Chapter 30
TUESDAY
IN WHICH DESSA’S TRACK RECORD GETS WORSE
Dessa awoke from an unsettling dream of shadows and ghosts with the stark realization that they hadn’t considered Brad as a potential suspect. He had access to their servers through their laptop, and while he was allegedly somewhere in New Mexico, she hadn’t seen any proof of that.
Still in her pajama shirt and shorts, she grabbed the gun from her bedside table and ran down the stairs.
Because after all, it was in the realm of possibility that Brad was involved in the case six years ago.
She tucked the old-fashioned-style pistol in her desk drawer and booted up the computer with shaking hands.
Her mouth going dry, she clicked into their IT records for Brad’s log.
Mercy, was it possible Brad had been playing her all this time?
That he’d brought her back on the team just so he could set her up to fail all over again?
Her stomach turned with nausea as she ran through his records to find that Brad hadn’t logged into his account since before she’d arrived.
In fact, he hadn’t logged in during the past two months.
She frowned. Okay, so definitely not the kidnapping mastermind—that was good.
But also not doing his job? She scanned his history for the last year, only to find sporadic activity, even worse than when she’d been in high school.
Had he really been called away that much? It was possible, if he’d been climbing the ranks at higher levels, but if that was the case, no wonder their funding had been cut. No one had been there to keep the office in order. And now that he was gone, was he ever planning on coming back?
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get her sleep-deprived brain to focus. Though the trend scared her, it didn’t really matter. Brad had been exactly zero help in the case so far, and now she had reason to believe that wouldn’t be changing. Which meant this was all on her.
She sucked in a breath, her gaze scraping the workroom again. Kiwi-Fred jumped on the couch and pecked at a discarded chip bag wedged between the cushions. Dessa scowled as she retrieved it and threw it away, recalling Noah lounging around as they pulled their hair out trying to—
She froze.
Noah.
She thought of him exchanging gossip with Richard.
Of him popping into the office and leaning over their screens.
Of him listening as he watched TV with “nothing else to do.” Of him complaining he needed integration advice when he was allegedly in the system as a Cog.
All the while, carrying a curse that needed a solution.
Her pulse accelerated back into high gear as she looked for his name in the system.
She used Melba’s face recognition software to search for his face in the security feeds along with the license plate of his BMW.
She leaned toward the bright screen as she watched the car travel out toward Jean Marc’s safehouses not once, not twice, but multiple times. Before they’d ID’d them.
It wasn’t hard evidence, but it was enough to question him. She rattled off an email to the rest of the crew and left a voicemail for Brad. That would have to be enough until the morning. After all, the last time she’d run off at night hadn’t exactly gone well for her.
She pulled up Jamison’s number to call him but just as she was rising to her feet, her gaze landed on the shadow leaning against the corner.
“I knew you would figure it out.” Noah’s voice cut through the room, but it was different now, smoother and more confident.
Holy hell.
The shadow hadn’t been a trickster ghost or a symptom of her brain fog after all, but this was so much worse.
“What do you want, Noah?” Dessa yanked out the silver gun from her desk drawer. It might not have been enough for a Were or a Vamp, but she could take Noah. “If this is about your curse, I can help you find who did this to you.”
He seemed to blend into the shadows before coming back out, and her mind stretched to try to comprehend it. Noah had been stalking her in the park. Had left the notes. He was shadow-walking, which was Hexxer work, but why had she not been able to sense it before?
The peppery scent of his curse flooded her senses with its intensity. Was it possible she couldn’t sense it beyond that? Or…Surely he hadn’t cursed himself somehow?
“I already know who did this to me,” Noah drawled. “And there’s nothing that you’re going to be able to do about it.”
Dessa gripped the gun tighter in her hand. She wasn’t sure how shadow magic worked, but no matter what, he wasn’t invincible. “Then why are you doing this?”
“So many reasons, Dessa.” He melted into the shadows again and then stepped out of another corner.
Holy crap. He hadn’t had to hack into their systems, not when he could’ve been there watching all along.
“But mostly I’m doing this because you’re getting in the way of my operation, and honestly, my dear cousin is getting on my nerves.
” A sneer twisted Noah’s features. “He thinks he’s so sickeningly righteous, so above us all after his parents tried so hard to save him from us.
” A bitter laugh escaped him. “I just want him to catch up on all the pain he missed.”
“I’m still not seeing where I fall into this,” Dessa said, trying to stall for time. “Jamison and I are coworkers.”
“Oh, don’t be so modest. You know you’re not the first one I’ve played this game with. But last time, he didn’t even have the courtesy to catch on before…Well, then it was too late for the big reveal.”
Dessa tried to follow him. “Rachel. You’re talking about Rachel. Did you—did you do something to her?”
“She wasn’t happy with Jase, you know. I simply offered her a tempting alternative.
” His laugh rang through the office again, and he flashed out of sight before appearing by the break room.
Kiwi-Fred squawked from the couch, his feathers puffing up.
“He really is worthless. We flaunted it right before his face, and he still didn’t catch on.
But it all worked out anyway when the guilt fell squarely on him. ”
“Did you kill Rachel?” Dessa ground out.
“Ha. As if I would be that sloppy.” A flash of darkness crossed his face. “What happened to her and the others came as much as a surprise to me as to everyone else. I’m sure you’ve put it together by now. In the end, they were just collateral damage.”
Collateral damage. So the Kane curse had killed them somehow.
But still, Noah’s lack of remorse sent a chill through her marrow.
Sweat streaked down her temples. As soon as she fired the gun, the altercation would escalate into violence, and she was on poor footing here.
She could try compulsion if she could catch him.
But with his shadow magic, she might not be able to get close enough, much less look into his eyes. Time to stall.
“What do you have against Jamison?”
“The Kane court jester? It’s less that I have something against him, and more that he’s just in the way, if you will.
I’m the obvious heir to Kane Enterprises.
I’m older, I’ve been working for my grandfather for years, and yet he has this ridiculous obsession with the idea of proper heir lineage—the firstborn of his firstborn—like that matters.
Jase, who hasn’t worked like I have. Who hasn’t wanted it like I have.
But to our grandfather, I’m just a spare prince in the Kane kingdom.
” His mouth tightened. “Luckily, I’m more than happy to cut down the family tree. ”
He disappeared, and this time, he reappeared right in front of her.
She pulled the trigger with a deafening bang, but the bullet sailed harmlessly through the shadows.
When he spoke again, he was directly behind her.
“Still, I’d love to see Jase suffer just a little first. To see him look at me in fear.
The little prince who’s never had to work for anything.
Who’s never had to take out Grandfather’s garbage or run his errands. ”
Dessa whirled, firing blindly, but he was gone again. Then something pricked her neck, and she crumpled to the ground.
Not again. At this point, Dessa had to admit that maybe Richard had been right all along—maybe she really was letting AzRIO fall apart.