Chapter 29
What Comes Next
Dodger
The four of us have been staring at the same double doors for twenty minutes. When I close my eyes, I can still see the paneling and handles in my mind.
Any minute now. Just be cool.
Marlow throws his hands in the air for the fifth time in two minutes. Not remotely cool. “What’s taking him so long?”
“Closing a case and turning in a police chief take time,” Wynn offers logically.
The demon grumbles under his breath while we keep watch.
Iggy’s wings flap restlessly before settling again, and I wonder if Wynn can hear me grinding my teeth.
The door swings open and I swear we all go still and hold our breaths.
An officer steps out, barely glancing at us before heading down the steps and around the corner. No Harper. Not yet.
The Concordia authorities had taken Rowan off our hands back in his rented penthouse, my last view of him so satisfying as he was dragged away in handcuffs.
Then we headed to the station to fill in the details, and Marlow, Wynn, and Iggy came to add their own stories.
Then came the statements. Answering questions, then more statements. Then the waiting room, the worst part.
One by one, we were all released. Now we’re just waiting for Harper.
This could all be over soon, but I can’t quite believe that, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“The longer I’m here, the more I worry someone’s going to come out and arrest me.” Marlow suspiciously watches a second officer push through the doors and descend the steps without looking at any of us.
“You haven’t done anything wrong,” Wynn reminds his partner.
“Tell that to them.” Marlow’s jaw tightens as the officer disappears around the corner. “They’re the ones arresting me.”
“No one is arresting you!” Wynn hisses and then clears his throat and gives a forced smile to a cop walking in the building.
Of course that makes the woman pause and wonder about the strange men worried about getting arrested.
We all try to look normal and not suspicious until she finally goes inside.
The door barely has time to close before someone steps out again. There, Harper. All of us snap to attention. There’s that other shoe crashing to the ground. He looks stunned as he joins us. I knew it couldn’t be that easy.
Nobody says anything. We just watch him descend the steps and come to a stop in front of us.
“Everything okay?” Wynn asks carefully.
“Something went wrong,” Marlow decides at the same time.
“Nothing went wrong,” his boyfriend objects immediately.
Marlow shakes his head. “You don’t know that.”
“Neither do you.”
“Of course I do.” Marlow gestures broadly at Harper. “Look at him.”
Iggy, apparently done with the debate, abandons his perch on Marlow’s shoulder and glides over to land on mine instead. His small claws grip through my jacket as he settles and tilts his head at Harper.
“Maybe you should actually let him speak,” Wynn says pointedly.
All four of us turn and stare at Harper and wait.
Harper blinks, like he’s still working through whatever happened in there. Then, slowly, something in his shoulders relaxes. “Everything is okay.”
Wynn exhales so hard it’s practically a full-body event. “Oh, thank goodness.”
Marlow turns and gives Wynn a flat look. “You’re the one who told me nothing went wrong.”
“I wasn’t sure,” Wynn admits, then glances back at Harper. “If nothing’s wrong, your face didn’t get the memo.”
“That’s just his face,” Marlow says.
“Hey.” Harper’s brow furrows.
“Everything is really okay?” I ask, stepping closer to him.
Harper looks at me. Something about the steadiness in his gaze helps ease my nerves.
“Yeah.” He nods once. “Concordia is holding Rowan. They have our statements. There’s nothing else we need to do right now.
” He turns to Marlow. “The authorities in Brighton have been filled in. Your alleged victim is alive and well. You’re not a murderer. ”
Marlow goes still for a second and now he’s the one struggling to process what he just heard. “So, my name’s cleared.”
“The authorities know you’re innocent. You won’t be arrested in Brighton,” Harper says, and there’s the faintest pull at the corner of his mouth. “Well, not for murder. If you’ve done anything else…”
“I can really go back,” Marlow says like he’s testing the weight of the words.
Harper nods. “Anytime you want.”
Wynn turns to look at Marlow with a soft smile. “You’re officially a free man.”
Marlow shoves his hands in his pockets, trying to play it cool, but it takes a few more seconds before the easy charm falls back into place and the demon offers Wynn his arm. “Shall we go celebrate?”
Wynn laughs under his breath and takes it, and they toss a goodbye over their shoulders as they stroll off together. Iggy pats my shoulder, then pushes off with a flutter of wings and glides after them.
When I turn back to Harper, he’s still wearing that stunned look.
I poke his arm. “Your face still hasn’t caught up yet.”
He blinks and focuses on me. “The higher ups had a conference call to discuss what’s next with Rowan gone. The Brighton department needs to move in a new direction.”
Oh. That is surprising news. But welcome. “Like one that’s actually fair to everyone? Less keeping others out and more holding all people to the same laws and standards?” I say. “It’s about time.”
“They offered me the role.”
I stare at him. “What role?”
“Chief of police,” he says. “Interim chief for Brighton, but it could become permanent if all goes well.”
“Okay,” I say distantly. Holy crap. “Now I understand your face.”
He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Relax. I didn’t accept.”
That snaps me out of the shock. “Why not? Brighton needs someone like you!”
“Because I needed to talk to you first.” That part he’s steady and sure about. “Brighton isn’t the most accepting place. I wasn’t sure you’d want to go back there. Wasn’t sure it would be fair to ask.”
Oh.
I look down at the pavement for a second, turning that over.
The city, the attitudes, the way people there thought about ‘dark’ powers, none of it was good.
Necromancers weren’t allowed inside the walls, not officially, not ever, so I’d had to slip in uninvited.
But Concordia was supposed to be different, a welcoming supernatural city, especially for anyone with magic.
And even here, there wasn’t a single necromancer coven.
Maybe there was no safe space. We’d have to build one.
Danger comes in all shapes and sizes, and one’s powers have nothing to do with malicious intentions. Brighton will probably understand that a lot better once they realize how corrupt their old chief was. This could be a fresh start for the city. And for me.
“I hadn’t thought about it,” I admit. “But if Brighton is open to all supernatural people again, things will change. And if you’re the chief… Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”
“The attitudes there aren’t going to change overnight, Dodger.”
“I know.” I hold his gaze. “But we could do something meaningful and create a home for ourselves at the same time. If we’re both there working on it, the city will improve.”
Harper is quiet for a moment. “Are you an optimist now?”
“No,” I say flatly. “I just have faith in us.”
He smiles at that. “Me too.”