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ADRIK
“We need to figure out a plan now,” I say much louder than necessary, slamming my hand down on my desk. As an added bonus, I catch a cup of pens on the corner with my finger and they go flying, scattering and clattering across the tabletop and the floor.
Stefan winces and presses a palm to one of his ears. He looks like death warmed over. “Okay, but let’s keep the plan hush-hush.”
“Hush-hush?” I roar, pounding my fist on the table again. “No. This is the top priority. I need everyone on this.”
Stefan peeks up at me, his eyes bloodshot, dark blue circles pressed underneath them. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”
I smirk and lean back. “It’s what you get for drinking half the bar by yourself last night.”
The moment Stefan staggered through the elevator doors this morning, I knew this was going to be fun. My best friend forgets he isn’t twenty anymore. Drinking has consequences once you’re past your prime.
“It’s been stressful lately. I was blowing off steam.” He sinks down in his chair and massages circles into his temples. “But I may or may not have overdone it.”
“What was that?” I yell, cupping a hand around my ear and bellowing. “I can’t hear you!”
“You’re an asshole,” he repeats. “Grade-A asshole.”
“Is that the only insult your alcohol-riddled brain can come up with?” I laugh. “Sounds like you’ve been spending time with Emery.”
“How is she doing, by the way?” he asks, eager to downshift into a more relaxed topic. “And Isabella? Everything fine after the Travis fiasco?”
“Fine enough. Travis is back and Isabella is happy.”
Stefan perks up. Even in his incredibly hungover state, he can all but read my mind. “But…?”
“But Emery told me about the woman who found Travis. The woman said she found Travis running in the street.”
Stefan shrugs. “Okay, so?”
This has been bothering me all night and morning. “He’s a service dog,” I explain. “He’s trained to stay on the sidewalks. He’s also trained to stay with Isabella at all times. I have to pry him away from her to get him to go outside to take a piss.”
“You’re saying it’s suspicious that he wandered off.”
I nod. “I can’t believe he’d just take off through an open door and walk into the street. It doesn’t make sense. And Emery said the woman had a massive scar on her face. Burns or something.”
Stefan shrugs. “That’s not a crime.”
“No, but it is unusual. It seems like something worth looking into.”
“What was her name?”
I shake my head. “Emery didn’t catch it. But we can—”
“I’ll ask for the security footage from the bar,” Stefan says, pulling out his phone. “Consider it done.”
Ever since Emery mentioned the woman to me, I can’t quite shake the feeling that something is off. And almost always, that means something is off. My instincts are hardly ever wrong.
“And check into Malcolm Waters’s contacts,” I add.
“That was Yasha’s gig before… well, before,” Stefan says. “He looked into it when you thought Emery might be a spy. He had all that info.”
“Did you get it from him?”
Stefan shrugs. “I can check and see if we have copies of it anywhere, but I don’t know.”
“Well, I want to know if Malcolm might have had any contact with this woman. If he did, then she might be in touch with the Volandris, too.”
Stefan nods, but then hesitates. “This would be weird, though, right? I mean, what would the Volandris or anyone want with a little girl’s service dog?”
“Maybe nothing,” I admit. “But I wouldn’t be doing my job as don if I didn’t look into the possibility.”
For a moment, I considered the woman could have something to do with Yasha, but my brother wouldn’t trust someone he didn’t know with any part of his plan. He’s gone off the rails, but he is still the same person. And he’s always been slow to trust.
“Better safe than sorry.”
“Exactly. Speaking of being safe, it’s a little risky that you’re here at all. You sure you aren’t being followed?”
“Positive,” Stefan says with a smug smirk. “The cop tailing me was way too easy to bribe. Just like you said.”
“How much?”
“Twenty fucking grand,” Stefan snorts. “His kid is sick and the money would pay for some of the bills, I guess. He took the cash and I haven’t seen him since.”
“And you made sure he’d stay quiet?”
Stefan nodded. “He was willing to take the bribe for his kid, so I know he’ll stay quiet for him, too.”
“Threatening a kid,” I say, whistling. “Surprising for a cupcake like you.”
“Gotta do what I gotta do,” he says. “But it was easy because I know I won’t need to follow through. The cop won’t say a word.”
“Good. Now, we just need to derail the rest of the investigation.”
Picking off one cop from the bunch is easy enough, but even I have to admit that it will take some finesse to get the entire investigative team working for us. A challenge, but not impossible.
There’s a soft knock on my door and then Emery comes in. “Am I interrupting?”
I shake my head and wave her in. Then I turn back to Stefan. “Do you have the contact information for the coroner?”
“Are you talking about the investigation?” Emery asks, sitting down on the black leather sofa against the wall. She chews on her full lower lip. I hate that she’s nervous, but she wears it well. “Have the cops announced any charges?”
Stefan shakes his head. “Given the time constraints, Adrik did a thorough job destroying the crime scene.” He turns back to me. “And I have my little birds working on the coroner as we speak. They’ll come to an arrangement soon.”
“Your little birds?” I ask. “Are you fucking Snow White?”
He rolls his eyes. “All I’m saying is, Pietro should be identified as a John Doe, drifter type any day now. It’s being taken care of.”
Emery nods, but doesn’t look completely relieved yet. I don’t exactly blame her. Nothing is over until it’s over.
But now that she is here, this meeting is officially over.
I clap my hands together loudly, "Sounds like you're on the ball, Stefan."
"And it sounds like you're banging together cymbals." Stefan stands up. "Unless there's anything else, I'm getting out of here before you bring in a marching band."
"Bit of a headache?" Emery teases, biting back a smile. "I'd say I'm sorry, but considering you let me walk into a hurricane last night… well, I'm less sympathetic."
"I did you a favor last night," Stefan snaps. "Both of you. I'm the one who had to deliver the check to the bodega owner this morning. And the man has cameras up. I saw some of that footage before I destroyed it, and you two owe me some serious compensation where my therapy is concerned. From what I saw, you two more than enjoyed yourselves—”
Suddenly, Emery sticks her thumb and forefinger in her mouth and lets out an ear-splitting whistle. The shrill sound echoes off the walls. Even I wince.
“Goddammit!” Stefan clamps both hands over his ears and glares at both of us. “You two are fucking made for each other. Assholes, both of you.”
As he hurries out of the room, Emery shrugs. “What’s his problem?”
“You’re vicious." I smile and shake my head. "I love it."
Emery wags her brows. "Maybe I've learned a thing or two from you, after all."
"Maybe."
Emery walks around the desk and sits on the edge next to my chair. She crosses her legs at the ankles and absentmindedly presses a hand to my chest. "You weren't in bed when I woke up."
"I had a lot to do," I say. "Plus, I wanted to meet with Stefan early."
"Because you knew he'd be hungover?"
I smirk. "How else will he learn his lesson?"
