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I pushed that rebellious thought away and snuggled deeper into Hana's arms, pulling Gabe closer so I was totally smushed between them.
Heaven had a location, and it was this couch.
41
NICKY
Workwentbysurprisinglyfast. There was no sign of Alphonse when I got there, and he made no appearances during my shift or after. Tony and Billie had joined me at the library, and I spent my breaks snuggled up in the beanbags with them.
I stopped by the clinic to do my interview and the blood tests with Dr. James. All together, it only took about half an hour, and I left feeling good about myself, like I was contributing to a better future for betas. Like today, every Monday morning I would pop in, though all the subsequent appointments would be much faster, with similar information from the interview being things that I recorded myself and submitted monthly.
My phone rang, and I fished it out of my purse.
I didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Hello, is this Nicola Marino?”
“This is she,” I replied.
“Hi there, Nicola, this is Detective Cameron with the forensics unit.”
“Oh, hi. How can I help you?”
“I just wanted to let you know that we weren’t able to find any DNA evidence of Alphonse Morelli having been in your apartment. The only DNA we were able to match were those that you had told us had been there previously. We coordinated with your landlord to get your door replaced, and we’ve taken quite a few items into custody to do further testing, but the labs are backed up, so that may take a while. Officers were also sent to Mr. Morelli's home, but we have yet to actually locate him.”
“I see,” I said, voice tight. “So what does that mean for me?”
“While the DNA evidence doesn’t prove that he was in your apartment, we do have video footage of him in the parking lot on the date of the break in as well as in the lobby, where it looks like he let himself in with a key. Technically, this evidence is circumstantial, but Officer Lansbury will be in further contact with you for how to proceed.”
“Am I allowed to return to my apartment now?”
“At this time, yes,” Detective Cameron said.
“Okay. Thank you.”
I hung up, feeling numb. They knew Alphonse had been in the building and that someone had forced their way into my home.
Fuckingcircumstantialevidence?
Why didn’t we have cameras in the hallways?
There was no way I could stay in that apartment again. I had already started emotionally detaching myself from it the moment he’d touched that space.
I tapped out on an email to my landlord to let them know that I wouldn’t be renewing my lease. Whether that resulted in me staying with the pack, staying with family, or getting a new apartment remained to be seen. Prior to all of this nonsense, I had been trying to keepsomesemblance of space. Any place that I could stay would only provide me with a guest room at best. And as comfortable as those guest rooms would be, they weren’tmyspace.
Sometimes a girl just wanted to veg without people around.
Stupid Alphonse ruining everything.
Moving was such a hassle, but I would have to get on that. A storage unit would be the easiest for most of my things. I guess I would have to talk to the pack about staying a little while longer. And I could probably talk to Sidney about sneaking into their place while he and Allie were at work so I could have some alone time. Not that I didn’t love spending time with the pack—I adored it—but I still needed that quiet space to breathe where it was just me and Spud.
I was ready for bed, but I wanted to get as much done as possible so I could collapse face-first into my pillows without guilt.
I dialed my brother first, hoping to catch him before he started his shift at the clinic.
“Hey Nick,” Sidney answered. “What's up?”
