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"You think that is scarier than killing people?" Amelia asked incredulously.
Both she and Meryn nodded. Brie looked at Amelia. "People die every day. They don't happen often, but mass murders do happen, lately in the form of mass shootings. In those instances, think about what happens to the people. They are shot, and the killer moves on. The killer is usually acting out of rage or a perceived injustice. They shoot, then they keep going. It's tragic, but the dead in a way keep their dignity. These killers didn't stop their terror after their victims had died. Their torment followed these people into death. They were stacked up like things, not people." She paused. "You see, when killers stop seeing people and start seeing objects, true horrors begin."
"I think I kinda miss dealing with ferals," Meryn said softly.
Aiden pulled her into his lap as did most of the men with mates. She looked up at Ari then down to his clenched fist. "I didn't want to assume," he admitted.
Her heart melted a bit. "It's okay to assume this time." She knew he needed this almost as much as she did. The moment he wrapped both arms around her, she sighed and relaxed against him. "You're like my own snuggie blankie,” she whispered. Ari chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Anytime."
"What are our next steps?" Anne asked from Kendrick's lap.
"It's my turn," Meryn said, reaching for a roll. Ryuu stepped forward and handed her one. "I'm going to run the locations of the missing through my database, then look in a twenty-mile radius for hits of possible buildings being used."
Brie turned just enough so she faced the table, but stayed relaxed against Ari. "I'll be working with River to determine cause and time of death and we'll go from there."
"I'll be heading up security of Éire Danu and Ben will be taking point in assigning out Old Guard and warriors to assist in getting the deceased claimed and laid to rest," Aiden said before he leaned forward and took a massive bite out of Meryn's roll. Meryn's shocked expression had Brie giggling.
"Dude!" Meryn protested.
Aiden just smiled as he chewed.
"Thank the gods for you, Meryn," Brennus said quietly, as he smiled.
Ryuu simply handed his charge another roll and sighed heavily when she shoved the entire thing in her mouth so that Aiden couldn't steal any more.
"Meryn," Aiden chided gently.
She smiled wide, showing off a glob of white dough as a smile. Brie stared but her attention was soon diverted to the queen who began to laugh so hard it sounded as though she was having a hard time catching her breath.
"Gods, I love you, Meryn."
"Ruv oo ooo," Meryn mumbled.
Brennus grinned broadly at his mate's laughter. The heaviness of the evening seemed to lift a bit. Brie could hardly believe that the bane of her director's existence was a goofy little nut. "Meryn, do you have a space I can work at tomorrow?"
Meryn swallowed and nodded. "Yup, first thing I did was work with Cord in setting up my Batcave."
"You have an extra station or should I head back for my laptop?"
"It might be easier to get your own laptop. I mean I can totally hack into whatever systems you're privy to, but it'd faster to do it the 'legal' way."
She looked up at Ari. "Can someone take me to the station in Monroe tomorrow? While I'm there, I can meet up with River to see if he found anything."
Darian lifted a hand with a silver ring. "I can take you. I'm going to be working with Cam in getting the deceased's property sorted."
Amelia clapped her hands together. "Okay, enough depressing talk. For the rest of our dinner, only happy topics. I'll go first." She turned to Darian who was sipping his wine. "I'm pregnant, by the way."
Darian spewed wine all over the table. "What! How!"
Amelia tilted her head, a confused expression on her face. "You were there."
He scowled. "I know that." Then her words truly seemed to sink in. "A baby?"
The queen scrambled from Brennus' lap and practically collided with Cord and Oron as they raced over to Darian's chair. The queen hugged her son tightly and Oron nuzzled the top of Amelia's head.
"You should have told us sooner!" the queen cried, as she switched from Darian to Amelia.
Amelia blushed. "It happened recently. I had planned on telling you tomorrow, but other things made it more important to announce tonight."
