It was the wrong thing to say.
A sliver of laughter escaped her lips, cold and sharp as those killer cheekbones. “So now we’re talking about settling debts? That’s rich.”
Shame burned in my gut, twisting me inside out. Ghosts of the past tried their best to pry their way out of the box I’d locked them away in, but I grit my teeth against their onslaught, forcing them back inside. We’d had twenty years to sift through the relics of the past, but we’d wasted it avoiding each other instead, and now there was no time to reminisce.
“Our friends are missing—witches from Blackmoon Bay and the surrounding areas,” I said. “We have reason to believe they’re being held captive somewhere in Raven’s Cape.”
“What reason might that be?”
I looked across the room to Ronan, who’d remained mostly silent throughout the conversation. How could we explain all of this to her? Where did we even start? Gray’s scrying? The amulet? Everything the Grinaldi-sired vampire, Fiona, had confessed about Jonathan’s twisted plans? It was too much to get into.
“You’re just gonna have to trust me,” I said.
“Not happening.”
“Elena—”
“Not. Happening.” She folded her arms in front of her chest and raised an eyebrow. I wasn’t surprised. Elena was as stubborn as they came. The entire world could be burning around us, and she’d wait me out until her hair caught fire.
Maybe even longer than that.
Still, she was right not to trust me.
Everyone she loved was dead because of me.
I leaned my head back, staring up at the ceiling. We needed the cooperation of the RCPD, or we’d never get off the ground in this town. Gray and Asher—along with Haley, Reva, and countless others—didn’t have much time.
Elena had backed me into a corner, and I had no recourse but to give in.
“Okay,” I finally said. “I’ll tell you what I know. But it’s a long story, and like I said, people’s lives are at stake. Innocent people, including at least one teenage girl.”
Elena gasped. “Fair enough. You share your info, then I’ll tell you what we know, too. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“See? Was that so hard?” she asked, and I swore I felt her smug smile beaming at me from across the room. “Let me put on some fresh coffee while you clean up.”
“Clean up?”
“No offense, wolf,” she said with a wink, “but you smell like you spent the morning passed out in the back of a van.”
I laughed. It was the kindest thing she’d said to me in twenty years.
Six
Emilio
My sister made a phone call, and fifteen minutes later, two of the three shifter detectives that had put Ronan and me into sleep mode appeared on her doorstep.
Ronan and I had just finished briefing Elena on all of the pertinent information about Gray and the ongoing supernatural crime wave in Blackmoon Bay—pertinentbeing the operative word. I saw no reason to bring up Gray’s Shadowborn powers and her relationship with Death.
Darius had notified Liam about Gray’s disappearance, but we hadn’t heard from him since. I had no idea if he’d been in touch with her—or justoutof touch with us.
I hoped it was the former. Just because we couldn’t trace Gray didn’t mean she was totally alone. If Liam could sense her—if he could connect with her through their strange, otherworldly bond—he might be able to help her.
The thought buoyed me.
And for Elena’s part, all indications were that she’d uphold her end of the deal and help us pool our resources on this.
