Chapter Nine
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CYRIL FELT THAT IF he looked away from Rachel’s computer screen, something bad was going to happen.
He realized it was ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it.
He needed to keep an eye on Morgan, Russell, and Vale.
There was nothing he could do for them if the killer reached them, but it would’ve felt wrong to get distracted by his phone or anything else while they were putting their lives in danger like this.
“You know, you can blink,” Rachel pointed out. She took the last sip of her boba tea, frowning when all she got was a loud sound of the drink being empty. She peered down into the cup, then used the straw to poke around.
Cyril shook his head and turned his attention back to the computer. “I’m afraid something’s going to happen.”
“Isn’t that kind of the point? We want something to happen.”
“Well, yes, but any one of them could be hurt.”
Rachel put down her empty cup and reached over to squeeze Cyril’s hand.
It startled Cyril enough to finally pull his attention from the screen.
He and Rachel had touched and hugged before, and they were friends, but they weren’t physically affectionate.
The only person who was when it came to Cyril was Vale.
“They’re going to be fine,” Rachel said in a tone that made it sound like a promise.
“I know why you’re worried, and I’m not going to tell you not to be, but no matter how good this guy is, he’s never had to deal with Russell and Vale.
He’s been killing people who didn’t even know he was there most of the time.
When they did, they still couldn’t fight him off because they hadn’t been trained like Russell and Vale.
It’s not fair, but it is what it is. They’ll make sure he won’t be able to hurt anyone ever again, and that’s all that matters. ”
Cyril thought it was a little ironic coming from Vale’s handler, but he didn’t say that out loud. His full focus needed to be on making sure his boyfriend was safe. That would only happen through Rachel.
“I just hate that there’s nothing I can do to help,” he told her.
“I know it’s going to sound stupid, but I think you’re already helping by staying safe. It means that Vale doesn’t have to worry about you. He doesn’t have to be distracted.”
“I think he always worries about me.”
Rachel smiled. “Well, yes, but he knows that as long as you’re with me, nothing’s going to happen to you.
That means he can focus on protecting Morgan, which is what we want.
I know that feeling useless isn’t an easy feeling to deal with.
I do everything I can to help, but there’s only so much I can do from a distance, even with my computer skills.
It’s why I came all the way here this time.
I knew that I’d be worried about you and everything else happening, so I decided it would be worth it.
” She squeezed Cyril’s hand again and let go.
“I’m actually thinking about permanently moving here. ”
Cyril gave her a wide smile. “Really? Vale’s going to be so happy if you decide to do that.”
“Yeah, really. I don’t have a lot of friends, and the few I do have are here. It doesn’t make sense for me to stay away, does it?”
The front door banged open, making both of them jump. Rachel moved in seconds, grabbing a gun that Cyril hadn’t known was there from under the couch and placing herself between him and the door. He couldn’t see who was coming in, but he heard a gasp and recognized the voice.
Rachel relaxed and flopped back down to the floor where she’d been sitting earlier. “You should know better,” she told Robbie, who was hugging a bag to his chest.
“For some reason, I thought you were the least dangerous of them,” he told her. “But now I know I was wrong. You know how to use that thing, don’t you?”
“I do.” The gun was gone again, probably back under the couch. Cyril didn’t want to know for sure.
“I brought food,” Robbie said, offering the bag. No one took it, so he huffed and placed it on the coffee table. “I’ll grab some stuff from the kitchen. You two can take the food out.”
Rachel was on the bag instantly, a smile on her face.
It was hard to think of her as the woman who’d been ready to shoot whoever came in just seconds ago, but now, Cyril understood better why Vale trusted her with his safety.
She’d been so fast to react, unlike Cyril.
He’d probably be dead if it had been the killer, but not Rachel.
“Oh, Chinese,” Rachel announced, delighted. “I love Chinese.”
“Which is why I got that,” Robbie said as he walked by them. “Think about it. You almost killed the guy who brought you Chinese food.”
“I’ll forever be sorry for threatening you with a gun,” Rachel said as she opened one of the containers.
Cyril took a deep breath and relaxed against the back of the couch. Rachel was right. He was doing the one thing that would help Vale focus right now, even though it felt wrong to him. It was best for everyone if he stayed out of the way, and he would be here when Vale came back.
Because he would come back.
* * * *
STAKEOUTS WERE BORING. There was literally nothing to do except sit around and wait, which Vale had never been good at.
It was a little odd considering that his job often meant he had to wait around, but he supposed he’d never had anyone to protect the way he did Cyril.
He’d wait for days if it meant keeping him safe, but Vale hoped he wouldn’t have to.
They didn’t have time to waste. If Cyril really was getting closer to the Threshold, they needed to know what that meant, which meant they had to find Meridian.
They couldn’t do that while they were distracted by this killer.
He didn’t even have Russell to talk to. Russell was in Morgan and Alex’s apartment, hidden away in Alex’s room.
He was ready to intervene when the killer arrived, which hopefully would be sooner rather than later.
Vale wanted to go back to Cyril. Cyril was safe, but it still made Vale uneasy not to be anywhere close to him when he knew that he was in danger.
His mind couldn’t stop coming up with scenarios that he really didn’t like, like the killer finding out about the stakeout and deciding to target Cyril instead.
The only reason Vale wasn’t there with him right now was that he trusted Rachel with his life.
And with Cyril’s.
“You know, when someone calls you, they generally expect you to talk to them,” Russell’s voice said, coming from Vale’s phone.
Vale had put him on speaker. They’d been talking on-and-off for about half an hour, but he’d drifted off, thinking about Cyril.
“You can hang up if you want,” he said.
“But then I’ll be completely alone.”
Vale could hear the pout in Russell’s voice. “Morgan’s there with you.”
“He’s not supposed to talk to me. Come on, distract me before I do something stupid.”
Vale trusted Russell not to actually do anything stupid. When they were working, he was professional, and he would never fuck up a job, even though they weren’t being paid for this. He knew how important it all was. Vale hadn’t gotten around to telling him the entire story, but maybe it was time.
“The more recent deaths, the ones that Cyril dreamed of? They both visited the same old lady before they died,” Vale said.
There was a pause before Russell spoke again. “Please tell me you’re not saying that the killer is an old lady.”
“No. We already know that the killer is a young guy. We don’t know how he’s related to this, but apparently, these two were necromancers who were getting closer to the Threshold.”
“Cyril mentioned something about that,” Russell said quietly.
“I don’t think even he understands exactly what the Threshold is, but from what the lady said when we visited her, it’s the edge between our world and whatever happens after you die.
Necromancers can get lost in there, and when they do, they change, but of course, that’s only if they come back alive. There’s a high chance that they don’t.”
“I don’t like that Cyril is involved in this.”
Vale snorted. “You think I do? But there’s nothing we can do to stop him from reaching this Threshold. Unfortunately, it’s something that happens the stronger he gets, and you know how strong he is already.”
“What are we going to do about it, then?”
Vale loved that Russell was as ready as he was to do whatever was in his power to help Cyril.
“The lady, Iris, gave us a name. This person apparently crossed the Threshold and came back alive. Iris said that this Meridian person was changed, which is why they stay isolated, but Cyril and I are planning on talking to them anyway. We just need to solve this mess first so that I won’t have to worry about Cyril. ”
Russell didn’t answer right away, but Vale wasn’t offended. After all, they were working.
“I think he’s here,” Russell suddenly said.
That caught Vale’s attention. He sat up and pressed his finger against the earbud in his ear, not surprised to hear Rachel’s fingers flying on a keyboard. She was part of the conversation, too, even though she hadn’t spoken up. She was probably distracted by Cyril.
“Russell’s right,” she said. “There’s someone at Morgan’s door. It looks like they’re trying to get in.”
“I’m coming,” Vale declared, already on the move.
This was it. They were about to get their hands on the killer. When they did, they would get the answers they needed to protect Cyril, and Vale would be able to focus on Meridian and whatever the fuck was going to happen with that mess.
He couldn’t wait.
* * * *
CYRIL WAS PRETTY SURE he stopped breathing as he watched what was happening on Rachel’s computer screen.
He, Rachel, and Robbie were all squished together so they could get a better look.
For some reason, even though he knew he’d be useless, Cyril wished he could go out there to help Vale.
He knew he would make things harder on everyone, though, so he clenched his hands into fists and just watched.