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I move to the door and open it only far enough to stick my head out and make eye contact with one of the kitchen staff. “Do you have a meat thermometer I can have?” They quickly open a drawer and hand it to me.
Facing the body once more, I line up the metal probe and take a deep breath. Sticking patients with a needle is an entirely different ballgame from shoving this into their liver. It feels like it takes an eternity to get the reading. I quickly do the math, the body loses about one and a half degrees per hour after death…
“He’s been dead for about four to five hours, give or take. Not sure why he hasn’t had more rigor setting in. I’ll have to do some research to figure it out.”
The twins share another loaded glance. “We need to be on high alert. The killer could strike again at any moment, which means one of us needs to keep an eye on Verity at all times. We protect our omega at any cost,” Andrik states.
“That we can agree on,” I respond. It doesn’t escape my notice that he said our omega, albeit reluctantly, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Chapter 37
Verity
The first thing I smell as I wake up is baked chocolate. It’s like a hug from Emmett. Much like the heat that warms my back, compared to my front, which is much cooler than it was a little while ago. Someone left the bed. I snuggle into the arms wrapped around me, and it stirs the scent of bubbly champagne. Ryland. I take a deeper breath, letting his fizzy scent surround me like his arms.
Why isn’t Emmett still here? What could possibly have taken him from me after he knotted me?
Naturally, a frown tugs at my lips and Ryland groans as I sit up, his arm falling from my waist. It’s the way we’ve slept every night since we got here, and yet, with Emmett not here, something is missing. It’s like I need to have two people in bed with me right now to feel whole.
“Where are you going?” Ry asks as I climb from the bed.
“I need to find Emmett,” I mumble, wincing as my feet touch the cold floor.
Ry sighs. “One of the twins came knocking at the door. They needed Emmett to go take care of something. He’ll be back when he’s finished.”
His words are meant to comfort me, but all they do is make me worry. Jedrik and Andrik came to get Emmett? Fuck. Was one of them hurt? Something is nagging at me, and I can’t ignore it. I feel it deep in my gut. I rush from the room to find them, leaving behind a cursing Ryland.
After bolting through the bedroom door, I find I’m still in the medical wing. I don’t pause to think about what I’m doing, and continue rushing down the hall leading toward the exam rooms. The first one is empty, so I move on to the second room.
Something in my stomach drops, making it feel like an empty pit. I stare into the empty room, trying to figure out why I’m so worried about them when nothing seems to be wrong. I’m missing something, some memory that will explain everything.
Where the fuck are they?
Suddenly, the door opens to the hallway leading to the rest of the mansion, and Emmett comes in with my twins following behind him. I dash toward them, catching Emmett’s eye. He’s blocking the others from seeing me. His gaze travels over me, warmth in his eyes as a sparkle shines within them. When he smirks, I can’t help but check what he’s seeing, and glance down.
Shit.
I’m only wearing one of his shirts. Nothing else. Clearly, I wasn’t thinking when I left his bedroom.
Before the twins have time to see me, Ryland stumbles from the off shooting hall leading to the bedroom. Apparently, I did a good job of leaving him behind.
He gains the attention of the twins, who suddenly look concerned. “How is she?” Andrik demands. He takes a threatening step forward, as if the fraction of a second that passed was too long of a pause for Ryland to respond.
My bestie has that twitch in his eye, the one he used to get when we were kids, and he had to stop himself from rolling them. It fills me with warmth seeing him wanting to get snarky with them, but holding back all the same since he knows how worried they are.
“Ask her yourself,” he replies, holding up a hand to direct them to where I’m standing.
Shitty, shitty, fuck. I forgot I was standing here in Emmett’s shirt again. Why didn’t I take advantage of the distraction when I had the chance?
All eyes turn to me, and the moment Andrik sees me, he’s closing the distance and scooping me into his arms. His face nuzzles into my neck as he squeezes me.
“I’m so sorry we couldn’t stay with you,” he mumbles, pulling away and cupping one cheek while searching me for any injuries. “Are you okay?”
“What are you wearing?” his brother hisses from behind him.
Well, that sure didn’t take long. Even though I was expecting it, I still find myself wincing.
Andrik glances over his shoulder at Jedrik, then peers at me once more. He holds me out at arm’s length, taking a more scrutinizing look.
