“Try again,” Sylvan says, and his tone has shifted. Pleasantly deceptive. He’s like my brother in some ways, fitting in like a chameleon, but one who slithers. He’s a serpent, isn’t he?
“Is she a suspect?” Faust is my dragon. Direct. Dangerous.
“No,” Detective Lincoln admits. “But her brother might be.”
FIFTY-TWO
NEVE
“Wanna have a sleepover at Castle Darling?” Despite the circumstances, I’m kind of giddy asking the question. Experiencing the vampire-esque building myself was staggering; showing Cyn, who loves Midnight Blackwell’s and everything we did at Darkmouth, will be like sharing a treat.
“Uh, yes. I do. Can Tye come too?”
“Come where?”I hear his voice in the background but Cynthia doesn’t answer him which causes a grin to stretch across my face.
I don’t ask the boys because if they want me there, they’ll have to take Cynthia and Tylone, too. Besides, right now, I think moving in larger numbers is ideal.
“Yep.” I glance out the tinted window as my chest tightens, and it has nothing to do with Cyn and Tye and everything to do with Detective Lincoln’s words to me about Nolan being a suspect.
Faust is standing right by Sylvan’s blacked-out G-wagon, his back to my door, his arms crossed. We’re parked at thepolice station, surrounded by unoccupied cop cars, and Sylvan is behind the wheel, his gaze on me, his hand on the shifter.
Cynthia says, “I’m down for a sleepover, but…” She sighs, loudly. “I know he’s your brother, Neve, but he’s makingyouuncomfortable, and that’s pissing me off. That boy needs to get the hell out of Darkmouth or I’m gonna make him.”
I swallow hard but force myself to smile so when I speak, it doesn’t betray how worried I am. “I’ve got it handled. He’ll be gone by the weekend.” In my head, Lincoln leads him away in cuffs.
“Youusuallyhave it handled, but if you need me to deal with him, I will.” There’s sincerity in her words.
I close my eyes tight, knowing Detective Lincoln is waiting. He offered to “give me a ride” in his car, but there was no way I was leaving with him. I sat in the passenger seat with Faust in the back, his fingers massaging my shoulders the entire time.
“I know, I know. Listen, I’ve gotta go but come over at seven?” I figure that gives me enough time to deal with allthis,and see what happens next.
“I would ask for the address but…” She trails off and I laugh. It’s tight and unnatural to my own ears.
“But you already know it.”
I glance at Sylvan and see he’s raised a brow, staring me down. If I’m not mistaken, I’d say there’s jealousy in his gaze over the fact he probably overheard Cynthia knowing how to get to Castle Darling. I have no idea where Sylvan lives, but on the other hand, I didn’t know about Faust, either.
“I can’t believe this. I hope it’s not haunted,” Cynthia adds, like an after thought.
“What thehellare you talking about?” Tye in the background.
I roll my shoulders back and take another breath in. “I gotta go,” I say. “See you tonight.”
“Listen, Tasia doesn’t have an invite there, right? She nearly dropped my vase I made in pottery. Would have if the professor hadn’t caught it. If I see that bitch outside of class?—”
“I’llfucking deck her,” I say, and I mean it. “But no.” I lock eyes with Sylvan. “Tasia willnotfucking be there.”
Cynthia laughs and it feels good to hear it. “Good. See you at the nightmare house!”
“The mansion, you mean. It’s a bit bigger than ahouse.”
Sylvan scoffs in the passenger seat, but says nothing, and I stick my tongue out at him.
Cynthia squeals through the phone again, then we hang up, but not before I say, “Be safe. Bye, Cyn.”
“Good to see you again,”Detective Lincoln says, but there’s no lightness in his words.
I stare right back at him, seated across from his desk, one leg crossed over the other, and say, “I wish I could say the same.”
