Chapter 25
“She was all I had,” Rollo said, his hands chained before him, and it baffled Bel how a man shrunken by such defeat had been a wolf only hours before. “She was the only person in this world who loved me, and they killed her. For six years,shehad no peace. Now she does…almost. I came so close, but I failed her in the end.”
The interview room fell quiet as Bel and Griffin stared across the table at their friend. Ethan Rollo had confessed to everything, and while he didn’t explicitly mention the deal or his nature, the sheriff had enough sense to understand what filled in the blanks of this story, especially since Eamon was involved. Rollo started at the beginning, intentionally speaking in code so only Bel understood his full meaning. He told a tale of an orphan raised by his grandmother, who eventually joined the crew of a little-known show named Aesop’s Files. As a werewolf, he didn’t care that the production was terrible. It was about police officers and supernaturals, and as a boy, he’d always dreamed of joining the force. His grandmother had encouraged his dream, and Aesop’s Files felt like destiny until five selfish human beings slaughtered an innocent woman to secure a contract with a devil. Rollo’s wolf genes had come from his mother’s side of the family, meaning his grandmother was ordinary. Her frailty couldn’t fight back, and she’d bled to death alone in the snow. Rollo uncovered the guilty. He scented their sold souls on her corpse, but it didn’t matter. No matter how hard he tried, the deal prevented justice from reaching her.
“I’ll sign whatever you need me to. Just promise me that my grandmother finds peace,” Rollo said.
“We know her name,” Griffin said. “She’s no longer a Jane Doe. Her murder is no longer a cold case.”
“Thank you,” Rollo said, and the trio fell silent again. Thismoment. The arrests, the confessions,theend of the questionsnormallybrought the station relief, but instead, Bel felt hollow, her soul dug out and scraped until it stood empty and sick.
“One thing I can’t figure out,” the sheriff said. “The blood. How did you walk away through white snow without leaving cast off or drops?”
“The protective suits we use,” Rollo answered. “I put them on… after. They trapped any evidence against my skin, and the white let me disappear into the snow.” His eyes flicked to Bel as if to confirm she understood. She did. The wolfkilled, and then the naked man slipped inside the suit to vanish. The melting snow would’ve easily cleansed his hands as could her neighbor’s sheets before the blood overtook the scene to hide anything he might have left behind.
“Right…I’ll get the paperwork started,” Griffin said, and without another word, he fled the room. He was a stoic man, a proud and honorable sheriff of undeniable strength, and Bel hated seeing him like this. She wanted to reach across the table and slap Rollo for harming the people she loved. For hurting Griffin…for breaking Violet’s heart.Her friend didn’t know yet, but when shefoundout?Bel ached for her already.
“Why Violet?” she asked as she stood. “Why involve her if this was always the outcome? Did youneed to drag her into your sick game?”
“I didn’t do that on purpose,” Rollo’s voice broke. “I… your Dhampir would understand. We aren’t good men, but some women break us. We can’t resist them even though we’re dangerous. Mr. Stone is a monster far worse than me, yet he can’t stay away from you.”
“How come Eamon never scented you?”
“There were others in town?—”
“I know,” she interrupted. “But we both know a Dhampir isn’t so easily tricked. I can’t remember you twoeverbeing in the same room, but you’ve worked with me for a few months. He scented you once during the Matchstick Girl case, but that’s it.”
“I was careful to avoid him,” he said. “Also, the prolonged exposure helped him acclimate to me, but Ewan hid me.”
“Ewan helped you?” She couldn’t have heard him right. After all Eamon had done for Ewan, he turned arounda protected a murderer.
“He never knew,” Rollo explained. “I realized he was a shifter as soon as I detected him on Olivia, but it was who you smelled like that concerned me. I knew I needed to hide from your Mr. Stone, and much like his presence protects us, I used Ewan to cover my scent. You went on vacation immediately after I was hired, and Mr. Stone is fairly reclusive. I kept my distance from his property immediately surrounding the mansion, and for those two weeks you were gone, I learned Ewan’s schedule. I stopped by Lumen’s Customs to visit Violet when he wasn’t around, and I always found an excuse to slip into his shop. His work rags are covered in his scent, and by wiping them on my clothes, it latched onto me. So every time your Dhampir smelled me, he also smelled his friend.”
“And he disregarded any anomalies because he assumed it was the bear.”
“That day at the freezer was endless. Ewan’s scent probably faded from my clothes. Did you know he runs through our woods in his bear form? His presence is strongest when he shifts, so all I have to do is walk through his tracks to spread his odor onto my shoes. It masks my wolf.”
“You used him,” Bel felt sick at the confession. “Is that why you went for Violet? Because she could get you easy access to the bear?”
“No… I swear it. I didn’t mean to fall for your friend, and I’m sorry for the pain this will cause her. I visit Lumen’s Customs with an ulterior motive, but never her. I don’t regret my actions, but I regret they harmed her. Please tell her she was honest. I didn’t use her to fit in.Ijustcouldn’t stay away.”
“You should have.” Bel grabbed the door handle, tears threatening her eyes. Rollo’s confession almost made it worse. It would be easy for Violet to hate a man who used her, but to be betrayed by genuine feelings…?
“I know,” he said. “I’m glad my grandmother’s murderers are dead, but I am truly sorry for Violet. She is special.”
“She is.” Bel swiped at her damp cheeks before opening the door. “One more thing.” She sealed herself back inside the interview room. “Do you know if Orion Chayce’s accident killed that lighting tech? Or was he just the scapegoat?”
“I told the police my grandmother’s name multiple times, yet she remained Jane Doe,” he said. “The deal allows no harm to come to Aesop’s Files.”
“You murdered four of her crew members.”
“I’m a wolf. My power is greater than most, and I didn’t kill them in ways that would shut down production. I found the loophole. The deal had his crime drama, and I had my vengeance.”
“So, Chayce didn’t kill that tech. He just took the fall, and it’s why he kept quiet in prison. He knew, didn’t he? There’s no fighting black magic.”
“Only those that were there that day remember the truth, and half of them are dead now. But as long as Draven lives, the deal owns the show. Men like Chayce mean nothing to him.”
“But if you killed Draven, the deal would still be free to strike another,” she said.
“True, but he’d have to find someone willing to pay the price. She was my grandmother, so the five didn’t love her, but they still had to bloody their own hands. Not every fame hunter is comfortable with murder, but it doesn’t matter. Draven lives. His deal is intact. Aesop’s Files will continue to destroy lives.”
“We know the truth. We can stophimnow.”
“You can’t, and you won’t.” Rollo sagged lower in his chair, his massive size a childashe shrank in on himself. “You should’ve let me kill Draven and end this.”
“Maybe I should have.” Bel twisted the handle. “And I might have if your animal dragged them deep into the woods where we’d never find them. But you didn’t do that. You had to antagonize me, so this isthe ending we get.” She shut the door, her heart unable to endure any more of this conversation, and she left the deputy behind in search of the only person who could undo the knot in her chest.
“He confessed to everything.” She leaned against her desk, the fight draining from her muscles as she gazed down at Eamon. He looked unnaturally massive sitting in her chair, and exhaustion begged her to curl up in his lap and forget the past hours.
“He didn’t even wait for a lawyer,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest to stop herself from reaching for his comfort. The station was unusually busy since half of the deputies had gotten stuck there overnight, she and Eamon included. After they arrived with Rollo and Draven in custody, the already violent blizzard took a turn for the worse. Not even Eamon’s skills could combat the snow, their vehicles buried as the town’s street plows fought a losing battle. Griffin had rushed to the station after the accident when he realized Bel was missing. Hours later, she’d returned covered in blood, one of theirownofficers in tow, and everyone understood the pain the next few days would inflict. Beau Draven clammed up after they processed him, refusing to speak until his lawyer arrived, but with the storm raging outside, he was confined to the holding cell until the roads cleared.Ethan Rollo,on the other hand, didn’t care to escape his fate.
“Draven isn’t talking, but I expected that,” she continued. “But Rollo claims he has evidence that’ll prove Rossa, Roja, Rot, Rouge, and Reds are guilty of murder. He tried taking it to the police six years ago, but they ignored him.”
“That would’ve been the deal’s doing,” Eamon said.
“Luckily, someone dangerous protects this town.” Bel cupped his cheek. “Hopefully, whatever Rollo has will give us enough to put Draven away.”
“Let’s hope.” He peeled her hand off his face and folded it into his fist. “I’m assumingthe wolf wasn’t mentioned.”
“No, but Griffin knows we’re hiding something. He’s smart, though. He’ll stick to the narrative we lay out for him.”
“So, the murder weapon?”
“Lost in the snow?”
“With the feet that fell last night, no one’s driving into the woods anytime soon,” Eamon said. “I’ll have time to drop ‘proof’ up there.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s no problem.”
“How do you feel?” She gripped his jaw and tilted his gaze upso she couldstudy his eyes.
“Horrible for you.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Physically, I’m great, and the temporary high has worn off.”
“Good.” Bel released his chin and lifted her fingersto her lips, kissing them before pressing them to his mouth. “I love you, you know that? I realize you’re hard to kill, but the fear I felt when he ripped into you. I understand what you meant when you said you’re always afraid because of me. You are at the top of the food chain, but what happens when you meet your match?”
“Rollo was not my match.” Eamon stood up, his frame looming over her, andclearlynot caring that a station full of witnesses swarmed about them, he cupped her face. “I made you a promise. I’m staying by your side until one of us dies, and it’s going to take a lot more than a wolf to rip me from you.”
“Promise?”
“I swear it.” He stared at her lips as ifhe wasdebating risking it all, but then he pulled away and sank back into her office chair. “How are you holding up?”
“I hope the snow never stops,” she said as she glanced at the pale morning light seeping through the frosted windows. “Violet thinks Rollo couldn’t make it to her apartment because of the weather, but when the storm slows and the streets clear, I’ll have to confess that I let her date a serial killer. I lost Olivia because of Ewan’s lies. How many friends is the truth going to cost me?”
It took most of the afternoon to dig Bajka out from below the heavy snow, and as soon as the roads were manageable, Griffin sent Bel and Eamon home. She’d been on the clock for over twenty-four hours, and while she’d changed clothes, her bloody skin had only seen a sink for a shower. She hadn’t slept except for the few hours stolen on Griffin’s couch, and no one had eaten anythingother thanvending machine snacks. Exhaustion filled the station, and Griffin wanted everyone to rest whileBajka’s focus remainedon the storm. The town was emerging from their shelters, and with the temporary disruption to the cell service, news of Rollo and Draven’s arrests had yet to spread. For now, Bajka was a sleepy winter wonderland, but it was only a matter of time before it woke to a nightmare. When that happened, Griffin needed all hands on deck, Eamon included. He didn’t know the truth about Rollo, but Bel had chased the deputy into the woods alone and emerged with Eamon at her side. He was smart enough to understand what that meant. So Bel and Eamon raced to the Reale Estate to rescue the abandoned Cerberus. Too exhausted to even speak, they cared for the animal before showering and eating cold leftovers. Then they ceased to exist until their early morning alarm dragged them back to the land of the living twelve hours later.
“Thanks for helping,” Griffin said when Eamon climbed out of Bel’s SUV. The sheriff had been waiting for them outside the station. “I spoke to the district attorney, and we’re moving Rollo to a more secure pre-trial detention jail in about an hour. We don’t want such a high-profile murder suspect staying in our cells, and with news of Draven’s arrest spreading after the bail hearing, I’m worried about our station’s safety. I realize it’s unorthodox, but it might be safer for all involved if you’re present.”
“I agree,” Eamon said.
“That was fast,” Bel said. “When did all this happen?”
“First thing this morning,” Griffin answered. “A case involving an actor as famous as Draven is bound to be expedited. I don’t like how rushed it is, but my hands are tied. The legal system favors those with big names and even bigger wallets.”
“Will Draven make bail?” Bel asked.
“Undoubtedly,” Griffin said.
“Even with the murder charges?”
“The public is already spinning things his way,” he said. “His fans believe Rollo’s accusations are a smear campaign. Rollo claims he has evidence, but the police didn’t listen to him six years ago. I have little hope it’ll convince them this time around.” Griffin escorted the couple through the station’s doors. “So, Mr. Stone, if you don’t mind staying until Rollo and Draven depart our custody, I’d appreciate it. Just keep a low profile unless we need you.”
But they thankfully didn’t need Eamon’s intervention. An hour later, a transport arrived to remove Officer Ethan Rollo from Bajka’s town limits. He did not resist as they escorted him from his holding cell to the van. He did not speak.Hesimplyheld his head high, purposefully ignoring Eamon as he strode past, and the only words he uttered were his final wishes whispered into Bel’s ear as they loaded him into the vehicle.
“Tell her I’m sorry.”
“I’ll try,” Bel promised. “For her sake, not yours.”
And then the doors slammed shut around him to an orchestra of reporters and appalled spectators. The air was too cold for such heated voices. It burned her skin and grated through her skull. One of their own had fallen from grace, but monsters bred monsters. He hadn’t been born a murderer. This show had made him one.
Bel crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the transport pull away from the station, but as soon as its size rolled out of her view, a lone figure in black consumed her vision. For a moment, the two women stared at each other, and then the younger crept forward, hernormaldesigner stilettos replaced by flats Bel never thought she’d see grace her friend’s feet.
“It’s true.” Violet’s voice faltered. “It was him. He killed all those people.”
Bel remained silent because what could she say? All words felt inadequate.
“How can you be sure?” Violet asked.“It could be a mistake, right?Just a misunderstanding?”
“Violet…” Bel gripped her slender shoulders.
“But it could be?”
“No.” Tears spilled from Bel’s eyes, the cold freezing them to her cheeks with icy bites. “There’s no mistake.”
“How… I don’t…” Violet started crying, and to Bel’s immense relief, she didn’t pull away. Instead, she collapsed against her chest for all the reporters to see, so Bel twisted until she blocked her friend from the cameras’ view. She shielded Violet’s betrayal from the crowd as she ushered her inside, noticing that Jerry tried his best to keep the reporters from violating their privacy, but it was already too late. Someone would uncover why Violet was so upset, and then they would plaster her friend’s name across the news for the entire nation to mock.
It was rare, but sometimes Bel hated this job. This moment was one of them.
“Everything okay?” Eamon asked when a miserable Bel finally returned from comforting Violet, but she didn’t answer him. She didn’t even stop walking until she collided with his chest, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her.
“Violet’s crushed,” she whispered into his shirt. “They didn’t date long, but still… to learn you were with a murderer.”
“Do you ever feel that way about me?” he asked. “Because I’m far worse than Rollo. He killed four. I’ve killed thousands.”
“Does it make me a bad person if I say no?” Bel pulled away from his chest. “You were brought into this world to end lives, but you consciously choose to defy your nature. Now, if you were murdering people while I slept next to you, that would be different. I could never forgive you if I learned you were the serial killer I was hunting.”
“No, that doesn’t make you a bad person, and I’d never put you in the position Rollo placed Violet in. Come on.” He tucked her hair behind her ear before ushering her toward the breakroom. “Let’s get you some coffee to warm you up.”
They fell silent as they stoodside by sideat the counter, stirring the cream and sugar into their drinks. Griffin had requested Eamon’s presence because he feared Rollo’s reaction, but it wasn’t Rollo who needed him. It was Bel, and she slipped a hand against his back. She caught him smile out of the corner of his eyes, but before the grin could fully spread across his lips, his entire body stiffened, his muscles coiling below her palm.
“What?” She raised her eyebrows at him, but Eamon silently peeled her hand off his back and led her out of the breakroom in time to catch Beau Draven and his lawyer exiting the cells.
“He made bail.” Bel’s voice stuck in her throat when she realized who the lawyer was, and she understood why Eamon gripped her fingers so fiercely. “The deal,” she whispered, and as if the suited man heard her hushed words from across the station, his attention snapped to her. For a fraction of a second, he glared at her with the air of a victor, but then his gaze shifted to the wall of muscle protecting her. His movements faltered as he recognized a far more powerful predatorstalkedhis client’s exit, and then with rushed footsteps, he and Beau Draven vanished into the world.
“Draven won’t go down for the murder of Rollo’s grandmother, will he?” Bel whispered, Eamon’spowerso intense that she couldn’t find her voice until the deal was long gone.
“If his lawyer is the deal, then no, Draven won’t pay for his crimes,” Eamon said. “A single thread of their covenant remains, and as long as black magic has a foothold within the show, he won’t let harm come to the production.”
“It’s an endless cycle. A deal begets death begets fame so inexplicable that not even a serial killer can unravel it. He won’t stop, will he?”
“No, he’ll never stop.”
“I should’ve let Rollo kill Draven,” Bel muttered.
“Hey.” Eamon tugged her hand until she looked up at him. “Don’t do that. You stopped a murder, and no matter how complicated the morality of this situation gets, you have a compass, and you followed it.”
“It’s just the deal’s going to return to his death collecting, and Draven will continue to star in this show, and the world will love him for playing a hero when he’s the worst of us.” She pulled free from his grip and returned to their forgotten coffee.
“You can’t fix everything.”
“But I want to.” She collapsed forward, capturing her face in her hands. “And having you on my side makes me believe I can.”
“If only more people were like you.” Eamon rubbed her back as he kissed her head. “But as you often remind me, we aren’t God. We can only do so much.” He shifted to kiss her neck as a reminder. “And black magic is an art best avoided.”
“I know.”
“Detective…?”
“I know, I know.” She stood up, her stubborn streak struggling not to argue with him, even though he was right.
“I love you, that’s all, and I don’t need any more black magic trying to steal you from me.” He scanned the station, and confident that no one was watching, he slapped her lovingly on the backside. “And on that note, you don’t need me here anymore, so I’llgohang out with your dog. After last night, I feel terrible leaving him alone.”
“Me too. His face when we left this morning made me want to cry.” She rubbed his chest, not ready for him to leave. The storm explained his presence, but if he kept hanging around, officers might ask questions neither she nor Griffin cared to answer. “But with how much time you spend with him compared to me, you’ll have to stop calling him my dog.”
“No. He’s your dog.” Eamon kissed her cheek before pulling out his phone to order a cab. “He won’t become my dog until youbothlive with me.”
“So, we’re back on that topic?” Bel smiled, her heart lighter at the return of his favorite request.
“Yes, we are.” He winked at her as he strode through the station. “And just remember, all you gotta do to shut me up is agree.”
“I can’t believe it was Rollo,” Olivia said as she sank into her desk’s chair. She’d finally returned to Bajka, conveniently after Bel had almost finished the daunting stack of paperwork. “I worked alongside him for months… I don’t understand. Poor Violet. Have you talked to her?”
“I have.” Bel glanced up from her work to study her partner. The blonde hair. The soft features. The southern accentspokenin a sweet voice. She loved her friend, and even if Olivia only ever offered her professional comradery, she’d accept it.
“How was she?” Olivia asked. “Should I stop by after work to be with her?”
“That’s a good…” Bel’s voice stuck in her throat when she caught sight of Griffin over Olivia’s shoulder. He was on the phone, but his movements warned something was wrong.
“What?” Olivia followed her line of sight, and as if controlled by one mind, the detectives pushed free of their chairs and rushed into the sheriff’s office.
“What happened?” Bel asked when their boss slammed the phone back into its cradle.
“Rollo’s transport never arrived,” he said, collapsing into his chair with disbelief painted across his features. “They lost contact with the drivers a few hours ago, and they just called to explain why. There was a crash.”
“Oh god.” Olivia’s fingers flew to her lips to catch her surprise. “The roads are still pretty bad. It’s why it took me so long to drive home. Is that what happened?”
“They aren’t sure,” Griffin answered. “They found the vehicle upside down. The disturbance at the scene suggests it rolled through the snow before hitting the trees.”
“The officers?” Bel asked.
“Alive. They were transported to the hospital, but they were mostly bruised.Seemsthe damage was predominantly contained to the rear.”
“Thank goodness,” Olivia said.
“And Rollo?” Bel asked what they were all thinking.
“Gone,” Griffin said. “The back half of the van was ripped apart in the crash, and there’s no sign of him or his body. They’re organizing a manhunt, but as of right now, they have no leads.”
“Oh my god.” Olivia crossed the floor and sank to their boss’ couch. “He’s on foot, and it’s freezing. I would guess he’sinjured as well, so he can’t have gone far.”
“No.” Griffin pinned Bel with his gaze as if to tell her he suspected thenextwords to fall from his lips were a lie. “No, he couldn’t have.”
“Kitchen,” Eamon called as she opened the front door, and a second later, seventy pounds of black slid across the floor to plow into her shins. Bel shed her snowy boots and oversized coat and then scooped her squirming pitbull into a hug before carrying him toward Eamon’s voice.
“I didn’t have it in me to cook,” he said, kissing her cheek hello only to get a face full of dog slobber as Cerberus joined in. “So, I ordered pizza.”
“Pizza sounds perfect.” Bel placed her heavy best friend down on the floor, but when she stood back up, a wary Eamon greeted her.
“What happened?” he asked, clearly reading the emotions on her face.
“Rollo’s transport crashed. He’s missing.” She grabbed one of the complementary paper plates from the pizzeria and loaded it with a few slices as she recounted her day. “They’re blaming the accident on the icy roads, but I don’t buy it for a second, especially since the officers escaped with only bruises,” she said, taking a bite of the still-steaming Margherita slice. “Rollo did this. He caused the crash.”
“I’d bet money on it.” Eamon filled his plate with the meat lover’s slices and then stacked the boxes before grabbing a bottle of wine and two glasses in his fist. “Come on.” He nudged her into the living room, and he set the food and alcohol on the coffee table before the roaring fire.
“It’s dark now, but they crashed during the day,” Bel said as she curled up on the luxurious couch, and realizinghe wouldn’t get any salty pizza no matter how big his puppy eyes got, Cerberus shoved his face into his toy box and started throwing stuffed animals around the floor. “I thought werewolves needed the moon to shift.”
“Just like I can’t walk into a church or step into the sunlight or see my reflection in a mirror.” Eamon grabbed her legs and pulled them onto his lap before opening the wine. “It’s part of the lore they spread to protect themselves, much like the myths my kind perpetuates to hide our truth. If a Dhampir can’t set foot inside a church, then humanshave no needto fear those sitting beside them.”
“And if werewolves only shift below the moon, anyone you meet midday is safe.”
“Exactly.” He handed her the wine andthenturned on the news for soft background noise.
“So Rollo shifted once he escaped your reach and crashed the van.” Bel curled closer to Eamon, trapping him below her legs with the sole purpose of watching his black eyes burn. After today’s aggravation, this wasexactlywhat she needed. Pizza, wine, a roaring fire, a comically playing dog, and her best friend and confidant. “I don’t know how to feel about this,” she continued. “He murdered people… brutally. He stripped them down and forced them to run naked save for a hooded cloak through the snow. But he was also a man so broken by his grandmother’s death that he felt he had no choice when the legal system failed him. I want his actions to disgust me, but then I picture my dad in the woods because someone made a devil’s deal for something as stupid as fame. I think about finding Briar gutted and frozen, and I fear I wouldn’t be any better. If I triedover and over againto convince the police, only for them to laugh in my face, what would I do? Would I move on, or would I hunt the guilty down myself?”
“Don’t drive yourself crazy thinking like that.” Eamon ran a hand over her hair. “Your family isn’t dead, and Rollo isn’t you.”
“I know what you’d do,” she said. “You would hunt down their murderers and make sure nothing was left to find.”
“Yes, but that’s the key difference. You wouldn’t find anything if Iwasavengingyour family, therefore, there’d be no crime.No body? No problem. But compared to the things I’ve done, vigilante justice would be almost heroic.”
“If he hadn’t shoved the deaths in our face, we would’ve never known he was the killer. He had the power to drag them deep into the wilderness, and if he’d chosen to kill close to home, we might have classified them as animal attacks, just like with Ewan’s victim. He could’ve gotten away with it.”
“But he didn’t want to get away with it. He wanted the world to acknowledge what those five did. He wanted to prove their guilt.”
“Will that happen, though?” she asked. “If the deal is their lawyer, he’ll spin this Draven’s way.”
“But you know the truth.” Eamon brushed his knuckles over her clavicle. “I know the truth. Griffin knows the truth. That’s a good start.”
“But not good enough for Rollo. He still escaped custody.”
“Bars can’t hold wolves,” Eamon said. “You begged me not to kill him, so I didn’t, but the only way to stop a creature like that is to kill it.”
“We’re never going to catch him, are we?”
“No, you’re not. I guarantee you he’s inhiswolf form, and the authorities aren’t searching for an animal. My guess is he’s headed north into the woods. You’ll never find him. But I could.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, I could find him…” He paused, his head twitching as his hearing picked up something only his senses could detect. “In fact,I know where he’s been. Tracking him from there wouldn’t be hard.”
Bel stiffened, her eyes scanning the dark windows. Was he here? Had Rollo returned to exact revenge on her for disrupting his plans? But then Eamon leaned forward and snagged the remote off the coffee table, increasing the news to a volume she could hear.
“Tragedy has struck Aesop’s Files yet again, and fans worldwide mourn the sudden and unexpected death of the show’s lead actor Beau Draven,” the evening reporter said, and Bel sat to attention so fast that she choked on her pizza, gagging and coughing until Eamon pounded relief into her back.
“A series of gruesome murders plagued the crew of the beloved TV show while they filmed on location this winter,” the reportercontinued,as if Bel wasn’t actively fighting for her life. “The man allegedly responsible for the killings was taken into custody during the blizzard two days ago, and actor Beau Draven was arrested alongside him. Details haven’t been released to the public yet, but Draven’s lawyer issued a statement calling the allegations outrageously false and malicious. Mr. Draven was released on bail this morning, but his car was found crashed on the side of the road early this evening.” The woman mentioned a two-lane divided highway that Bel was unfamiliar with, and she wondered what the pair was doing so far off course. She returned to New York City often to visit her family, and if Draven was aiming for the Big Apple, he shouldn’t have ended up in the snow miles away from the route any GPS would recommend.
“Beau Draven and his lawyer were pronounced dead on the scene,” the reporter’s voice said as images of the crash displayed across the screen, and Bel recoiled against Eamon at the sight. The mangled metal. The shattered glass.The annihilated trees and obliterated snow. The news didn’t need to tell their audience that the occupants of that expensive vehicle were killed upon impact. No human could survive violence like that, and while the deal possessed magic, his body was brittle, just like Alcina Magus’ was when Eamon beat her to death to save Bel.
“The authorities have ruled the crash an accident,” the reporter said, yanking Bel back to the present. “With the increasingly bad weather plaguing the tri-state area, emergency services have struggled tokeep up with thestreet cleaning demands. The police believe the car hit a stretch of black ice, which caused the driver to lose control. The studio has yet to release a statement about the actor’s passing, but thecast and crew of Aesop’s Files have taken to social media to express their condolences to the Draven family.”
“There wasn’t any ice, was there?” Bel asked as the reporter transitioned to the next segment of the nightly news. “It was Rollo. He got his fifth kill.”
“That car hit those trees with a massive amount of force,” Eamon said. “It didn’t end up there by accident. And why were they in the middle of nowhere? I drive to the city often, and I’ve never ended up there.”
“Rollo’s wolf probably corralled them somewhere lonely,” Bel said. “He didn’t want any witnesses. Are werewolves fast?”
“Based on his wolf’s size, he’s faster than me,” Eamon said. “Not stronger, but I would assume faster.”
“Would you even be able to catch him?” Bel leaned over and poured herself another glass of wine because one wouldn’t be enough after that news report.
“Come, come, Detective. Have a little faith.”
“So, where do you think he’s going?” She rested her head against his chest. “Will he turn himself in now that his mission is complete, or will he travel as a wolf to cross the border?”
“If it were me, I’d flee north. Of course, he might surprise us by turning himself in, butmy guess ishe’ll disappear. So my question is, do I go after him?”
“How long would it take to find him?”
“I can’t say. Depends on how good he is at covering his tracks from people like me.”
“But you’d be gone for a few days?”
“At least.”
“Do you think he’ll ever kill again?”
“No. He wanted justice, and his missioniscomplete.
“And prison bars won’t hold a wolf?”
“Not unless he allows it.”
“So you’d have to kill him to stop him?”
“Is that what you want?” Eamon twisted below her so he could meet her gaze. “It’s up to you. Do you want me to bring him back, or do you want me to kill him?”
“Neither…” Bel paused to let her decision fully sink in. “Beau Draven and the deal died because their car hit the ice.” She stared at Eamon with meaning, and understanding flooded his death-black eyes. “It was a tragic accident that’s in no way connected to Rollo’s prisoner transport. The accidents occurred hundreds of miles from each other. The freezing temperatures and poorly plowed road caused bothcrashes,and losing track of Deputy Ethan Rollo has nothing to do with me. I did my part. I arrested a murderer. Bothof them. I solved the case, and I’ll make sure the world knows of their guilt. But as for tonight? There’s no need to leave this house because of reckless driving in inclement weather.”
She fell silent, but she didn’t need words to hear Eamon’s question. His eyes held his meaning, and she read his concern as if it were printed letters on a page. He wanted to confirm this was a path she was truly comfortable with.
“I need to be done.” She placed her wine on the coffee table and pressed her hands against hissolidchest. “I did my job, and judge me all you want, but Draven deserved what he got. I know that isn’t something a detective should say, but I can’t feel sympathy for men who strike deals with devils. Black magic made you almost kill me in New York. Anotherrecipient of a dealdragged me into the mountains and hunted me through the snow. You know Blaubart threatened to carve apart my face while I was still conscious? He wanted to make me too hideous for you to love.”
Eamon flinched as if her confession had slapped him across the face. She’d never divulged that part of her kidnapping, and it was strange to see an alpha predator riddled with pain.
“Maybe it makes me a horrible person, but I cannot forgive men like that.” She slid her hands up his chest to cup his jaw, forcing him to meet her gaze.
“You aren’t horrible,” he whispered. “Cop or not, some people don’t deserve mercy.”
“And I’m tired. I’m cold. I’m always cold, and I can’t take it anymore.” She pulled him to her mouth and pressed a kiss to his lips to stop herself from crying. “I miss you. Blaubart kept telling me he’d change my face so that not even you’d recognize me. Running down that mountain, I never expected to see you again, and then this god-forsaken case blew through town to disrupt our lives so thoroughly that we didn’t even see each other on Valentine’s Day.”
“I screwed up our first Christmas, so it killed me that I couldn’t make it up to you for our first Valentine’s.”
“Me too.” She kissed him again, this one lingering as if to make up for their stolen date. “So, don’t disappear into the wilderness. Stay here and keep me and Cerberus warm. Let’s celebrate our missed Valentines. I’m talking a new dress and heels, a five-star restaurant, and a pet-friendly hotel that offers human and doggy room service.”
“Hold on.” Eamon grabbed her biceps and yanked her off him with mock concern. “Did you just ask me to buy you expensive clothes?”
“And shoes.” She winked as he pressed a palm to her forehead to check for a fever.
“Can I add jewelry?” he asked, his mouth twitching upward in an excited smile.
“Why not… but no rings.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “Not yet, at least. I’ll accept simple diamond earrings if you want to splurge, though.”
“I’ll take it.” Eamon lunged for her, wrapping her in his arms as he collapsed to the couch. “Tell me when you have a weekend off, and I’ll plan everything.”
“I can’t—uff,” Bel squealed as Cerberus joined in, his pink tongue lathering both of their faces in drool. “I can’t wait.”
Eamon pulled the pitbull off the floor and into their cuddle pile. “It seems Baby Beast can’t either.”