“Imagine if we all fucked off for days on end.” I gesture to the members in front of me, and Sabastian averts his gaze. His frown speaks volumes. “Are you good, or do I need to find your replacement right now?” Discussing his position in front of strangers will probably only add fuel to the fire, considering the implications, but I need Sabastian to get his shit together.
“I’m good. Sorry I let you down,” the wolf answers with a tight voice. I don’t do or say anything to alleviate his guilt.
“Deekhil, did you draft that announcement I asked for?”
The djinn materializes from the corner of the room. He’s hard to spot if you don’t know right where to look, but I’ve been around him long enough to know his haunts. “Yes, Lorelei. It’s been forwarded to all the other presidents and posted in your territory.”
“Good. When I get done with Rolk, you and I need to have a private conversation.” I direct the last part to the wolf.
“As soon as you’re ready,” Sabastian confirms.
Rolk meets me at the office door when I rise. The goblin is several heads shorter than me and knows to keep his distance, so it takes him a few seconds to enter the room after me.
“Mistress.” He lowers his head.
“Lore is fine,” I correct. “Have a seat.”
The goblin hobbles over to the chair in front of the desk. I’ve been avoiding the furniture since I realized there was something wrong, but I can’t ignore it forever. When I sit in Harlow’s chair, a sense of familiarity washes over me. I feel like he’s going to come stalking into the room any second, pretending to be mad I’m in his spot.
No one says anything as I run my hand over the dark wood desk, feeling the smooth surface under my palm. I clear my throat before I speak again. “Reaper told me he spoke to you and asked if there was anything out of the norm.”
“He did, and there wasn’t.” Rolk folds his gnarled hands together over his lap. “I would be happy to walk you through the vaults or show you the books.”
“Is there anything that didn’t make it to the books I should know about?”
“I don’t know what the boss did with his personal finances. That was never part of my purview,” Rolk answers.
That’s not surprising. I just keep looking for someone to have some insight into what was going on with Harlow in his last few days.
“You’ve been made aware of the status changes for Thana and the others, correct? I don’t want them receiving stipends. They’ll have access to communal amenities as prospects.”
“Her accounts, along with the others, have been closed. I can do some digging and find any axillary accounts. I’m sure Thana was shrewd enough to diversify, but I’m not certain about the others,” Rolk states. It’s the only time I’ve ever noticed a gleam in his eye. He’s excited about the prospect of searching for her money and possibly seizing it.
“Don’t ignore anything else that might need your attention, but by all means, I would love to know what she’s been up to.”
“I’ll get started right away. If there isn’t anything else?” Rolk places his hands on the arms of the chair, preparing to rise.
I wave my hand, dismissing him. Egan beats the much slower goblin to the door and opens it for him to exit. Luckily for the appointed road captain, he’s already waiting near the door, so all I have to do is wave him in.
Egan doesn’t step back as Sabastian approaches. Both men are large in stature, but Egan still has a few inches on the shifter. Their similarities aren’t lost on me. Both have long, dark hair and look as if they spend their days tossing trolls around for fun, but their differences are remarkable too. Where my fallen’s eyes are black as pitch, Sabastian’s are almost forest green. He’s been known to turn several heads in a single night and been the cause of numerous fights for his attention, but he still doesn’t hold a candle to Egan.
“Are you going to let me in?” Sabastian does a good job of meeting Egan’s stare.
“It’s okay, Egan. He knows I’m pissed.” The fallen steps to the side, finally allowing Sabastian to enter the office.
I would much rather stand to meet him, but I embrace how uncomfortable I am behind the massive desk and peer down my nose at the shifter, even though he’s currently towering over me. He drops his heavy ass into the chair, averting his eyes from me in the process.
It’s understandable that he would take Harlow’s death hard, since they were close, but I need to know if his response is rooted in grief or guilt. “When was the last time you saw Harlow?” I fire off the question quickly.
“It’ll be two weeks this Monday,” Sabastian answers just as quickly. It makes me feel like he was ready for this question, that he prepared for it.
“Did you speak to him then? What did you talk about?”
The wolf shifter lifts one heavy shoulder. “Nothing really, shot the shit.”
“Did you know he was planning on leaving for a few days?”
“No, he didn’t say shit about it to me.” Sabastian brushes his knuckles along his scruffy jaw. “I was in and out of the clubhouse a few times that week too, and I didn’t once question where he was.” His eyes are red-rimmed, making the green more vibrant when he finally settles his gaze on mine. “I didn’t ask about him.”
