“Absolutely not. I wasn’t really comfortable with another team taking over in the first place, and the fact that it’s here where we just so happen to be, I think, is a sign that we’re supposed to see this case through to the end and stop the sales once and for all,” I explain, my eyebrows furrowing slightly. I hadn’t realized quite how strongly I felt about this and how much it was bothering me that we weren’t going to be the ones who were sorting it out. “Plus, Pete is obviously giving Kar the run around at the moment, and who knows how long it’s going to take Kar to find him.”
Reed nods, a smile playing around the edge of his lips, “We thought that you would feel that way.”
“We already let Ty know that we would be taking the lead after all. He agrees that it’s a pretty big coincidence and that we were most likely supposed to be the ones who take on this case. This is the best lead that they have gotten for a long time, and we’re only going to have one shot at being successful. We’re going to call him back in a bit with a plan,” Raiden explains. “Rana refers to the person in charge as The Owner, with a capital.”
I nod.
“Let’s hope that we can finally close this case,” Griff adds, a dark look crossing his expression.
“It’s settled then,” Van says firmly.
“I don’t suppose Rana’s information had the date that the sales are going to show up here?” I joke, finishing the last of my food.
Van’s eyebrow raises, “Actually, it did.”
“What? How can she know that?” I ask. “Surely if it were that predictable, then SID would have been able to catch them years ago. They would have just needed to follow the pattern.”
“That’s true. According to Rana, though, there is a pattern, but it’s extremely complicated and changes regularly. The Owner rotates through a set of several different patterns depending on the time of year, the placement of the stars in the sky, and even the temperature, as well as several other things that she said would take her a bit longer to write down and explain because it was so complicated. She said she would get it all written down for us, but that it wasn’t really relevant and wouldn’t affect us finding him. It would just help to explain how he’s evaded capture and prosecution for all these years,” River explains.
“The placement of the stars?” Doc asks, his eyebrows high on his forehead.
Coen nods, “Yep. It’s fucking crazy.”
“So, when is it?” I ask.
“Tomorrow,” Reed replies, simply.
“Holy shit, seriously?” I exclaim, not nearly as calm as they all seem to be about the news.
Chapter Nine
Neith
River nods, “Yes. It seems like everything is working in our favor. At least it is this far.”
Doc frowns. “Rana knows how to decipher this pattern?”
Raiden nods, “Yes, and it’s incredibly complex. She didn’t even tell us all of the steps, and it still blew my mind at how intricate and complicated the system was.”
I freeze, as a thought occurs to me, “It is extremely complicated, it would take years for someone to decipher and learn how the pattern works, which means that Rana was incredibly close to The Owner at some point. Most likely for the majority of the time that she was there. We already know that she had been there for years and years because she had managed to convince everyone that she couldn’t shift.”
Griff nods grimly, “Yes, it does. It makes you wonder why he let her go? Why was he willing to sell her to Derek?”
“Especially since she clearly knew things that would suggest that he had no plans of ever letting her out of his sight,” Raiden adds.
“Do you think that Murray could have something to do with it?” Coen asks.
“I think that it’s a really strong possibility. We know that he was working with her before Rana came onto the compound because Merrikh had been in the basement for years,” Doc replies. His expression darkens, and he looks at Van, “I think it might be a good idea to call Callia and Eamon and give them a heads up. If we’re right and Rana was taken from The Owner by magical means and not because he willingly gave her up, then there is a chance that Derek’s death broke whatever magic was making him be fine with the fact that she’s gone.”
Van’s eyes widen, “Which means that there is a good chance that she could be in danger. He’s going to want her back, most likely to ensure that she didn’t say anything to anyone, and then . . .”
I finish his sentence for him when he trails off, “He will kill her to make sure that she can’t tell anyone what she knows.”
“Exactly,” Doc agrees grimly.
Van already has his phone to his ear, and I pull mine out to call Rana. There is absolutely no way that I’m not going to warn her that she may be in potential danger. It might panic her after everything that she’s been through, but something tells me that she would never forgive me if I were to keep it from her and not warn her. I know that if it were the other way around, I would feel the same way.
“Hey, I didn’t expect to hear from you. Is everything okay?” Rana asks as soon as she answers the phone.
