Prologue
Nathan
Seattle Police Department. 9:14 a.m.
The smell of burned coffee…the ring of phones…the squeak of wet shoes against the tile.
I push through the glass doors, jaw locked, adrenaline sprinting through my veins.
“Morning, sir,” the officer at the front desk says, too casually, like he hasn’t seen me here a dozen times before.
“I need to speak with Detective Barnett,” I say, voice clipped.
He looks up from his monitor. “Detective Barnett isn’t in today.”
“Then give me whoever’s in charge.”
“Supervisor’s not available either.”
My hands go rigid at my sides. “So no one’s available? That’s convenient.”
“Sir—”
“You’ve hadmonths,” I cut in, stepping forward. “Months of tips, leads, and promises that went nowhere. You say you’redoing everything you can…but what exactly is that? Sitting here drinking coffee and filling out paperwork?”
“Mr. Reign, I’m going to need you to lower your voice.”
I laugh under my breath, bitter and sharp. “Lower my voice? You’re doing absolutely nothing, and you’re telling me tolower my voice?”
He stands, posture stiff. Another officer steps in from the side, hand resting near his holster.
“Sir, you need to calm down.”
“Calm down?” I slam my fist against the glass window. The sound cracks through the lobby. “You want calm? Try living with silence for three fucking years and tell me how calm you’d be!”
Chairs scrape. Heads turn.
The officer’s tone hardens. “That’s enough, Mr. Reign. You need to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere until someone?—”
“Out. Now.”
A hand grabs my arm. Then another. The next seconds blur, raised voices, heavy steps, the rush of cold air as they shove me through the front doors.
The world outside hits like a slap.
“Mr. Reign,” one of them warns, voice tight. “You come in hot again, we’ll have to arrest you.”
The door slams behind me.
I stand there on the sidewalk, chest heaving, the taste of copper in my mouth.
I drag a hand down my face and start walking. The rain has started again…light, steady, almost merciful.
Block after block, until I reach it.
The place.
