“Who?”
“I’m not able to share that information just yet,” Atlas replied, tone full of his official Archon bravado. It was something I used to find sexy—commanding, even. I still kind of did, but right now it more frustrated me than anything.
“How is that possible?” My hands quivered, so I dropped the phone back onto the counter. “Didn’t the Wellses confess?”
“They confessed to Acacia’s murder. SNO-OPS is not sure how they are tied to the other disappearances, but they still believe they are.”
Hazel’s gaze narrowed on Atlas, still not wanting to believe it herself, though she remained silent.
“How do you know all this?” I asked, bringing my attention back to Atlas. I knew he had people looking into Hazel’s kidnapping, but he’d never said anything more than that. “Some contact you have at SNO-OPS?”
“Kind of.” He pressed a kiss to Aspen’s head. “The project was recently passed to me.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, pulse racing. “I thought Lynx and Saros were working this case with their boss.”
“Theyare, and I see they told you more than they should have.” He bristled, looking unimpressed. “Who do you think they all report to?”
Shit. Did I just get them in trouble?
“I don’t understand,” I stammered over my words, chest and neck heating.
Hazel stepped between us, putting her hands out for Aspen. “Why don’t I take him outside to brew some bubbles while you two talk?”
Just as I went to stop her from going, Atlas nodded, making me concede. It was probably better.
As soon as she’d taken Aspen out into the garage, Atlas stood up, striding a few steps toward me.
“What the hell is going on?” My body heated—from his nearness or frustration, I wasn’t sure. When the fan kicked on automatically, a special feature of our home system now that it wasn’t in manual mode with no magic to draw from, it somehow flared with even more heat.
Atlas’s gaze lifting before he arched a brow at me. “I wasn’t originally handling the project, but when I saw the position was opening here—closer to you and Aspen—I put in for a transfer. I’m the new Archon for our Washington division.” His aqua irises met mine, pooling with a question in their depths that he knew better than to ask aloud.
Poof!All the breath vanished from my lungs.
“What happened to Archon Lukas?” I managed to croak out.
“I wanted a change of scenery,” he replied with a shrug. “He’s heading up the Vermont branch. Anyway, I figured I’d stop by to tell you that while the Wellses are going to prison for a long time, whoever nabbed the others on this street is still out there.”
“Are we in danger?”
“Of course not. Lynx and Saros are still going to be here working the case. Still undercover, so you and Hazel will not be able to tell anyone what you know.”
They would be here longer. We’d just have to keep things a secret. We’d had to do that this whole time anyway with them beingmarried.
“So you’re leaving Salem?”
“Yes.”
“How soon?” I was completely baffled. He had grown up in the capital, been raised within the political arena. I’d seen how much that meant to him—his family’s legacy. He thrived on city life and the attention and power that came with it.
“I’ll have to go back and forth for a transitional period, but then my posting will be three years, longer if I ask to extend.”
“I don’t understand. You have goals to become the High Archon, like your father. Like your grandfather.” My heart and mind raced, trying to make this make sense. “Has that changed?”
“No. It hasn’t.”
“Then what are you doing movinghere?” I had left Salem,him,to keep him safe. To build a life for Aspen and I the best way I could. “What does this even mean?”
“Mean for what?”
