Page 73 of Flock This

Pain lanced through my chest, the sensation foreign to me, at the very thought of something happening to Kelvin.

And fuck me, because that was a very bad sign. It didn’t matter how often I told myself that everything was fine, that I wouldn’t fall for him, that pain at the idea of losing him told a different and far more dangerous story.

“You’ll figure it out,” Roger told me and set his hand on my shoulder. “Your bond is still new and it takes a long time to work it all out—especially since Kelvin isn’t the type to take thralls on.”

It felt like an ugly lie to not correct his misunderstanding—both that I really was Kelvin’s thrall and that there was anything between us—but I couldn’t tell him the truth. While he wanted to help me, if only to catch William’s real killer, I couldn’t trust what he might do with such damning information.

So instead, I nodded in thanks. “So, can I search his office?”

Roger laughed, then lowered himself into the seat by the window, looking far more exhausted than he had when we’d gotten here. Then again, between his health and the stress of the moment, that was hardly surprising. “You know, if William knew I was letting some courier rifle through his things, he’d take a strip from me for it.”

“Is that a no, then?”

“What does it matter now? If he wants to rise from the dead to lecture me, well, I don’t think I’d mind that a bit. Sleuth away.”

* * * *

Six hours later and I’d learned more than I ever wanted to. Not about who might have killed William, of course—that would have been too much to hope for.

Instead, I held a pair of fur-lined cuffs and a spreader bar, holding them up as if trying to figure them out.

I knew what they were for, but that didn’t mean I could figure out who used them on who.

My first bet was that William used them on Roger or one of his other thralls, but really, who knew for sure? Fuck knew people were into some weird shit that didn’t match their fully dressed life. I recalled an elemental I’d delivered to before. He was terrifying, the sort of man who’d been known to kill others just for looking at him too long.

Imagine my surprise when I’d brought him his delivery only to find him tied up with the tiniest little spit of a girl playing with his goods like practicing for professional hacky sack. I’d learned my lesson then—never make assumptions about other people’s kinks.

“Curious?” Roger’s voice made me jump, mostly because he’d stepped out a good hour before for a break.

I’d imagine that going through all of William’s personal things would put anyone in Roger’s position on edge, and he’d chosen not to reenter the bedroom when I had to search there.

“Nope.” I dropped the items and kicked them back under the bed where I’d found them. “I learned an important lesson a long time ago—don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to. Besides, after finding lube, gags and some clamps, I’m pretty sure I already have more of the picture than I ever wanted.”

“I would have never taken you for a prude.”

“I’m not a prude. I just think my own sex life is a depressing enough conversation that I don’t need to think about anyone else’s.”

“Depressing? Isn’t that a telling description?”

“Don’t you psycho-babble me. This”—I tapped my finger against my temple—“is way too twisted for anyone to want to unravel the mess.”

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching me. My words didn’t seem to shake him, but then again, after what he’d been through, I doubted I was a blip on his radar. He appeared more tired than he had before, a sure sign of the withdrawal getting to him.

I went down to the floor, checking anything else hidden under the bed. In the darkness there, I spotted a box. I stretched out, reaching for it despite being able to see little. Anywhere else I might have worried about spiders, but given what else lived in the Castle, I was way more scared of getting bitten by the other residents here.

My fingers grazed the edges of the box, the wood smooth as if well cared for. I caught the edge of it and pulled it toward me, sliding it along the floor until I retrieved it.

“What’s that?” Roger crouched beside me. He must have been drawn by the mystery.

“I figured you’d know that. You’ve spent a lot more time around his bed than I have.”

He snorted, as though he found it only moderately funny. “It wasn’t here before. We obviously kept other things under it, but I cleaned this place until I moved out. I would have found it if he’d had it here.”

I turned it, peering along the edges of the lightly stained box. The wood was warm but faded. It might have been a lovely brown before, but the color had leached away until it was almost gray. I checked for any signs of traps or spells. Vampires didn’t use much of that, but the last thing I wanted was to end up with my face burned off because William decided to get paranoid and added something nasty to it.

However, when I found no signs of anything dangerous, I tried to lift the lid.

Nothing.

---