Page 154 of Unholy Bonds

“Thanks for this, Nat.”

“Of course. You were right. You’re always right. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

He gave her a pacifying smile. “It’s okay. This is the break I’ve been looking for. I’ll find something. Bye.”

When we walked to Ryden’s cubicle, the man we met at the art exhibit was standing there, his arms crossed, his starched shirt stiff.

“So, you’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence. I was starting to wonder whether Natalia had finally grown some balls and decided to fire you.”

“Why would she? He’s the best. If she finally grew some balls, I know someone she’d fire…” I trailed off with a smirk, and the man blustered, skin turning red. Pampered little shit.

“What the hell are you…”

“Oh, you thought I was talking about you? Why would you think that, Mr. Perry ?” I smirked. Ryden certainly looked like he was enjoying this as he grabbed files, papers, and documents from his drawer before locking it again.

“I haven’t got time to chit-chat, Thatcher. Let’s reschedule the tea party, shall we? I have a fucking killer to catch.”

“What killer? I thought… The Strangler is…”

“The one who killed Nikki Singh and Sofia.”

“You’re still at it?” Thatcher sneered as Ryden, and I walked past, ignoring him. “You will not…”

The elevator door closed, and I was glad I didn’t have to hear him drone on.

“I’m in awe of your self-restraint, Ryden Sinclair. But then again… you’re the same man who refused me for days when you desperately wanted to fuck me.”

“Obnoxious little slut,” he whispered. “For such a beautiful thing, you are so fucking dirty.” He leaned toward me and stopped when the elevator opened with a ding. “I’ll pay you back for it later. Let’s take a short detour to AFC first.”

Now that Logan was gone, there was no threat to any of us. I wanted to work with him on this case and kill together with him when it was time. I enjoyed what we did once.

“Let’s.”

The young woman at the reception desk greeted us with a nervous smile. She looked like she was new to the place. “Your boss, please?” I said with a reassuring smile. She shook her head.

“Hi. I’m Roberta. Miss Diaz isn’t here today. She was overlooking a charity event at Ann Arbor. If you tell me what…”

“Do you know Sofia Martinez or Nikki Singh? They were volunteers here,” I said. The girl looked jittery, and I could see marks on her forearm and neck. She had tried hard to conceal it, but it showed.

“I-I’m new here. I don’t know much.”

“Is there anyone else we can talk with, Roberta?”

“Everyone’s out working on the charity event. It’s the biggest one of the seasons.”

Ryden pulled out his business card and slid it toward her. “Thank you. Can you please give me a call when Miss Diaz comes back? I’m a journalist, and it’s about a case.”

“I’ll tell her to call you, Mr. Sinclair.”

Ryden cursed when we reached his car. “We finally have a lead, and we have nothing else.”

“We’re close, Ryden. Every hunt takes time, but I promise we will find this son of a bitch and burn him down. Together.”

After dinner, Ryden and I spent time with Sophia and Nikki’s file, going through all the details. “We need that brochure to know more about Nikki's connection with AFC. The killer might be someone working at AFC.” I nodded.

I had no idea when we fell asleep, but when I woke up, I saw Ryden sprawled out on the floor, asleep. My phone vibrated again. That was what woke me up. The sky was still wearing gray with a tinge of purple and pink, and like I’d always say, early morning phone calls rarely brought good news.

“Detective?”

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