Then I flip to the picture of him with his mom and see true happiness. Then, once more to the picture with his father.
The paper is too grainy, so I pull out my phone and find the same article. I zoom in on the picture, and my breath hitches.
Something’s wrong.
Not just sad-wrong.
His pupils—they’re blown wide. I can barely see the green anymore. The whites of his eyes are pink, and they look dry. Very dry.
Something’s off.
Nothing about this looks like Felix.
Is he on meds?
I think back to the way he looked during the press conference. He twitched every so often, which I’ve never seen him do before. He tried to hide it, but Felix was definitely scratching all over his body. His hair and forehead looked soaking wet with sweat, and the flashing cameras looked like they caused physical pain. At one point, some rando shouted something, and Felix shook with fear, like a gunshot had gone off or something.
My fists grip the newspaper so hard they begin shaking, so I toss it to the ground.
No. Not this.
Something’s wrong with Felix, and I’m not letting it happen.
I pull my phone from my pocket as I stomp up the spiral stairs and dial the man who has all the information I need.
“Boss man!” Lars’s Swedish accent has a way of soothing my racing mind, but I’m all business right now.
“Lars, my man. I need information. Mayor Hargrove. I want a list of all his upcoming campaign events. Preferably ones with extra staff: think catering or media. Anything where you’d need permission to get in, but you’d be just another nameless face among many. Not close-knit soirees filled with familiars. I need to blend in.”
Lars started his career as an information broker for a German crime syndicate. Tobias met him at a sex club in Berlin and convinced him to be the digital bloodhound for the Hellcats.
“Ya, got it.” I can already hear his furious typing as wespeak. “I can have a list ready for you in two hours. Tobias didn’t tell me about this. Sticky fingers or just sleuthing?”
“Just sleuthing for now. And Lars, if there’s any way to find out if the Mayor’s son will be at the events, either as a speaker or just on a guest list, I want to know.”
“Ya, got it. Talk soon.”
“Thanks, Lars.” I hang up the phone and toss it on the bed. Once I’m in the bathroom, I take a look at my scraggly face in the mirror.
A shave is definitely in order. Might break a comb through this mop on my head, too.
I’ll need to look professional, yet surreptitious.
I know I’m being a hypocrite—I pushed him away. It was me who hurt him, but I can’t just stand by when he looks that broken.
And, if my suspicions are correct, someone might be giving him meds that are way too powerful for him.
Or they know they’re too powerful, and that’s the point.
I pushed Felix away to keep him safe, but his current situation might be far more dangerous than I could have ever guessed. Felix needs to be safe and happy. Period.
I know I can’t have him, but Iwillprotect him.
Felix
My body bolts upright in bed, my chest heaving from my gasping breaths. I instinctively reach for the water on my nightstand when I notice the song.
Say “nighty-night” and kiss me
