“Eat.” Oliver pushes a plate under my nose. The aroma is almost enough to mend my broken heart. “The bottom line is, I can’t have you guys fight right now.”
I frown at him. “What?”
Oliver takes a bite of his naan. “Fuck, this is good.” Then looks at my questioning face. “I thought about all the possible scenarios, and there’s no way this wedding would be perfect if you’re fighting. Somake up.”
Matt nods. “This is delicious. And your way to get him to apologize to Elliot is way better than mine.”
“Who says I’m apologizing?” I take a bite of the food too.Fuck, it’s amazing.
When I look up, they’re giving me a twin ‘who are you kidding’ expression. “I’ll pack some for Elliot. It’ll help your case.”
I just nod because yeah, I’ll need every edge I can get if I’m doing this.
By the time I leave their house with a giant bag of leftovers, I realize I’ve been manipulated, and the worst part is they didn’t even try hard to hide it. They played me like I was a five-year-old asking for ice cream, and they just had to point at a bird to distract me until we were back home, no ice cream in sight.
Still, when I get in my car and pull out of the parking lot, I head toward Elliot’s place. Maybe I can be better prepared if I do this another day, but the bottom line is I miss him. I miss him like I’m living without a limb. I need to see him, even if all he says is he hates me. I need him.
My phone vibrates on my dashboard. Seeing Meena’s name on the caller ID kicks my heart rate up. Did she decide she didn’t want to wait after all, and is that the case already with the new team? What will I do then? I’m obviously not quitting the case. How will I manage the caseload with this investigation? I won’t even have access to any resources anymore.
Maybe I’ll have to quit my day job after all. Will the Bureau even want me after that?
I sigh and pick up the call before I tie myself in a tighter loop. “Hey, Meena,” I greet cheerfully.Why?Who even knows anymore?
“Hey, Nicholas. Sorry to disturb you this late, but this couldn’t wait.”
“Okay?”
“You recently sent Sameer a picture to ID a werewolf.” She didn’t put it as a question, so I don’t answer. I don’t want to admit to something that can get Elliot or me in trouble. “Who is that guy to you?”
Okay, so I willhaveto answer. “I’m not sure yet. Just following a hunch,” I say vaguely.
“I’ll need a better answer because that’s the son of a criminal we’ve been hunting for decades,” Meena says.
The fuck? Sam is teaming up with a criminal that theBureau is hunting to kill other criminals on the Bureau's list. Wait, did she say he’s the son of a criminal? “Give me a second.” This conversation needs my full attention. I park on the side of the street a few blocks from Elliot's. “Okay, explain that to me again.”
Meena sighs like I’m being stupid. Maybe I am. Or maybe she’ll be just as confused if she knew why I’m looking into the guy. “That man is the only known son of a criminal the Bureau has been hunting for almost thirty years now. The man changes identities like they’re cheap T-shirts. He’s killed at least twenty humans. And every time we’ve gotten close, the guy has disappeared. We stopped actively looking for him a while back. But the son is on the file. Why are you looking into him?”
That does not clear it up. But one thing is sure, if Sam is talking to a werewolf with known criminal ties, Elliot willhaveto listen to me now. “As I said, I don’t have anything yet. Can you give me a few days though? I promise I’ll have answers for you soon.”
“No. You’re going to tell menow. That man is the biggest red spot on my perfect record. If you know where he is, you’re going to tell meright now.” I’ve never heard so much anger in Meena’s voice.
“I don’t, though. In fact, I didn’t know about him at all. Just give me a few days to make sense of what I’m looking at.”
My uncertainty must have been clear in my voice because she agreed. “Fine. But if I don’t hear from you by the end of this week, I’m coming over, and this won’t be a pleasant visit.”
The last one wasn’t so great either. I obviously don’t say that out loud because I’m not actually stupid, and I disconnect before she realizes she’s given me a week instead of just a day or two, as I asked.
I was on my way to talk to Elliot, but now I think I need to give our little friend Sam some face time too. I’m glad Oliver didn’t let me bring Mickey with me because Mickey following Sam around would wear down the effect of my ruthless interrogation.
Chapter Nineteen
Confrontations, Confessions, and Cleared Names
Elliot
When the bell rings, I rush towards the door because Sam is gearing up to watch the next episode of his trashy reality show. My countless groans and complaints were completely going unnoticed.
I jump at the opportunity. If I’m lucky, it’s another killer here to abduct me again. I don’t even check the peephole, I'm so excited. So I’m not prepared when I come face-to-face with Nicholas. Well, face to neck with.
