Chapter 36
SLOANE
There it was. The live wire.
“Bass.” Ryker’s tone held a warning.
I set my wine down carefully and glanced at Ryker. “It’s okay.” I looked at Sebastian, held his gaze. “He told you about Mick?”
Sebastian nodded. “He did.”
Ella didn’t stir now. She listened.
I kept my hands still. “Yeah. I saw it.”
Sebastian’s tone stayed even. “Enough to run?”
“Yes,” I said. “But Ryker caught up to me.”
Ella turned with the spoon in her hand.
Ryker’s jaw flexed. Sebastian watched me.
Ella’s eyes narrowed slightly. “We should probably put the pleasantries aside for a moment.”
The statement wasn’t cruel. It was honest.
I looked at her. “That’s fair.”
“Ryker did tell me about the situation. Did he talk to you about it in depth?” Sebastian asked.
I waited for Ryker to chime in, but he let me talk instead.
“Yeah.” I bit the inside of my cheek, but I didn’t look away.
The silence settled.
Sebastian leaned a forearm on the island. “Did you call the police?”
“No,” I said.
Ella glanced at my hands. “Why not? Most people would have after seeing something like that.”
Because Mick wasn’t innocent. Because I’ve seen worse. Because my brother is missing, and the system didn’t protect him.
I chose the simplest truth again. “Because that man was not a victim, and the girls he hurt were. Even though I was a detective, I saw firsthand that justice didn’t often fall on the right side. I actually found it comforting to know that Mick was handled.”
Sebastian’s attention remained on me.
Ella’s face didn’t change. “And you’re really okay with that?”
“Yes. Too many times the guilty walked and my hands were tied to do anything about it. At least there’s someone out there willing to get their hands dirty when I couldn’t.”
Ryker sat next to me and placed his palm on my back. I guessed he was letting me know I was handling the situation well.
Sebastian’s mouth twitched. “That answer will get you in trouble. It got Ella in trouble on our first date.”
“I’ve been in trouble my whole life,” I said. “I’m still here.”
Ella set the spoon down. “All right. Since we’re in the deep waters already …” She took a breath, then looked at me straight on. “Tell me something real, Sloane.”
I waited for her to continue.
“What do you want from Ryker?” she asked.
Ryker went still.
This was the other test. Hell, I appreciated that Ella and Sebastian hadn’t waited long to dig in. I preferred that over tiptoeing around each other and wondering if someone was genuine or not. There was no doubt in my mind that these people loved Ryker and would go to great lengths to protect him.
It also probably meant me in a body bag if I threatened to expose them.
I wouldn’t. I had no interest in shaking up a good thing.
What I was starting to think was that Sebastian had been one of the other men in the woods with Mick that night.
The idea took me by surprise. I was damn good at reading people, and he didn’t seem like the killing type.
I swallowed once. “I didn’t plan on wanting anything. I was there when he died. I carried that for a year because there wasn’t anything else to do with it. Then he showed back up in my life and it felt … right, in a way I couldn’t ignore.”
I looked into Ryker’s amber eyes. He was so good at masking his feelings, but there was a flicker of approval in them.
I kept my voice steady. “We get each other. That’s rare. Especially in a world where most people either fear what they’ve survived, or they want to use it against someone.”
Ella’s expression relaxed a bit. “And?”
“And I want him,” I said. “As a man I can sit next to and breathe.”
The admission burned my chest. I didn’t care. I hadn’t said any of this to Ryker because we were so new, but it was how I felt. It was the truth.
“I want what we have,” I continued. “Whatever it becomes. And I’m not stupid. I know what he is capable of. I know what he’s done.”
Ella stared at me. “You’re not afraid?”
“I am. Just not of him.”
That landed.
Sebastian glanced at Ryker, then back to me.
“There’s more,” Ryker finally said. “She’s been working on a cold case, and I’m connected to it. We learned more today.”
“The phone call,” Sebastian said.
“Yeah.” Ryker nodded.
“My brother went missing almost three years ago. He also had a rabbit tattoo like Ryker’s,” I added.
“Oh, shit.” Ella’s attention bounced between Ryker and me.
Sebastian shifted from one leg to the other. “Ryker has had that tattoo since high school. I remember the night he came home after the party. I shared that with you two on the phone. But Sloane, how long have you been working on the case?”
“Since Nate went missing. At the time, I was still a detective. Then it was my only focus, and it caused me to lose my job.”
Ella exhaled slowly, then nodded toward the table. “I’m sorry. We’ve also lived through someone missing. It’s horrible.”
“That’s a fucking understatement,” Ryker added. “Lived through probably aren’t the right words, but in our case everyone came home.”
“Are you talking about the days you went missing?” I asked Ryker.
Ella’s brows lifted. “What?”
“I’ll fill you in. Or Bass can. My parents confirmed it about a week ago, and I’m trying to see what I can learn.
I don’t remember shit, but that seems to be my standard.
” Ryker leaned back in his chair and slipped his arm around my shoulder.
“We think it’s all tied together. My missing four days, Nate’s case, our tattoos. ”
Ella’s expression grew more serious. “How can I help?”
My chest tightened at her genuine offer. So far, I liked her. She was protective, direct, and smart. I liked her fire and quiet determination. I had a feeling she held the group of friends together.
“For now, help Sebastian remember anything that might be helpful. From what I understand, Kip has also been around the guys since high school. See if he remembers anything too.” I took a sip of my wine, appreciating the dark, fruity notes of the pinot noir.
“We should hang out with him soon anyway,” Ryker said to Sebastian.
The timer went off and Ella returned to the stove and removed the garlic bread.
“Is everyone ready to eat?”
We agreed and Sebastian helped Ella set the plates and utensils.
For the rest of the evening, the conversation was light. Ryker and Sebastian shared funny stories of when they were younger.
I settled in comfortably, appreciating how normal it all seemed. We swam in the deep water together but were also able to table the conversations for later.
For about an hour anyway.
Then Sebastian’s phone buzzed on the table. He didn’t look at it right away. Finally, he glanced down, then flipped the phone over so the screen faced him. His thumb moved once.
Ella’s fork paused halfway to her mouth.
“What is it?” she asked.
Sebastian didn’t answer her. He looked at Ryker first. “Someone’s been asking questions.”
My heart stuttered. “About what?”
Sebastian turned to me. “About you.”
The air in my lungs stayed still.
Ryker’s hand slid under the table and wrapped around my thigh. “Who?”
Sebastian turned the phone so we could see the message. There was a single line from an unknown number.
Tell Sloane the rabbit looks better in red.
My blood went cold with the same certainty as the head in my fridge. The rabbit on my wall. Different number, same message. Someone wanted me to know they could reach me anywhere. Even here.
Ella’s chair scraped as she stood.
Sebastian didn’t move. His hand went to Ella’s wrist, steadying her.
Ryker’s grip tightened on me under the table while I stared at the message until the letters blurred. It wasn’t a threat in the usual way. It was proof someone other than us knew about the rabbit on my wall, that we’d been searching. And that they knew exactly where I was sitting right now.
My phone buzzed. It was a text from Jade. I didn’t open it right away. My fingers wouldn’t cooperate.
Ryker’s voice was low. “Read it.”
I forced my screen awake and read her message.
Jade:
Lab results are back. Not just pig’s blood. There’s a sedative in it. Call me.
My stomach dropped, and I shared it out loud, then gave Sebastian and Ella the rundown of what had happened.
Ryker’s gaze snapped to my phone.
Sebastian went still.
Ella’s hand went to her mouth, her eyes bright with anger.
Sedative.
Blackouts.
Rabbit tattoos.
And now someone texting Sebastian during dinner, as if they were watching all of us at the table.
Ryker stood so fast his chair tipped back.
Ella grabbed my wrist with a strong grip, fierce and steady. “Listen. If you’re going to be around us, you don’t get to panic. You don’t get to run. You tell the truth, even when it costs you. Do you understand?”
“I got it.”
We followed Sebastian to the door. His hand went to the panel on the wall by the entry, tapping something that brought up a live feed. The camera angles shifted. The private landing. The elevator bank. The hallway below.
Clear.
Empty.
Sebastian’s phone buzzed again with another message. This time, the words were shorter. They were meaner and more personal.
Four days. Eleven years old. Hamilton Archer says hello.
I stopped dead. Four days—Ryker’s missing time. Eleven years old—his childhood. Hamilton Archer. Our lead. The name we’d been chasing. They weren’t fucking guessing. They were aiming right at the bullseye.
Ryker stopped too. His head turned slowly, eyes dragging to Sebastian’s screen.
Sebastian’s voice was quiet. “Ryker?”
Ryker didn’t answer. He simply stared at the message. And for the first time since I’d met him, I saw something crack through the control.
Something had just woken up the monster.