I sat beside Oakley, staring across the table at my best friend, already getting angry at him on my and Oak’s behalf.
Garrick sighed, long and drawn out, then simply said, “We are. I sent scouts ahead, and the info we’re getting… well, it’s going to take a lot more than just the two of you. You two have done a great job, but you need a break. You’re both grounded for thenext four weeks. Kharis Phiwenys’s team is going to take over for now.”
Oakley shot to their feet. “What? No! This is our case.” They waved between the two of us. “We need to see this through. We need to follow up on our lead and get back out there. We can leave tomorrow. Hell, we can leave today, right after this meeting. We’re ready.” I hadn’t heard them this angry since the very first day they’d come back to us a couple of years ago.
Garrick shook his head. “No. You need to rest.”
“What the hell, Dad? This is what we do. This is our job. This is—”
“Oakley, I said no.”
The two stared at each other for a long moment before Oakley turned on their heel in a huff and marched out of the room.
Standing, I glared at Garrick. “They aren’t wrong, Garrick. This is our case. You shouldn’t be doing this to either of us.” In a spout of anger, I shoved my chair in, making a loud clatter, then I followed Oak out the door.
I found them outside of the offices, pacing the length of the hallway in front of the elevators. As soon as they saw me, they rounded on me, so pissed-off they had smoke coming out of their nostrils.
“How can he do this to us?” they hissed. “This isourcase. This. Is. Ours.”
“I know.” I stepped into their path, blocking them from pacing, and grabbed their upper arms. “Take a breath for me, babe. You have smoke coming out of your nose and mouth.”
They blinked at me, then glanced down as if to look for the smoke. It was billowing out around them, so I wasn’t sure how they hadn’t noticed, but I supposed they were too focused on their anger.
They took a deep breath, closed their eyes, and after a few seconds, the smoke stopped coming out.
“Listen,” I said quietly. “I’m pissed too, and I told Garrick I was. I don’t think he’s thinking straight where you’re involved. I think he’s worried about losing you again. He didn’t handle it well when we were gone for so long. He missed you, and after what happened when you were a baby, I think he’s just being overprotective.”
“So you think it’s okay that he’s taken our case, our mission, away from us?”
“No. Absolutely not. I’m not saying what he’s doing is right. I’m simply trying to get you to understand why he’s doing it.”
They blew out a long breath. “Fine. But I reserve the right to be pissed off until he lets us back on the case.”
I grinned. “I’m right there with you.”
They nodded. “Alright. Let’s go talk to Lilura Periculum. Maybe we can’t go right now, but we can still stay up to date with everything and make sure we don’t lose the lead we have.”
“Agreed. Let’s go.”
I easily followed Oakley into the elevator and to the floor that many of the auction victims were given. It used to be a floor filled with den members, but they’d been killed years ago by the same cult that’d kept Oakley hostage for twenty-five years.
Some of the people we’d rescued decided to go back to their homes, but others were too scared of being taken again, especially since a few had been sold to the traffickers for money and who knew what. So Garrick had offered them a place at the tower.
It made sense. We had plenty of empty condos here, and the tower was one of the most well-protected places in this world. They would be safe here.
Oakley found the correct door and knocked.
The young woman—the teenager—from the other night answered, and I couldn’t believe how much she’d improved. Her dark circles were already looking better after only two nights ofpeaceful, safe sleep. She was clean, and her skin had a healthy pallor now that she’d been eating full meals for a few days.
All in all, she was looking about ten thousand percent better than before. It was quite the transformation.
When she saw Oakley, she smiled widely, and in that moment, I could truly see how young she was. She was still a kid. A teenager, no older than sixteen at most.
“Hey, Lilura. Can we come in?” Oakley asked, softening their voice.
“Of course, Oakley.” She smiled at them, then looked over at me, seeming a little confused.
“I’m Roman. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, but I was there with Oakley that night.”
