Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
RAJ
“You can look forward to receiving notice of our lawsuit for wrongful arrest,” Lance’s solicitor says, nose in the air as he opens the door of the interview room and ushers Lance through first.
Lance smirks at Ethan and me before walking out, giving a subtle nod to a vampire guard on duty. I make a mental note to look into that particular guard later.
I use my BSG pass to let the two fae out of the secure door to the foyer, then repeat for the outer door. I shove my hands into my trouser pockets and watch them walk away into the bustling street, the overcast sky threatening rain.
Ethan joins me outside, arms folded across his chest. “What a bastard.”
I snort. “Which one?”
“Fucking both. How that solicitor thinks he’s going to sue us for wrongful arrest when we brought charges against his client is beyond me.”
“He thinks the evidence isn’t enough to get the case to court, and he’s probably right.”
It’s bad enough that we’ve had to let Lance out on bail, but having found nothing at the warehouse that could have caused the explosion Bryn and I were caught in, and with Kit coming up empty so far on the Far Out Freight data, we’ve only got witness statements and Doc P’s medical report to fall back on.
It’s possible Kit will still find something given more time, but I’m not holding my breath.
“Come on.” Ethan nudges me. “Let’s get a late breakfast before we head to the office.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” My voice has a bitter edge that I don’t bother to hide. “I wouldn’t want to ruin my chance to be a permanent undercover officer.”
After last night’s failed search and seizure, along with this morning’s pointless interview with Lance, I’ve run out of fucks to give.
Sometimes I’m guilty of deferring to my alpha too often, but if I can’t tell my best friend when he’s being unreasonable, then our friendship isn’t as strong as I thought it was.
He frowns. “I probably deserve that, but in my defence, it was just an idea. Why didn’t you tell me working undercover was too much this time?”
I side-eye him. “Who says it was?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Your attitude, your scent…”
I should have known he’d call me out on it. “I guess I’ve just been beyond ready to move into the manor and have all of us together again. I thought living on my own would be great, but to be honest, it’s been… lonely.”
He studies me, his nostrils flaring as he inhales. “It’s more than that though, isn’t it?”
I sigh. My best friend has far too sensitive a nose, often scenting my emotions before I understand them myself. I’m never sure if I love it or hate it.
“My tiger struggled to settle after what happened to Kit, like I needed daily proof of life, you know? I thought I’d calmed down, but not being able to contact the pack every day... It’s been…”
I trail off, not sure how to explain the sense of isolation. In retrospect, volunteering to go undercover was a bad idea, but it’s never been this difficult before.
He grips my nape above my shirt collar and brushes his thumb over my neck, scenting me.
“If it makes you feel any better, Kit threatened to quit after the warehouse explosion unless they saw you regularly. It didn’t matter how many times I stated that our rules governing undercover operations are in place for your safety, they stood their ground.
Since we all fucking missed you, and meeting at the manor reduced the risk, I let it happen. ”
I give him a tight smile. “It’s helped, but it’s not enough.”
“I realise that now. I’ll talk to Ayo about us moving into the manor as soon as the new roof is completed. I think he’ll agree when he knows how important it is to all of us.”
I lean into his touch without consciously deciding to do so. “That’d really help.”
He squeezes my nape then drops his hand.
“And you can forget the permanent undercover idea, okay? I abandoned it as soon as you stormed out to take that call smelling really fucking hurt, and Bryn text-yelled at me for being an ‘insensitive lamb’s cock.’ That’s why I had no problem reverting to the plan where you conducted the arrest.”
By unspoken agreement, we start walking towards the Southern Quarter where there’s a wolf-run cafe the team have apparently become enamoured with in my absence.
My lips twitch. “He sent that?”
“Oh yeah. All caps and everything. We even argued about who got to go after you until Jet snuck out and beat us to it. You know, as pissed as I was at Bryn the other night, I like that he’s protective of you.
” Ethan smirks at me, a twinkle in his eye.
“Seriously, how fucking cute were you two in Doc P’s pocket realm, all snuggled up together? ”
“Really?” I ask dryly. I’m surprised it’s taken him this long to make fun of me for that.
“Ayo and I have been debating something: does you licking him in tiger form that day count as your first kiss?”
“Are you done?”
“Oh, I’ve got plenty more where that came fr—” He stops dead, gripping my bicep, his attention diverted down an alley. “Isn’t that your building?”
My head snaps around. There’s smoke drifting up from two streets away and sure enough, it’s the converted Victorian warehouse my flat is in. “Shit.”
We immediately sprint in that direction.
Cal and Skye share a flat in the same building as me, so it’s not a surprise when Ethan calls Skye on the way.
“Your building has smoke pouring out of it. Raj and I are nearby and we’ll go straight to the source when we arrive, so get any of the team who’re available over here to check that each flat has been evacuated or if anyone needs extra assistance, at least until the fire brigade turn up.
It’s not a major blaze yet, but let’s not take any chances. ”
Hopefully most people who live in the building are at work, and I agree with Ethan that any fire must be small at the moment judging by the amount of smoke. Even so, my heart is pounding, my tiger yowling that something is badly wrong.
Ethan hangs up as the wail of sirens fills the air. The shrill sound of the building’s fire alarm is audible as we get closer, and we arrive to find people spilling out of the front door.
I count the floors, then orientate the flats from this perspective only for my stomach to drop. “Oh shit, that’s Bryn and Milo’s flat.”
“Let’s hope it’s a dragon thing gone awry and not something more sinister,” Ethan says, his expression grim.
As much as I hope that’s true, a sense of foreboding has taken up residence in the pit of my stomach.
We push through the steady stream of people descending the stairs and rush up to the flat.
The door is wide open, smoke lingering on the landing but no visible flames or intense heat, thank goodness.
Inside, the walls in the hall are blackened and a fine layer of ash covers everything.
Layered in with the scents of Bryn, Milo, and Zara are the distinct scents of six separate fae, two of them familiar.
Ethan’s nostrils flare. “Aire and Ember were here along with four other fae, and Bryn’s scent is about an hour old.”
My heart seizes. I assumed I was picking up Bryn’s scent because the place is saturated with it, as is normal for a person’s home, but Ethan’s nose is more sensitive and if he says Bryn was here this morning, my dragon definitely was. But why? I left him safe and protected at the manor.
Fuck, did he even put his shield charm back on before he left?
Or was he as convinced as always that he can easily handle himself?
As much as I’ve worried about him being targeted next instead of me, I never thought it would really happen.
And what about his siblings? Have all three of them been kidnapped?
Ethan goes to check the master bedroom and I hurry to call Bryn as I stride into the living room.
A phone amongst the wreckage vibrates, creating a rattle on the charred wood of the coffee table, the name ‘Treasure’ on the screen.
My stomach bottoms out as I hang up and call Milo, only for a ringtone to start up in the master bedroom.
Ethan appears holding Milo’s phone, expression grim.
“Milo’s scent is a few hours old, and I’m picking up the scents of Aire and two other fae in there.
It looks like there was a struggle, although fairly minor.
I’ll check the other bedroom, you look around in here.
”At my shaky inhale, he grips the back of my neck and scents me.
“We’ll find them. Together. Look for clues. ”
I manage to nod, my stomach in knots and my chest painfully tight. At least having my alpha’s orders to follow helps focus my mind.
Smoke is drifting out of the vents above the French doors, and I survey the scorch-marked furniture for clues.
Blue lights from below flash on the blackened walls, the sirens of the fire brigade cutting off as they arrive.
We don’t have long before this place is swarming and we’re moved out—unless it’s a supernatural crew, which isn’t guaranteed.
My tiger is panicking and I feel like I might throw up. How could I have failed Bryn and his siblings like this?
I desperately scan the room, trying to piece together what happened.
Finding out the full story last night of why Bryn assaulted Lance made me release a tension I didn’t know I’d been holding onto.
I knew I was falling for him, but him trusting me with everything, including stories about his hoard, was the final thing I needed to stop subconsciously holding back and fall completely in love.
I should have bonded with him when I had the chance, because then I’d have sensed something was wrong this morning and might have gotten here in time, but I wasn’t truly ready before. The thought that I might never get the chance now has my tiger roaring and pacing inside me.