Page 85 of Flock This

He rubbed his face as though I tap-danced on his last nerve. “Trust me, I’m tempted, but if you don’t walk out of here, it’s my ass that pays the price. As much as I’d love to end you, I value my life more.”

“Just tell me why they won’t kill me.”

“That is above my paygrade.” He jerked his head toward the open door. “Get going before I change my mind.”

I pressed my lips together, unable to quite accept this as some benefit. It felt too convenient, too easy. Still, I walked toward the door since I had a very real lack of other choices.

When I reached the porch, the sunlight spilling over me, the heat warming the chill that the dark, cold house had put in me.

“You know,” Iglesia said, causing me to turn and see where he stood, safely in the shade, staring at me. “I would be very careful if I were you.”

“I thought you told me not to question things.”

“That call saved your life today. The next time, though? The next time it might be the call that ends it.” With that, he tossed me a set of car keys and slammed the door, ending our conversation.

Which left me there, alive but no idea why. I knew who had been behind William’s murder now, at least generally, but had no evidence, nothing to put forward, nothing to prove my innocence.

Got kidnapped by a vampire and all I have to show for it is this stupid bruise on my ass.

* * * *

Coming here felt like some weird full-circle mistake, but it didn’t stop me from staring up and at the large building that had been my place of work for five years.

The sun was still high, but the parking lot was mostly empty. That was how it always worked on days of council meetings. For security purposes, they preferred to keep the building clear. It allowed them to do security sweeps and ensure no ambush was waiting.

Ruben would be here, though. I had no doubt about that, since he was always working. Then again, having gotten a closer look of the people who he had to wrangle, he did have a lot to keep track of.

I hit the call button at the front door, and after speaking to a guard, was buzzed in. The lobby had no one in it, but the ding of the elevator made me turn. The doors slid open to reveal Ruben, his expression tight, unhappiness bleeding through.

He said nothing, but he didn’t need to. I went over and got into the elevator with him, to which he pressed the button for the top floor. The only sound was the creaking as the elevator rose, with me standing beside Ruben.

He looked oddly less intimidating than usual. Maybe that was because of everything I’d gone through, because after almost dying, it was a hell of a lot easier to face him. He wore a pair of slacks and a white button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled to his forearms, his tie loosened. He had no jacket on, but I guessed it was due to rushing down when he’d heard I was there.

Which was hilarious. Rushing wasn’t a term I’d associate with the ever-level-headed Justice, after all.

We reached the top floor, where I followed him into his office.

A smile spread across my lips as I recalled the last time I’d been in here, when I’d rifled through his stuff. Why did that please me so much?

“I would ask about that smirk, but I have a feeling I don’t want to know.”

“Probably a good choice.” I sat on the couch in the room, the action of flopping back almost cathartic.

Ruben turned and leaned against his desk, staring at me. “Why’re you here?”

“I know who killed William.”

He lifted one of his dark eyebrows but said nothing.

“It was a fringe group in the vampires. They wanted to get William out of the way so they could put their own person into power.”

“The vampire supremacy group.”

I frowned. “Wait, you already knew? What the fuck have I been running around for, then?” I couldn’t stop my voice from rising as I sat up. I considered all the things that had happened—and the ones that had nearly happened.

I had to give it to Ruben, because he didn’t seem to even notice my frustration. “I guessed as much. It wasn’t a difficult leap to make, all things considered. They’d been trying to garner more power for years, but with William in charge, they could only do so much. I expected them to eventually move against him.”

“And you just don’t plan to do anything about that?”

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