, but I’m fine.” She sags against me. “Jared, there’s something you need to know?—”
A strangled laugh sounds from where The Raven lies bleeding. I cock my head, looking on in morbid fascination when I see the axe hasn’t fallen to the ground. My gaze drifts down the long handle to see the sharp edge disappearing in between black feathers matted with blood. Damn, did Selene nail this fucker to the floor? That’s hot. Scary, but hot.
“Jared, my boy. So glad you could join us.”
I freeze. That voice. Iknowthat voice.
“Corbin?” My boss, my mentor, is the one who tried to kill me? Whodidkill all those people?
“That’s what I wanted to tell you.” Selene’s voice is gentle, as if she’s afraid I might break.
“How?” My voice cracks.
The Raven—Corbin—throws back his head and laughs. Seeing him like this, bound by the magic blocking cuffs Garrett’s locked around his wrists, I realise I never knew the man who claimed to think of me as a son. This man, laughing in a pool of his own blood, is insane.
“He told me why.”
“What?” I can’t take my eyes off Corbin.
Selene steps in front of me, forcing me to look at her instead of the psychopath beyond. “I needed to keep him talking so that I’d have time to escape. He told me all of it, Jared. You don’t need to talk to him unless you want to—I can tell you everything.”
Garrett snorts. “He did a villain monologue?”
Selene smirks. “Yep.”
“Idiot.” Garrett looks down at Corbin with disdain.
“You know why he did this? Not just to me, but why he went after all those other people?” I check. I might not work for The Ledger anymore, but the human families of Corbin’s victims deserve answers as much as I do.
“Not why he targeted those people specifically other than they all offended him in some way, but I know everything else. The SIB will figure out the rest,” she assures me.
“Then that’s good enough for me.”
More magical signatures fill the air. A moment later Agents Johnson and Terrall, plus some of the town’s protection team, come barrelling in.
“I called them,” Garrett explains.
“Thank you.”
Selene and I head for the hole where the door used to be.
“Wait, you can’t leave,” Agent Terrall calls out angrily.
“My mate is injured.” Selene’s been trying to hide her hands and wrists from me where the skin’s been rubbed raw, but I’ve noticed. I always make it a point to notice everything about her. She’s also swaying so much I’m pretty sure she’d topple over if I wasn’t supporting her. Whatever she had to do to escape Corbin, it’s taken a toll on her. “Any questions you and your partner have can wait until tomorrow. We’ll come by the town hall when we’re ready.”
There’s an argument on the tip of her tongue, but luckily Agent Johnson has enough sense to step in and distract her. Garrett jerks his head as if telling us to get out of here while we can, and we escape without another word.
Selene’s cottage is technically a crime scene, and neither of us is eager to go back there right now anyway, so we head to my place instead. Once we’re safely inside, she asks for a few minutes alone to shower. As much as I hate the thought of letting her out of my sight, I can see how much she needs the space to decompress.
That’s how I find myself sitting on the carpeted hallway floor, leaning against the wall right next to the bathroom door, listening out for any sign of trouble or distress. The water turns on and seconds later I hear a pained squeak. I’m on my feet in an instant.
“Are you OK?” I call through the door.
