… I thought they cared.
With a deep breath, I turn away from the note, shouldering my bag. As I reach for the door, I can’t help but look back one last time. This place, once my haven, now feels alien and cold. A lump forms in my throat as I realize this might be the last time I see it.
The last time I’ll see them.
How’s the weather inside you?
ONE
My eyes are burningfrom hours of sifting through data and camera feeds. Oliver sits beside me, his brow furrowed in concentration. We’ve been at this all morning, trying to identify the bastard who broke into Amelia’s apartment and stole her work. The tension in the room is palpable, and I can feel a headache coming on.
“Anything?” I ask, rubbing my tired eyes. I can feel the grit in them, knowing well that the few hours I got to sleep last night weren’t enough, not in the slightest.
Oliver shakes his head, his shoulders slumping. “Nothing concrete. The motion detection picked up his movements, but you saw yourself how he’s covered head to toe in black. Face mask, gloves… the works. It’s like we’re dealing with a ghost. And it’s not like we know what we’re doing.”
I lean back in my chair, frustration bubbling up inside me like a volcano ready to erupt. “How the hell did he even get inside?” I mutter, more to myself than to Oliver.
Elysium has some of the highest security standards for their apartments, everything is set up with personal smart watches and codes, and yet someone had waltzed right through it. Thereis nothing in the log that tells us her door was even opened after Amelia locked it when Oliver took her out for their date.
Before Oliver can respond, Grey strolls in, a hint of a smirk on his face. His casual demeanor makes my hackles rise instantly. “Where’s Amelia?” he asks, his eyes scanning the room.
Oliver and I exchange glances before I say bitterly, “We thought she was still with you. Like all day and night yesterday.”
Grey’s smirk widens, and I can already tell he’s about to say something infuriating. “I thought you said there’d be no jealousy between us if we wanted to share.”
Oliver huffs a sarcastic laugh. “Yeah, when we actually get her to agree to it. Before then, I can be as jealous as I want.”
“I’m sure she’ll agree,” Grey says, his tone annoyingly smug, and I resist the urge to throw something at him.
“How do you know?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. I feel a twinge of jealousy myself, wondering what they did that gave him that smugness.
Grey’s eyes glint mischievously, like a cat that’s caught a particularly juicy mouse. “I have my ways of persuading her.”
He so fucked her.
Bastard.
“What did you do?” Oliver asks, looking confused, his brow furrowed.
Oh, sweet summer child.
“I’ll explain later,” Grey says, taking pity on Oliver. “First, I want to make breakfast for Amelia. Any idea where she could be?”
“Maybe she went home to grab some stuff?” I suggest, though even as I say it, I know it doesn’t sound right.
Grey frowns, his playful demeanor vanishing in an instant. “No, she said she was afraid to be alone in her apartment right now.”
A knot forms in my stomach. Our apartment has been silent all morning.
“Ollie, check the feed anyway,” I say, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.
Oliver changes the view from the replay of her place on the night someone broke in, to the live feed. The room is empty, and there are still a few thingsthat are not as tidy as they used to be, but what catches my eye is a piece of paper on the dining table. There’s a note clearly visible to the cameras in Amelia’s handwriting.
Have fun watching the fish.
My blood runs cold, and it’s like I’ve been doused in ice water. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Grey asks, leaning in to look at the screen, the heat of his body next to mine doing nothing to warm the chill that’s settled over me.
