Secrets of Mine (Of Mine #2)

25. River

25

RIVER

F reya’s eyes flutter slightly as she sleeps on her side, facing me. The little scowly frown line she gets when she’s awake and pissed off is smoothed out and I feel an unnerving sense of peace in my chest.

I think this is the first night since we left Quantico that she hasn’t woken up screaming. The SCU psychologist would no doubt call our little battle last night unhealthy but we both needed to fight.

Freya needed to push me, to test our bond, and I needed to remind her and myself that it’s made of fucking chains. She’s going to drive me insane, but it doesn’t matter, because nothing she does is going to change the way I feel about her.

I’m too far gone.

Freya could stab me through the heart, and it would still beat just for her.

The door eases open, and I push myself up onto my elbow as Jude and Oz come inside.

Jude passes one of the mugs in his hand to me and puts the other on the bedside table by my side before sitting down on the chaise lounge.

Oz takes the floor, opening his laptop on his crossed legs and tapping away.

Jude’s curls sway as he nods at Freya. “How sore is she going to be?”

I drag my teeth over my bottom lip as I look down at her. “She’s probably going to be off limits for a day or so.” I hadn’t used anywhere near my full strength, but I hadn’t gone easy on her either. My cock hardens at the memory of her taking my belt. Locked down tight and unable to move. The way her back bowed and her cheeks flushed.

“Noted,” Jude says. He raises a brow. “You got your head screwed on straight again?”

I give a slow nod. Freya’s hand rests on the pillow by her head and I trace the faded cuff inked onto her wrist. “Think she’ll actually let me make this permanent?”

I practically feel Jude rolling his eyes. “Buy her a bracelet, River.”

“Hmm.” I could do that, maybe one with a hidden tracker. It’s not that I don’t trust her, but I’ve felt a little untethered ever since she took her anklet off. She’s already run into danger once, I don’t like the idea of not being able to find her.

Before I can disappear too far down a spiral that would make me want to lock Freya up in an ivory tower, she stirs and blinks her eyes open.

She squeezes them shut again against the daylight and throws an arm over her eyes.

“Morning,” I say.

She yawns and goes to sit up only to hiss in pain and curl her hand into a fist around the comforter. “Jesus fucking Christ, I hate you, River Park,” she croaks.

I chuckle, not feeling the slightest bit guilty. If she wants to play with fire, she has to learn I’m going to make it burn.

I pick up the coffee Jude brought for her which, from the smell of it, is that white chocolate caramel concoction she likes so much, and hand it to her.

Her gaze sharpens and she takes it in two hands, inhaling deep. “I still hate you,” she says.

“That’s a shame,” I reply, “because I for one, am in love with you.”

Freya stills then her breath hitches and her eyes dart to Jude and Oz.

I tap a knuckle on her nose. “No panicking. You don’t have to say it back.” Fringe benefit of training as a profiler and being able to read people as well as I can. I know she loves me. She loves all of us and I’m secure enough not to care if she’s not ready to say it yet.

“Oz, where are we at?” I ask, not taking my eyes off Freya.

Her brow furrows but the tension drops from her shoulders.

“I haven’t been able to trace the messages yet. We’ve been narrowing in on the profile instead. The last three victims have not only been mothers, but pregnant mothers. It’s a significant enough of a shift to suggest there’s a reason.”

Jude leans forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “If our theory that his victims are surrogates for Freya’s mother is right, this increases the likelihood of her still being alive to seventy-two percent. Give or take.”

Oz looks up from his laptop. “Have you remembered anything else about her?” he asks Freya.

She cradles her coffee to her chest and shakes her head. She’s sitting cross legged now and I settle my hand on her knee before turning to Oz. “You think Freya’s mother is pregnant and that’s why Maxwell’s shifted?”

Oz nods.

“If she is,” Freya starts, then breaks off before trying again, her voice a whisper. “Do you think it’s his baby?”

“We don’t know that,” Jude answers.

I keep my face blank. It may not be a total lie, because he can’t be sure, but the chances of Maxwell letting another man touch what he views as his are extremely low. Although, if it isn’t his child, that could be the reason he’s devolving.

“Either way, if she’s having any sort of prenatal care, it may help me track her down,” Oz says.

“So that’s the plan?” Freya asks. “We find my mother and wait for Maxwell to turn up to kill her? What if he kills again before going after her?”

“Look at me,” I say, taking the mug from her hands and lacing my fingers through hers. “We’re not going to stop searching for him. LAPD has officers everywhere, cameras at every way out of the city, and we’ve still got the rest of the women on the list under surveillance.”

“Which brings us to another issue,” Oz says. “I spoke to the officers that left their post at Lexi’s place, they said they were called away by their captain.”

Concrete fills my veins. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

Oz shakes his head. He drags a hand over his beard that’s looking a little scruffier than usual. “I’ve confirmed that the break-in they were dispatched to never existed. We haven’t spoken to Captain Roques yet but it’s not looking good.”

Freya pulls her hand free from mine. “How the fuck does my father have a mole in the LAPD?”

“I don’t know,” I say, “but we’re sure as hell going to find out.” I pull back the covers and stand up, grabbing my pants off the floor and pulling them up over my boxers.

Freya goes to follow me when her phone vibrates against the bedside table. She frowns and picks it up.

“Luke?”

I can’t hear what he says but the color drains out of Freya’s face. Her throat bobs and her chest rises in a sharp gasp.

“Luke. Luke, stop. I’m putting you on speaker phone with the guys.” Freya’s hand shakes as she presses speaker and holds her phone flat. “Yesterday I asked Luke to visit Angelica,” she says, catching us up, “to try and find out how she’d got hold of a phone. He just got back from the psych facility.” Her eyes meet mine. “And Josh is missing.”

I frown. “Luke, are you sure it’s connected?”

Luke’s strained voice comes over the speaker phone. “Angelica told me. Taunted me. She knows where he is, River. She knows where Josh is, and she wouldn’t tell me.”

Shit.

Luke goes quiet and Freya tenses. She closes her eyes then stares at the lit-up screen, her face torn but resigned. “Just say it, Luke.”

He sighs. “She said she’ll only tell you. Face to face. Freya, I wouldn’t ask but it’s Josh?—”

“You don’t need to ask, of course I’ll come. See if you can track Josh’s last movements. I’ll call you when I land.”

They say goodbye and Freya hangs up. She sits up on her knees, Jude’s oversized T-shirt hanging down to her thighs. Her chin tips up as she stares me down. “I’m going to Quantico. You can’t stop me.”

God, she’s beautiful when she’s stubborn . Her fiery hair like a lion’s mane around her stern face. Her eyes that subtle, cloudy green.

I take her chin between my thumb and fingers. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Oz clears his throat. “What about Captain Roques?”

Jude slumps back on the chaise lounge and frowns at the ceiling. “This doesn’t make sense. Even if Maxwell did manage to get out of L.A., he wouldn’t have had time to get to Quantico and kidnap Josh.”

“If he’s managed to turn a police captain, he could have other accomplices,” Oz says.

“Why kidnap Josh though?” Freya asks. “It doesn’t match his victim profile.”

I run my hand through my hair. “I don’t like the fact Angelica is demanding to speak to you.”

Freya lifts a shoulder. “She’s done it before.”

“It could be a trap,” I warn.

She sets her jaw and gets off the bed. “I’m going.”

“Or it’s a distraction,” Jude says, sitting up. “What if Maxwell is still here and he’s trying to draw us away so he can make his next move?”

Freya pauses, the pants she just picked up hang from her fingertips. “Jude’s right. We can’t all go.” She shakes her head and pulls on the pants. “You guys stay here, I’ll help Luke find Josh.”

I shoot her a look. “There’s not a chance in hell I’m putting you on a plane by yourself.” She’s right though, we can’t all leave L.A. My hand curls into a fist. I want to be the one to go with her, but if we’ve got a corrupt police captain I need to be here too.

I press my tongue into my cheek and come to a decision. “Eli will go with you. The rest of us will stay here, talk to Captain Roques, and keep trying to find your mother.”

Freya’s mouth parts. “Eli?” she asks, her voice low.

My lip twitches. “You have a problem with that?”

She gulps and takes a deep breath. “Nope, no problem.” Her smile is bitter. “I just hope you don’t mind when one of us comes back in a body bag.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. She’s being dramatic but I’m not blind. Her and Eli have shit to figure out and they’re only going to be able to do that if they actually talk to each other.