Page 24 of Shark’s Rise

“With ice on your singed pubes?” Elijah smirked.

“Something along those lines,” I went on without giving him more kerosene for that fire. “And along came these three lizards, onto the same rock. As I watched them fight for the alpha sunning spot, I had that same thought. How the biggest asshole reptile won the right to sun himself.”

Elijah chuffed before affirming, “To the victor go the spoils—and the sun.”

I rocked back in my chair. “Well, guess who I thought of right after that?”

“Well, shit.” Elijah settled back against his own seatback. “Viktor Blake?”

I pointed at him. “Ding, ding, ding. Stuffed shark for the winner.”

He rested his head against his upturned fist. “Man, your mind is a complicated and crazy place.”

“I love you too, honey.”

He pinned his stare back on the monitor. “So you think that son of a bitch is behind this?”

“I’d bet you a few lizards on it.”

“Well, you can keep those—but just this morsel may help a lot in my search. If I cross-reference his name and known aliases with the logo, it might pull up something interesting.”

“Good.”

I meant it. Goddammit, at last we might be getting somewhere with this crap. Thank you, Terryn Ramsey. But the celebratory grin I expected from Elijah was a no-show. The guy still seemed stuck on a pause button as he sat back, thinking, before rising and then turning to face me.

“Bas. Let me ask you something.”

I gave a single nod and then waited for him to continue. I had no clue what to expect next. The look on his face shifted like storm clouds rolling across a prairie sky.

“What happens if you confirm Blake and the logo are connected? What are you going to do?”

I remained still. That was a good question. My immediate instinct led at once to an outrageous plan, but I didn’t have to state that out loud. Elijah already knew it too. But killing the bastard wouldn’t get us anywhere. I’d be every authority’s first suspect if Blake turned up dead.

“I think we need to figure out his motivation,” I said at last. “Is this all still the bullshit from the old neighborhood? If so, it’s gone way too far at this point. People are dead now.”

“Agreed,” my friend declared. “Which means we’ve got to follow the dots to something else.” The storm on his features turned darker. “In this case, probably someone else.”

My instincts flared again. This time, in the most tormenting ways. “What the hell are you getting at?”

“I think you know, man.” He waited as I plunged my head into my hands. “I know you don’t want to, but you do.” Then as I heaved in a lungful of air. “It’s Abbigail. At some point, we have to acknowledge that.”

I still didn’t say anything. I barely moved—until my violent flinch when Elijah lowered a brotherly clasp to my shoulder.

“Bas?”

He gave me a gentle nudge. I jerked up my head, leveling my gaze to his.

“What do you want from me, Elijah?” I asked plaintively.

“I want you to face the reality of the situation.”

“And you think I’m not, damn it?”

“Blake has an unhealthy fixation with her. I watched him at that groundbreaking, and it was disturbing.” Elijah’s voice was quiet and eerie, and chills ran up my spine. At the same time, rage kept boiling my blood and balling my fists.

“I know that, you fucker,” I seethed. “I was there too!”

“But you haven’t processed anything past that, aside from going off on Blake like a caveman.”