Seri took a calming breath and said, “Do it… It’s all we wanted and more. Have Tory put in the offer, with the requirement that a full inspection be completed before it’s a done deal. But emphasize that no matter what they discover we won’t be paying over market value for the house. I don’t care how perfect it is. Because amongst all that perfect, comes all the issues of owning a house that old.”
Severo pumped his fist. “YES, let’s do this!” He quickly typed out a message and hit sent! “DONE!”
“YAY!” Bellamy cheered.
“AYYY,” Skya mimicked.
“Awwww, she finally copied me!” the Nymph cried. “I have ascended to another level of being now! Bow before my awesomeness.”
Seri giggled. “Nonsense.”
“It’s him!”she cried.
“ENOUGH!” he roared. “I’m tired of hearing about this. How many times have I told you that whatever you saw wasn’t real?! You should have listened to me and stopped sneaking out to watch TV at the library. But, did you? NO!! So now you’re even more delusional than before. Well, listen here, you braindead woman, whoever that was, it was NOT our child. Our child is dead! Accept it, or become more of a fool than you already are!”
He thought he had shut this down, these thoughts of hers, but apparently, she had just hidden them.
“Never,” she hissed. “I will NEVER accept it. Do you hear me?! And you won’t stop me from finding out the truth! I’m going!”
His back stiffened at her words. An old fear tried to rush to the surface, but he tamped it down and tried to remain calm. “You are going nowhere. Because if you leave here, you will be forbidden to come back.”
His wife tossed her head back and laughed. “My only mistake was not leaving years ago!” She turned and stormed away.
Anger flaring, he clenched his hands into fist, glaring at her back. But then the panic came… She couldn’t leave! Never… He’d never let her leave…
Technically, while the CEB Headquarters were closed on the weekends, Killian wouldn’t say he never worked on them… He maybe…had done so…too many fucking times to count.
There was just no other way with how the agents traveled constantly. They needed consistent updates, no matter what day or time it was. He pulled plenty of all-nighters, every day of the week. As did those who worked under him, but usually they worked outside the office. Killian didn’t like to bring work home though…
Which was why he was there now, hungry as hell, staring at his screen, debating the morality of what he was about to do. His stomach growled. Ugh, Cyrus needed to hurry back with their food.
He sighed and stared at the sealed record some more. Killian had almost figured out where Seri had been taken from. He’d narrowed it down to three possible Nymph Settlements. Three babies, from three different locations, had gone missing around the same time. Two boys and one girl. Which was why he was currently illegally diving into sealed records.
When Nymphs declared their gender at the age of eighteen, it was up to them if they wanted to seal what had been listed at birth. Seri had done that, so if he wanted to narrow it down, he’d need to know…
Ugh, it just felt so violating…he really didn’t want to do it. Maybe…he’d just ask the man? He liked Seri, he really did…and he didn’t want to hurt him. But fuck did he want to figure this shit out.
Killian would have just checked the files of the other Water Nymphs who’d gone missing near the same time, except he didn’t know who, or where they were, or what happened to them. Because they weren’t part of the pattern of abandoned children he’d found. He honestly hoped that they had somehow ended up being dropped off in an orphanage as well, because alternatives were all horrifying.
Taking a deep breath, Killian began to type, and within a few seconds, he was in. He stared…eyes focused on the sex listed—Female.Holy shit, he had found him! He knew where Seri’s family was… Well, maybe. He wasn’t sure if they were still there, but he knew where he had been taken from at least.
He jumped when the office phone began to ring. Being the only one there, Cyrus’ department calls came to him. Cyrus, the asshole, had set it up, saying he might as well answer since they were there. He snorted and snagged the ridiculously bulky old thing off the cradle on his desk. Would it kill them to update the phones? He wasn’t even sure how these things still worked.
He accepted the call and used his customer service voice as he answered. “Hello, you’ve reached the Crime Unit of the Cryptid Enforcement Bureau at the North America Headquarters in Rain Burrow, Kansas. Please understand that with it being the weekend, and outside our normal working hours, we are in limited capacity. That being said, how can I help you?”
He didn’t bother mentioning his department. No one but agents called them, and if they were calling, they usually called their agent in Tech directly, not the office phone.
At first there was just breathing, but then a hesitant voice came over the line. “H-hello, m-my name is Avery Lowen.” The woman paused, before continuing a bit less hesitantly. “I’m looking for an agent named Severo Ambrose.”
Avery Lowen…why did that name sound familiar? “I’m afraid that we are not permitted to give out personal information about our agents, but you may leave a message.”
There was more hesitating…but what the woman said next almost made him drop the phone. He spun in his chair at the sound of footsteps, and on spotting Cyrus, he said, “Ma’am, let me put you on hold for just a moment.”
He pressed the button for hold, and dropped the phone away from his ear. Cyrus entered his office carrying a tub of chicken and a few bags of sides. The man eyed him as he entered. “Someone call?”
“There is a woman on the line asking for Severo, claiming to be Seri’s mother.”
Cyrus’brow rose. Well, that hadn’t been what he thought Killian was about to say at all. Usually, the calls during the weekend were pranks—dumb kids…
