Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
“It’s not entirely abnormal,” Xavier tells me. “And it’s not the first time they’ve visited her. She just hasn’t had any visitors recently.”
“What do you think that means?” I ask.
Mabel scoots over so Xavier can sit beside me on the couch. I immediately loop my arm through his, feeling calmer the second his cool skin presses against mine.
“I don’t know,” he admits. “Marco could simply be visiting her. Or he could be planning something.” He pauses.
“All of Larissa’s phone calls are monitored, and I can get copies if you want.
But considering how you were raised, I assume they know better than to say anything outright that could be recorded.
I’m hoping if they’re using some kind of code, you or your brothers can crack it. ”
“Yes,” I say. “We probably could.” I look up at him. “I know you have connections, but the Order does too. Do you think there’s any chance they could’ve arranged to meet privately?”
“It’s possible.” I hate that he’s being rational and honest. I don’t actually want him to lie to me. But right now, I kind of want him to lie to me.
“I’ll have someone look into it,” he adds.
“Thanks.”
I rest my head against his shoulder.
“We’re meeting with the wolves tonight,” he tells me. “The pack from Raleigh is here.”
I lift my head. “Do you want me there?” Secretly, I’m hoping the answer is no.
“I need you to make an appearance,” Xavier says. “A strategic one.”
I groan.
“There was a direct attack on you today. If I keep you hidden away at home, it makes us look scared.”
“We are scared,” Mabel says, nodding emphatically. “They could’ve shot and killed Wren.”
“Exactly,” Xavier replies. I understand what he means. If Xavier doesn’t respond soon, he risks looking weak. Or worse, like we actually had something to do with the Reaper deaths and the ritual.
But if he reacts too aggressively, the wolves could pull back even further.
“What time is the meeting?” I ask.
“Eight-thirty.”
I give him a pointed look. “The sun won’t be fully down by then.”
“I know.” He doesn’t even pretend otherwise. “I arranged it that way intentionally. It isn’t a problem for us, and I need them to understand that I’m taking their concerns seriously.”
“You could not pay me enough to work in management.” I try to smile.
“So what am I going for tonight? Mafia-wife chic? Demon-hunter street-wear?”
“Wear whatever makes you feel comfortable,” Xavier says, which is annoyingly supportive and completely useless.
“My pajamas it is.” I grin. “I’m kidding. I’ll wear a dress and sandals. Something I can run in.”
“Okay.” He kisses my forehead, then heads back toward his office.
Mabel and I start the sequel to the movie we just finished.
I’m still exhausted, but my mind refuses to slow down.
The anxiety keeps building, making it impossible to focus on anything happening on the screen.
We’re not even a quarter of the way through the movie when Leo and Devon come back into the room.
Leo is on the phone.
“Thank you so much, Officer Schaffer. And if you ever need anything, just remember you’ve got friends here at the Bureau.
” He pauses, listening to whatever is being said on the other line.
“All right. Have a good night. You too. Thanks.” He ends the call and looks around triumphantly.
“The people at the Chestnut Hill Police Department are Chatty Cathys.” He grins.
“Must not be a lot of crime happening in small-town Ohio.”
“What did you find out?” I ask. I know if I let him, he’ll stand there gloating for another five minutes before telling us anything useful.
“Claire snuck out and stayed with a friend for about nine days,” he says. “The friend’s parents eventually found out she was there and called the group home.” I sit up straighter. “Claire agreed to let them drive her back. But when they got home from work that day, she was gone.”
“Of course she was,” I mutter. “She showed back up at the café where she worked two days later to pick up a paycheck.” Leo glances at his notes. “She got the check, and it wasn’t until the assistant manager heard from another employee that Claire had been there that anyone reported it.”
“So she had money.”
“Yep. She cashed the check the next day at a bank in town.” He starts counting through the timeline. “That puts us at day twelve after she ran away.”
I nod.
“A girl matching her description was then seen at a train station two towns over. There wasn’t a direct route to the East Coast, but she bought a ticket to Pennsylvania. I’m guessing her plan was to transfer from there.”
“To Connecticut,” I say.
“Probably,” Leo continues. “Facial recognition picked her up in Pittsburgh on day eighteen, so she was there for a while.” My heart jumps. “And today is day nineteen.”
“So there’s a really good chance she’s still in Pittsburgh.”
“I’d say there’s a decent chance,” Leo says. “It’s a big city, though. She could’ve hitched a ride, booked a ticket, or found another way out.” He shrugs. “But as of right now, I will be notified if anyone sees her. But the bad news is they’re issuing an Amber Alert in just a few hours.”
“Why is that bad?” Mabel asks.
“It gives away info,” I explain. “It lets everyone know where she was last seen.”
“Ohhh, and Vivian could hear this.”
“Yeah. I’m sure she has notifications set to alert her if Claire’s name is mentioned online,” I say. “If it is, we’ll just have to make sure we get to her before.” For the first time all day, it feels like we actually have something. Not much. But a direction. Pittsburgh.
“So are we going to Pittsburg?” Mabel asks.
“Yes, but, ummm…” I start and let out a breath. “I need to fill Marie in. Come up with some sort of plan, and go to this meeting with the wolves. Can you curl my hair?”
“Of course!” Mabel says excitedly. We get up and go to Mabel’s room. She picks out a black dress and flats for me to wear tonight, and then films a “get ready with me” video for her channel since she hasn’t in a while. Marie calls like she says she would as I’m getting into the car with Xavier.
I fill her in on everything we found out, and she says someone inside the Covenstead is going to scry for Claire’s location with a black mirror.
I don’t know what that is, but she said it was safer than doing a locator spell and can give us a general idea of where she is now that we have a broad location narrowed down.
I’m feeling just a tad lighter as we pull out of the driveway.
Since the sun hasn’t fully set yet, we’re being driven in one of the light-tight limos Xavier always has at his disposal.
He puts his arm around me and I lean in, resting my head on his firm shoulder.
Theo and Zeke are with us, and everyone is rather calm on the drive over.
If there’s food and drinks at this event, I’m getting a glass of wine right away, needing something to steady my nerves.
We’re meeting at an older hotel away from the business district.
The limo is light-tight, but not sound proof and I hear what sounds like angry voices as we come to a stop.
Theo looks oddly pleased with himself but neither Xavier nor Zeke have the slightest change of expression.
The driver comes around and opens the door and it takes my brain a minute to process what I’m seeing.
The angry voices are indeed coming from the parking lot of the hotel. What the hell is going on? Xavier helps me out of the limo and I blink, watching a large grey wolf jump over a motorcycle, pinning a member of the 409 Reapers to the ground. Another Reaper comes running over, gun drawn.
Holy shit. The wolves and Reapers are fighting each other? What happened to having the living side together over the dead?
Xavier zooms forward, using his body as a shield. He takes the bullet right to the chest, only barely flinching from the pain.
“I see we’ve arrived just in the nick of time,” he says to Theo, who disarms the Reaper. Zeke stares down the wolf, who slinks back, running and disappearing into the shadows. “Please, everyone,” he calls out, voice steady. “Restore order. Let’s get back to the thing we all came together for.”
Theo can’t keep the smug look off his face, and while it’s his normal fucking face, I see the extra layer of cockiness. Whatever chaos is going on here tonight isn’t random.
Xavier started it—somehow—so he can finish it and go back to being needed as the only one who can ensure peace.