“I imagine so.”
WasIimagining the hint of regret in his voice?
He clapped his hands and turned his laptop screen towards me, serious face back on. “So, we’ve established that you didn’t know or interact with victims three and four.”
I huffed. “Unless I did and conveniently forgot about it.”
Max shot me a sharp glare. “For now, we’re going to assume you never met them. There’s no way we can prove otherwise, so for now we’ll accept that your memory of that time is intact.”
“Okay.” I pulled my desk chair out and wheeled it round to Max’s desk. “So we’re looking for some other connection?”
“If your theory is right, yes. But the other four cases could be coincidence.” He sounded about as convinced of that as I was. At least he wasn’t hauling me off to a paranormal jail cell.
“So we need to delve into them a little deeper.”
Max flexed his fingers. “Fortunately for us, that shouldn’t be too hard.”
* * *
Two hourslater I sat staring at our photoboard, wondering what the fuck was happening. I might not have ever met victims three or four, but I knew some of their relatives. More specifically, I’d hunted them as part of Tombs’ Silver Arrows.
Victim three’s cousin, and victim four’s uncle.
Both dead.
“I have connections to all six victims,” I said quietly. Maybe if I whispered, it wouldn’t be true. “And I’m part-fae,” I added, in case Max had somehow forgotten that fact. “My mum lives in the Fae Realm, with access to everything.”
The implications of that last statement hung heavy in the air between us.
Neither of us spoke. Then Max shot out of his chair, snatched the latest editions off the board, and shoved them through the shredder.
I gaped at him.
“It’s all too neat,” he hissed. “You know as well as I do that someone’s setting you up.”
I’d figured as much. “I realise that, but destroying the evidence won’t change anything.”
“No one has to know we’ve made the connections to the other two victims.” He gripped the edge of the desk so hard I feared for the wood. “Not yet, anyway.”
Not yet.
Which implied if we didn’t work out who was behind this, then we’d have to tell our boss at some point.
Fuck.
I tried to remain calm, tried to keep my stupid pulse from racing, but for the first time in years, I was truly scared.Terrified.
My phone buzzed, and I didn’t have to look at the screen to know it was Rys. There was no way he hadn’t felt some of that.
Rys: Everything ok? Where are you? x
Gabriel: Still at the office with Max. I’m fine. Honest. x
I was not fine, and lying to Rys made guilt burn deep inside, but I refused to let it take hold. I couldn’t tell him any of this over the phone, and I didn’t have time to go see him in person. It felt like the walls were closing in, and who knew when all this would come crashing down on me.
Rys: Let me know if you need me x
I needed him now. Needed to feel his strong arms around me and hear him say that all this was going to be okay. But I wouldn’t draw him into this until we at least had a plan. Rys had a pack who relied on him. I couldn’t involve him in something that might jeopardise that.
