“Isn’t it? He was incredibly good at what he did, Niles. How do you know he didn’t have an entirely secret life under another name? Or several lives.”
“Can you prove this at all?”
The image of Cade in his demon form flooded my mind. It was hard to argue when faced with the reality of an afterlife, and then a demon was telling you your father was in Hell and why. I had drilled Cade with all these questions already, although sometimes he had to repeat some things over the days. I now knew as much about my father’s underground operation as Cade did, and he was absolutely certain of his identity because when he had asked him about me, Mitch Murphy… Garrett Porter… my dad had reacted to the mention of me.
“Not exactly,” I muttered, looking away as his face fell with sympathy. “But just take my word for it, okay? It’s been proven to me, but unfortunately, I can’t prove it to anyone else…” hittinghim with a hard stare before looking away again, I stared out the window, “… yet.”
But proving it to others wasn’t important because this went too deep. The complications had only increased when Emrick had taken over the business and assets but left my father alive. Then there was Rueben Cole, the man I suspected was the asshole who had threatened me and was responsible for the deaths of Torres and Kim as well as my father. He was cleaning house, tying up loose ends, but for what purpose? If there were two opposing crime syndicates, Emrick and Cole, both with their hands in the police force, how deep did this go? Were they in politics as well? Did they have the mayor under their thumbs? With cash to throw around, it wouldn’t surprise me.
So, proving my father’s identity wasn’t the issue, but I was still determined to find the man responsible for his death and bring him to justice. Despite what Cade may feel, I wanted to avenge his murder. He was a lot of things, but he was still my family.
However, I was going to take a few steps back because given the kind of man he was, Murphy didn’t deserve my full attention and time. He could have some of me but not all. I had a life to live, and I wanted to get back to work, be with Cade, reconnect with my friends, and start to feel human again.
“Can I ask you a question, off the record?” I asked. Niles watched me for a moment. I’m certain he knew where this was going, but he nodded. “Were you instructed not to look into my father’s death? And if so, do you know by who?”
Niles drummed his fingers on my bed, the soft padding sound on the sheets joining with the beeps of the machines around me while he considered his words. “The case was handled by detectives who had been in the force for many years. When they made their call, no one questioned it.” I nodded, and Niles added, “Whatever is going on, Nikki, I’m not a part of it.”
I eyed him. “Not directly, no, but the entire force is under the control of those who run the crime around here.”
He didn’t argue because he already knew.
“And Officers Kim and Torres?” I pushed. If they were killed because Cole wascleaning house, they may have been weak links, young and inexperienced, maybe newly inducted into the corrupt bullshit they’d been lured into. What’s the saying?Last hired, first fired.
“Same deal. The cases were closed. No one asked questions… no one ever does.” Niles almost smirked, his eyes sparkling. “Except you.”
“Yeah, and look where that got me.”
Closing my eyes, I was suddenly tired. This went too deep, and even if I were to find Cole and kill him, another one would simply pop up in his place. Cade had warned me to stay the fuck away from Emrick, and I’m certain there was something he wasn’t telling me. Was Emrick a demon as well? Wouldn’t that be fucking something? A fucking crime boss who wasn’t even human. We’d all be in serious trouble then.
So, if I couldn’t do anything to change the situation, what could I do?
I had no doubt I’d go back to being a cop. When the doctors were satisfied I was physically okay, and once I’d completed the mandatory leave for recovery to monitor my condition and make sure the memory lapses were getting better and not worse,andonce I completed my suspension, I would go back. I couldn’t solve all the problems, but there were still many good people in this city who needed help and protection. They needed people on the police force who were there forthem.
On the side, I’d track down this Cole guy and see what I could find out about him. Eventually, he’d answer for the death of my father.
Other injustices I saw, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep mymouth shut about. But it would be a balancing game because if I wanted to remain on the force to do what good work I could, I’d have to keep my head down. But now I had Cade on my side, we’d find a way to help those that needed it, even if it meant skirting the system somewhat. The lines of black and white had well and truly been blurred into worlds of gray, and now that my eyes were open to everything that was going on, I needed to work smart and not put so much blind faith in a system that was as corruptible as the people who worked for it.
Niles patted my hand, and I let him, opening one eye and watching as he stood. “You need to rest. I’ll come visit you again soon.”
Nodding, I allowed myself to fall back into the pillows and my thoughts, and eventually, my dreams were of a corrupt world and all the monsters that lived inside the people within the city.
And a demon, who saved me.
CADE
While Nikki was in therapy one day, I took the time to wander outside the hospital, taking a moment to lean my back against the warm bricks and close my eyes, absorbing the glow of the midday sun. I was happy to stay inside, but Nikki didn’t like witnesses to her rehabilitation. She hated the way her forehead sweat and her cheeks flushed when she did her exercises and how she’d slip midstep on occasion. There was no room for error in her mind, and while I offered to help, maybe lie back with my cock exposed to give her something to run toward, she laughed before turning serious and told me to go for a walk.
A nice relaxing walk,not exactly something demons were known for enjoying.
Rolling my eyes, I pushed myself from the wall and jammed my hands in my pockets before continuing around the perimeter of the building, not wanting to stray too far.
I hadn’t been back to work since Nikki’s accident andconsequently had no money, a result of which was being evicted from my apartment. I didn’t care much. I had little to nothing in there besides the ratty furniture the place came with. Since then, Nikki had given me keys to her place to take a shower, get some sleep outside of the hospital, and bring her food—she favored fresh avocados, fuck knows why—and it seemed to be an unspoken thing I’d be moving in with her when she was discharged. After asking if she wanted me to tidy up her place, she’d laughed, then I’d laughed, and we both realized it was never going to happen.
The skin on the back of my neck prickled a split second before a hand was slapped over my mouth, and I was dragged backward into a dark crevice that was a fire escape. While I could have stopped them from taking me, my lips curled into a smirk behind their hand, and I thought it would be more fun to allow myself to be taken, and then let out the part of my demon desperate for a fight at the last second.
The sting of the knife as it was pressed against the back of my throat told me this wasn’t the situation I thought it was.
Silver.
