Sean’s eyes widened, incredulous. “Ye don’t know where yer ownboyfriendkeeps his office?”
I shrugged again, a bit defensive this time. “He doesn’t tell me much about his work.”
“So it would seem,” Sean said quietly, running a hand through his hair. “All right, well, there’s one place we know he’d keep somethin’ valuable. And one place ye definitely have access to.”
I blinked. “I do?”
Sean nodded. “Yeah. His loft.”
My stomach flipped. “You want me to break into his loft and search through his things?”
“Ye don’t want to?” Sean asked, his lips curling into a sly grin.
“Well, it definitely won’t win me any awards for ‘Girlfriend of the Year,’ will it?” I groaned. “Then again, if he’s been hiding information from me…”
Sean leaned back slightly, a knowing look on his face. “Exactly. Ye deserve to know the truth, Emma.”
I set my jaw, my decision settling in. “Fine. Jackson told me they have plans tonight. I’ll go over there in an hour.”
Sean's smirk deepened. “I can go with ye. James gave me clearance that first night I came in with him. Don’t think he’s revoked it.”
I nodded, thankful I wouldn’t have to face this alone with Sean by my side.
Sean stood, his expression sharpening with determination. “Let’s go get ourselves some answers.”
My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it might burst out of my chest. Adrenaline, guilt, and what felt like twenty-five other emotions swirled around in my stomach, making it hard to think straight.
What the hell am I doing?
Portaling into my boyfriend’s loft without him knowing, to search through his things? I was definitely crossing a boundary. Or twenty.
Sean was surprisingly calm through the whole ordeal. As if breaking and entering into a First Offensive’s loft was daily routine for the guy.
He was already busy searching, moving from piece to piece of furniture, methodically going through everything in sight.
I on the other hand, stood frozen in the middle of James’s living room.
With a casual flick of his wrist, Sean translated some sort of emerald searching haze, which drifted through the air and led him straight to James’s seemingly ordinary desk.
But after a thorough inspection, Sean frowned. “Nothin’ out of the ordinary,” he mumbled, undeniably disappointed. His gaze wandered, and then they landed on the glass pane hanging by the wall. He cocked his head, and a thoughtful look crossed his face.
“Ye know,” he began, almost as if talking to himself, “the first time I came here, I thought it was odd a guy like James had a looking glass hangin’ in his living room.”
I remained frozen, unable to shake this overwhelming sense of wrongfulness. What the hell was I even doing?
Sean got up from the desk and moved toward the reflective surface, inspecting it closely. Then, with a sly grin, he turned to me. “This mirror’s stuck to the wall tighter than anythin’. That’s a bit weird, don’t ye think?”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. “Uhm…yeah,” I managed to say, though I wasn’t sure what else to add. Every part of me screamed to get out, but I couldn’t back out now.
Sean mumbled something under his breath, translating a few things I couldn’t quite catch. Then, suddenly, he grinned. “Aha!” His hand reached through the glass like it wasn’t even there. “That little shit. He hid a red portal in here.”
I blinked. “He did?”
“Sure did. This is a standing portal. A small one, though. But I’d bet ye anythin’ it leads somewhere important.”
Without hesitation, Sean stuck his entire arm through the hidden gateway, fishing around for a moment. Then he pulled back, revealing a file clutched in his hand.
“There are more than only this one,” he said, flipping through the documents quickly. “But let’s start with this.”
