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“I’m not a detective anymore,” he says coldly. “And frankly, I don’t want to stick around to see you disappointed when all this is over.”
My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”
His scent turns overwhelmingly bitter. “It’s just numbers, Skylar,” he says, as if I’m a child. “Getting your hopes up will only make this worse for you in the long run. Believe me,” he continues, his voice growing soft, “I’ve seen it happen before.”
I feel sick to my stomach. The coffee churns around in my gut, and nausea overwhelms me.
I want to vomit right on his fucking shoes.
“I’m sorry, just so I’m clear,” I rasp, “you came here to tell me that I’m not going to find my friend?”
He stares at me a beat too long with his grey eyes. “No, I came here as a favor to Landon,” he replies.
My temper flares. “Great. Well, you can get the fuck out of my café, Vincent,” I snap.
His eyes widen. “Really,” he says, his voice low. “Do you normally talk to people that try to help you out like this?”
“You just told me my friend was probably dead,” I hiss.
“Just because you don’t like what I said doesn’t make it any less true,” he retorts, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, if I believed that, I would probably lock myself in my house for the next few years,” I say. “Because if I don’t have any hope, there’s no way I’m carrying on.”
Something I said strikes a nerve with him. “Hope is pointless,” he says lowly. “Reality always sets in.”
I bark out a humorless laugh. “I’m sure it does,” I say, trying my best to not lose it on him. “Thank you for reminding me of that.”
He continues to study me, then sighs, frustrated. His fingers card through his hair as he regards me. “Look, I’m not—”
“Please leave,” I say quietly, giving him a sad smile. “I’m done having this conversation.”
Maybe I’m being dramatic and rude. I don’t know how far Vincent came to visit me, and he did spend time discussing April with me.
But I can’t fathom the idea that she’s…
I just can’t.
I can’t go down the route, and this Alpha just tried to extinguish the spark of hope I have left.
Finally, he stands up, keeping his eyes on me. “Nice to meet you,” he grumbles. “I’ll tell Landon what we discussed.”
I nod curtly, refusing to let him see the tears that threaten to spill. Yet as he walks away, I can’t help but feel like I made a mistake.
But I snatch up our cups and napkins to toss them away in the back. Then I pull out my phone and send a group text to both River and Landon.
Your friend is an asshole.
29
RIVER
I’m twenty minutes outside of Skylar’s town, ignoring the angry looks of officers as I walk past crime scene tape and into a house.
I’m with the Alpha Bureau. If they have a fucking problem, they can call the government.
It’s another O overdose.
This time, it’s a nineteen year old college kid.
