Casey Graham lives in a town house well above his means. We know he’s clean since we did a thorough background check. He has a wealthy grandmother who dotes on him, and his loyalty can’t be bought like most in this city. He’s done more than a few courier jobs for us, and he’s always been efficient, on time, and communicative.
The radio silence means something’s happened to him. Perhaps he has a price, after all.
The ornate wooden and stained-glass front door is locked, and no one answers my knocks. Ensuring no one is around, I make short work of the lock and let myself inside. There’s a staleness to the air that speaks of a closed-up home. It’s been cold, so not opening windows isn’t unusual. The lack of airflow, from a heater or anything else,is.
The rooms are cluttered, lived in but clean. No signs of an interruption or a scuffle. If he was hurt, or taken, he may nothave been taken from here. Or he knew he was leaving and packed up.
There’s nothing to find. No evidence of what may have happened. His phone, keys, and wallet aren’t here. Suitcases tucked neatly in his closet. No gaps in his clothing drawers. Neatly made bed.
It’s not a waste of time since we have more information than we did before, but it’s frustrating nonetheless. The next step will be to speak to his grandmother and then employees at his part-time job at a local bakery. I have a feeling they’ll be dead ends.
He’s simply vanished.
Hunter
Idon’tslamthephone down hard enough to break the screen, but it’s a close call. No?No!?The “gift” was for me, not them. They have no right to shut me out of this. Are theytryingto piss me off, or is it just natural for them?
“Knock, knock.” Spencer stands at my door, eyebrows raised. “Should I come back?”
“No. Take a seat. How’s the new house going?” After the incident in their apartment, neither he nor Kendrick were willing to spend another night there, and they stayed with Moira, the lone woman who works for me and is worth ten men while they searched for a house. Moving in a week ago means they have privacy again. I hope they don’t think I haven’t noticed them slinking in late the last few days.
Spencer grins as he slides into a chair opposite me, spreading his legs and relaxing into it. “Too big for just the two of us. I’m trying to convince Ken we need more rabbits.”
I’m sure that’s going well for him. He could ask Ken for a hundred rabbits, and the man might protest, but in the end, he’ll always give Spencer what he wants.
“How can I help?” There are stacks of papers on my desk, waiting for my attention, and a number of phone calls I need to make, and I’m not interested in any of it. What I really want to do is chase Xavier and Hunter down and tell them to go fuck themselves with as colourful language as I can manage.
“Are you planning on putting us back to work at all or…?” Spencer trails off, giving me a look that says I’m being an overprotective father and need to stop.
He’s not wrong. “Are you ready to be back out in the field? Don’t lie to me.” They went through a traumatic experience, along with Greer, who’s still recovering from the damage to his face. I can’t have them on active duty until they’re absolutely sure they’re ready; if they aren’t, they’re a liability to not only themselves but each other.
“We’re fine. Areyouready to be back out in the field, or do you need to pack our lunches first?”
“Cute.” With a sigh, I rub my forehead. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I have a few things that have just crossed my desk. Once I’ve sifted through them and decided what we’ll keep and what they can shove up their asses, I’ll hand them over.”
“’Preciate it.” Spencer stands and then stops, narrowing his eyes at me. “You alright?”
“I will be.” No use lying, he’ll see right through it. “There are a lot of dead ends regarding the weird gift.” The only paths still open are being hoarded by Xavier and Miles, and I appreciate precisely none of it.
“You can’t have a normal admirer, can you?”
“Apparently not.” I’m not sure “admirer” is the right word, but I haven’t come up with a more suitable one yet. I need more information about who we’re dealing with and why theysent me a body part in the first place. It’s not that I don’t have enemies, despite what I told Xavier. It’s simply that I don’t know of any that wouldn’t come at me directly. This tactic is unusual, especially since it came without a warning.
“We’re going to fi—”
He’s interrupted by my phone ringing,unknown numberon the screen. With a frown, I answer with a curt, “Hello.” I never answer with my name, not even to numbers that I know. There’s no need to announce my identity.
No response. I can faintly hear breathing in the background. Perhaps traffic, though I can’t be sure. There wasn’t that beat of silence before a click, like telemarketers have.
“Hello?” I repeat irritably. Still no answer. For fuck’s sake. “Call this number again at your own peril,” I warn before hanging up.
Spencer raises a brow at me. “The fuck was that?”
“No idea. Someone was there, but they wouldn’t speak.”
Spencer worries his bottom lip and taps his hip absently. “Think it could have been your admirer?”
My heart rate slows as the implication sets in.Shit. It never even occurred to me. “It was an unknown number, but I’ll see if Six can pull anything else from it. Thank you.”
