“Because my boiler is dead as a doornail, the gas engineer isn’t coming until Tuesday, and it’s freezing in here.” I cinch my favourite blanket as well as the velvet throw tighter around me. I hate the cold, especially after three days of icy showers, and I’m layered in enough jumpers that I’m just about surviving.
“Don’t you get heat from the surrounding flats? I barely have my heating switched on, and that’s only for Ayo.”
“Yeah, well, not here. The flat below me is unoccupied, and can’t fire dragons self-regulate their temperature? So my neighbours probably don’t have their central heating on. The humanson the other side of me might, but not enough to keep this place at a reasonable temperature.”
“You haven’t asked Bryn to come and warm you up yet?” The twinkle in Ethan’s eye is not funny.
“Ha ha.”
“I’m actually not kidding. He could probably warm the entire flat for you.”
My tiger perks up at the idea, but I give Ethan a dry look. “So if the guy you had a crush on messaged you, asking you to come over and warm him up, you’d assume he meant for you to be his personal radiator?”
He smirks. “Fair point. Is he still flirting like crazy?”
“Every chance he gets.” I don’t hate it. I’m not sure anyone’s ever pursued me this persistently.
“And you’re still not tempted?”
“To break every single rule for a man who’d be out the door before the cum was even dry? Funnily enough, no.”
Ethan leans closer to the screen. “He’s asked you on a date though, hasn’t he? That doesn’t scream one and done to me.”
“Uh-huh, and I’m really going to risk the reputation of Soldati Security by dating someone with a criminal record.”
I don’t hold Bryn’s past actions against him—everyone deserves to be judged on who they are now, not previous mistakes they’ve already paid for—but at the same time, I’m a task force officer. I have to consider the potential impact on Ethan’s company.
A large proportion of Bryn’s record was sealed when I looked it up on the system. The parts I could read confirmed what he already told me, but said nothing about why he did it. I can’t take the risk. Besides, now’s not the right time to be dating anyone.
“Come on Raj, you know me. When have I ever given a shit about reputation?”
“Since you started a business in a city with extreme prejudices amongst the supe population.”
He scowls. “Maybe, but don’t let that dictate who you date. There are ways to put a positive spin on it if necessary.”
As much as I appreciate that… “I’m not going to date him.”
Ethan’s lips quirk into a slight smile. “Fine, I’ll drop it. So what was this new information you wanted to tell me?”
I pick up my full mug and cradle it with both hands, attempting to warm them, although unfortunately it’s quickly losing its heat. “As far as I can tell this isn’t commonly known, but a few days ago Bryn told me that he can see magic.”
Ethan’s brow furrows. “See? As in, visually?”
I nod and sip my coffee. “Yes, he can see the ward on my flat. I asked if it was a dragon thing, but he confirmed it’s just him.”
“Huh.” Ethan rubs his beard. “That could be incredibly useful. He could probably tell you all sorts of things about that warehouse that we’re unaware of.”
“Believe me, I’ve had the same thought. I’ve spent the last few days trying to decide whether to propose that we bring him in on the investigation. I honestly believe he’d have no problem working against whoever is behind these disappearances, but it’s still a risk given how little we know about him.”
I’ve been conducting background checks on everyone working at Far Out Freight, and although nothing has come up so far that’s helped confirm whether any of the four shifters are definitely missing, or what freight is being shipped, it’s provided a lot of interesting information.
For example, Bryn was an architect before his arrest. He worked for the same firm Ayo was initially using—Ayo’s former architect is actually Bryn’s aunt—and had no prior arrests or even a hint of trouble. Several of the people on the mandatory work programme have similar backgrounds; respectable jobs, then one incident that landed them a several-year sentence.
I’m planning to talk to my friend Wren, who works for the mayor’s team, about putting together a proposal to review the justice system. The previous task force had a strong anti-shifterbias, but the fact that so many seemingly law-abiding people have been jailed for a first offence suggests there may be more aspects of how the BSG operates in Birchester that need looking into.
Ethan gives a sharp nod. “I’ll get Kit to do a deep dive on him and see what it turns up. Prepare an NDA and a contract in case we decide to bring him on board. Make sure the contract protects him as an informant—I don’t want Far Out Freight trying to get charges brought against him for breaching company confidentiality or some other bullshit, given the history between him and the CEO.”
“Of course.” I take a bigger drink of my coffee. “Speaking of the CEO, Lance has an office in the warehouse—which you’d obviously expect—but he spends all his work time on-site. In his office, on the floor, in the loading bay, you name it. He’s very hands-on considering he’s running a multinational corporation.”
