To his credit, Stevens didn’t cower. Having three large men and the Prince all staring him down with murder in their gaze hadn’t rattled him at all. He wasn’t powerful –I only sensed a weaker water affinity with a very weak earth affinity from him– but he still didn’t show any fear.
“I didn’t even use my affinity this time,” Skye said, her voice taking on a slightly bitchy tone that made my dick throb. “Why the hell are you checking my ID again?”
“Seen your neighbors lately?” he asked.
“The fuck does that mean?” Aiden muttered.
Stevens gestured outside, and my focus finally caught on a crime scene van parked up on the sidewalk.
Skye’s jaw dropped, but she took a step back as Zephyr stormed toward the windows.
“What happened?” he demanded when no one spoke. “Are they okay?”
“You don’t know?” Stevens asked, and Rafe stiffened up at his tone.
So did I.
I moved closer to Skye, and although Aiden glared at me initially, he took in how Rafe and I were reacting, and he moved. I sidled up to Skye’s left side while Rafe took the right.
“Why would I–” Zephyr started to snark, then turned and saw how we were all hovering around Skye, and his gaze darkened. “What are you implying?”
Stevens shrugged, though his gaze was stuck on Skye, which I knew was pissing Rafe off.
Skye shifted her weight from one foot to the other, putting her arm closer to mine. I could feel the nerves coming off her in waves even though we knew she hadn’t done whatever he was implying. I resisted every urge to bump my arm against hers.
“They’re gone,” Stevens said. “Signs of a struggle all over. Man, woman, and their young son. You’re telling me you don’t know anything about that?”
Skye and Zephyr looked at each other, both with varying levels of shock. Skye shifted her weight again, and her dampened hair brushed against my forearm, sending a hot shockwave through me, because I waspathetic.
“It would have been loud,” Stevens said. “Looks like there was one hell of an affinity fight.”
“During thestorm?” Zephyr spoke finally. “You’re implying we were supposed to hear something during a practical hurricane?”
“Mr. Aria, when’s the last time you spoke with your neighbors?” Stevens asked, straightening up in a way that made my stomach sink.
Rafe,I said desperately.
It’s fine,he insisted, not looking at me.I’ll think of something.
That wasn’t reassuring at all, but neither was Zephyr’s attitude. As the son of a lawyer, I wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up and stop talking even though he hadn’t revealed anything incriminating.
“I don’t speak to the neighbors,” Zephyr answered. “Not unless absolutely necessary.”
“So, it’s safe to say you haven’t spoken to them since, maybe July of last year?” Stevens said.
Skye took another almost imperceptible step back, and I shifted my weight to stay in line with her.
She was a runner. We couldn’t let her run right now, not while she and Zephyr were about to be accused of something horrible. Whatever it was, Skye seemed to have figured it out before her brother.
“I guess?” Zephyr said, sounding irritated.
“So your last conversation would’ve been the last time you tried negotiating in purchasing their apartment and shop space?” Stevens asked.
Zephyr seemed to understand where this was going just as Stevens spoke, and his gaze hardened as Skye’s chest began to rise and fall faster. At this point, I couldn’t tell if she was nervous from Stevens’ words or Zephyr’s impending reaction.
“Iguess,” Zephyr repeated. “Go ahead and come right out and say it, Stevens.”
“I’m not implying anything,” Stevens said with a shrug. “It’s just interesting that weeks after you had a public, verbal altercation with your neighbors, there was an unnatural storm that affected the entire island minus your shop. And now there’s been a second unnatural storm, and the neighbors are missing.”
