Max sighed. “It’s what we’re thinking.”
“Fuck.” I swallowed down the dawning horror at what that implied. “So you’re saying Yates lied to the police about killing them and then, what, joined them in smuggling Blue Alhuirn?”
Mase shrugged. “It’s speculation at this point, but we presume the witches met Melhak in prison. They must have come up with the idea between them, and when they were released, they put it into motion. We don’t know what led Yates and presumably the rest of his hunter group to join them or what their role in all this is. But the fact remains that Yates lied about killing them and his compound is big enough to house somewhere to refine the Blue Alhuirn they smuggled from the Fae Realm.”
An aerial photo had been tacked on next to the headshots of the witches. “Is that the compound?”
Max nodded. “We have no way of knowing how accurate it is, because if they have witches working with them…” He held out his hands and I nodded.
“They’re more than likely shielding it with magic.”
“Exactly.”
As fascinating as this all was, it still didn’t explain what I was doing here. “Axel said you wanted to talk to Zane and his coven. Why? And why am I here?”
“Because of this.” Max walked over to the table, picked up a tablet, and handed it to me.
I scrolled through photo after photo. “What exactly am I looking at here?” I didn’t recognise the area or any of the people in them.
“We’ve been monitoring Yates and his group whenever they leave the compound,” Max said. “Between Saturday morning and now, they’ve only left to get food or fuel or go there.” He leant over me and tapped the screen, bringing up a map. The name of the village he pointed at sounded vaguely familiar.
“What’s so special aboutGrantham?”
Max looked up, gaze meeting mine. “It’s where Zane’s half-sister lives.”
* * *
“So,”Max said as he turned the engine off. “I’ve brought you with me because you and Zane were close.” He shot me a soft look. “I know deep down you believe that he’s not told us the whole truth about what happened with Tombs.”
I glanced out the window. “It just seemed so out of character.” It was why I’d been so fucking shocked and betrayed by it all. Turning to him, I looked him in the eye. “You’ve known him as long as me, Max, maybe not as well, but don’t you think it all feelswrong? I know Tombs threatened his family and I get why he helped him initially, but Tombs is dead now, and yet Istillfeel like he’s not telling us the whole story.”
“I agree.”
That surprised me. “You do?”
“Yep. And I think his coven do too. That’s why they’ve been refusing to talk to us. So that’s why I’m taking you with me this time. I’m hoping it might persuade them that we all want the same thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“The truth.”
* * *
We knockedon the front door of Zane’s coven leader, Ella Roach, and waited. I’d never met her before, but from what Zane had said about her over the years, I’d got the impression she was a lot like David in the way she handled her coven.
But she was also on the council.
The council that had seen fit to hand me the nine-year sentence that stripped me of my magic. I wondered which way she’d voted.
The door swung open, revealing a woman who looked to be somewhere in her forties. She was about a couple of inches shorter than me, with long red hair that looked like flames licking over her shoulders.
She also looked extremely pissed off and not at all happy to see us.
Crossing her arms, she looked from Max to me, then back to Max. “I already told you we have nothing else to say to you regarding Zane. Bringing Nick Parker here won’t change that.”
I startled, surprised she knew who I was.
Her gaze softened as she looked at me. “Zane spoke about you often. It was no surprise that he left you in charge of his club.”
