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“She’s mad about traveling all night?” Nolan asked as we walked down the hall toward the kitchen.
“I think she’s more upset about having to read cold case files all day. She’s just a bit more vocal about it because we’re both running on little sleep.”
“Wonderful,”I thought, letting only Nolan hear it. He glanced over his shoulder, giving me a sympathetic smile before we crossed the threshold into their kitchen, multiple boxes already littering the dining table, stacks of papers and folders spread out across the surface. Eden sat at the table, her legs curled up so her arms rested on her knees, a cup of coffee clutched in one hand and an open case file in the other.
“I hate you both,” she grumbled without looking at us, her red hair piled on top of her head in an unkempt bun and her over-sized, sleeveless, sage-green shirt wrinkled and looking like she stole it from Greyson’s closet. Knowing her, she probably had after running out of clean clothes.
“Hello to you, too.” I took the seat across from her, my palms sweaty. Nolan sat next to me. “I’m sorry you didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“You should be apologizing to Greyson.” She stuck her thumb over her shoulder toward Greyson, who was leaning against the wall behind her, rummaging through a box. “He’s the poor soul who gets to work with me all day.”
I let out a halfhearted chuckle. “This isn’t actually what we came to talk to you about.”
“What’s wrong?” Eden tossed the case file on the table, dropping her feet to the ground and leaning forward. “You look paler than normal and your heartbeat is erratic. Did something happen?”
“I don’t know how to start.”
“What is goingon?”
“Remember how I warned you yesterday I had to stop by theBlack Howlon a possible lead?” I began.
“Yeah,” Eden scoffed, leaning back in her chair, arms crossed. “Although you didn’t specify exactly why you needed to visit that Goddess-awful place.”
“We had questions about wolfsbane distribution, but that’s not the important part...”
Eden jumped out of her chair, the whole thing falling over as she began to pace in front of us. “Let me guess, he was an arrogant little criminal who acted all higher than—”
“Eden.” I leaned forward, grasping her hand to pull her attention back to me. “He told me Lila’s been missing for three weeks.”
Her steps froze, eyes widening. “What?”
“I’m so sorry.” I tugged her forward, Greyson picking the chair up and gently helping her sit back down before settling into the seat next to her.
Her jaw trembled as I went into all the details I knew, even though I didn’t have much. She was trying to hold strong, but her eyes glassed over, tears threatening to spill. My heart broke with each word I spoke, my fingers trembling in my lap.
“Oh, my Goddess.” Eden dropped her head into her hands, silence filling the room as the three of us let her process this overwhelming information. Finally, she looked up. “I need to start reaching out to centers…”
“Taylor and Lucas are already on it.” I’d asked them to begin the research before I headed over here. “Catch up with them for updates.”
She nodded, her eyes not focusing anywhere specific. “Good, that’s good. Did Mylo mention if he reached out to any of his contacts in other territories? Maybe she went there trying to find new people to scam into giving her more wolfsbane? She always had a way with charming people…”
“Eden.” I shook her hand across the table, snapping her out of her rambling thoughts. “We’ll find her.”
“I’ll even tell Mylo your idea.” Greyson wrapped his arm casually around her shoulders. “That way you don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to.”
She looked at Greyson, smiling. “I think that would be best. I don’t want to see him.”
“Alright, then.” I nodded. “See? You won’t be alone in this.”
“Thank the Goddess for that.” After a few moments, her shoulders stiffened, her eyes looking up at Nolan, who had been silently observing this whole time. “How much do you know?”
“About your connection to these people? Basically nothing.” Nolan shook his head. “Kasha refused to say anything without your permission.”
She laughed, a little smile peeking out. “Thanks, Kas.”
I gave her a smile back. “You always know your secrets are safe with me.”
“I do.”
