Page 60 of Black Bird

“That’s one way of putting it,” Kane offered.

“Well, I can tell you straight up, Brent Stratford didn’t do it. He’d never get those pretty-boy hands dirty.” Wren snorted.

Sarah ignored her and locked eyes with Kane again. She suddenly felt overwhelmed with worry. “Is it like mine?” A chill went down her spine when he nodded gravely. “Fuck …” She whispered, Poe offering her comfort as he flitted onto her shoulder. “I’m fine with changing here.”

“Alright,” he said, turning down a hallway adjacent to the couch and leaving them for a few minutes before returning with fresh clothes. Two white t-shirts, a pair of black sweatpants and a pair of dark gray boxer shorts. “Shower’s on. I’ll leave you to it. I should have something for you to eat when you both get cleaned up.”

“Thank you.” Sarah smiled. He dipped his chin at her before walking back out the front door and Wren finally hopped up from the couch.

“I call dibs on these,” she bitched, jerking the sweatpants from her hand. “Wearing a dude’s clothes is intimate enough, but I draw the line at underwear.” She hurled herself around the corner and down the hallway into his bedroom, leaving Sarah by herself. “Umm … Sarah?” She called from the room; her voice muffled from the distance.

“What is it?”

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know. It felt wrong to even be in his apartment, let alone his most personal space. When Wren didn’t answer, she crept around the corner and inched her way into the bedroom doorway. It was like stepping into her own apartment. Her mouth dropped open and she looked around, turning and taking it all in. Blackout curtains were open by the sliding glass door, bookshelves liningalmost every wall … and filled with rows and rows of books and knickknacks. There was a king-sized bed neatly made, with off white sheets and a black duvet. The room was dimly lit with floor lamps that offered just enough light to keep it cozy, and the white walls were draped with old-looking tapestries with black birds on them.

Wren poked around at the figurines on his shelves and Sarah ran a finger down the smooth wooden surface of his dresser by the doorway. “Don’t touch anything, Wren. It’s not our place.”

“He bought this from the tattoo shop when he came to talk to me a week ago.” She held up a little statuette of a raven sitting on a skull.

“He came to talk to you?”

“Yeah, he had questions about how you were feeling … how you were getting along. Nothing really major.”

“You didn’t tell me about that.”

Wren shrugged and put the figure back on the shelf. “It didn’t seem strange enough to mention. He’s just doing his job.”

Poe screeched on her shoulder at the dresser and Sarah directed her attention back to it, her hand still resting on the top. Something strange in her middle pulled and tugged and her skin seemed to tingle. She considered plundering through it, but she had just told Wren not to touch anything.

“You go first, I’m gonna take him back into the living room.” Sarah nodded toward the open bathroom door where steam had started clouding out. Wren didn’t hesitate and slammed the bathroom door closed behind her. Sarah crept into the living room, not sure what not to touch, or look at. It felt awkward to be here, but in some ways … familiar? She padded into the kitchen. There was an open laptop that was sitting idle, the screen black, and files and papers strewn over a small round kitchen table. She glanced down at them, not surprised to see her own photo and information about her case that she’d already gone through with Northwood. She stepped over to the fridge and opened the door. “Damn …” She said under her breath, surprised to find it scarce, except for a couple of containers of raw meats.

Either he hadn’t had any time while dealing with her case to go shopping, or he ate a hell of a lot of takeout. Not even a few bottles of water … nothing. Maybe that was his ploy. No reason for an overnight guest to stay in the mornings or linger in his house. Smart. She closed the fridge and found herself back on the couch, pulling the blanket over her legs and letting Poe sit on her raised knees while she leaned back against the arm. Kane shuffled into the front door a few moments later with an armful of different options that he spread out onto the kitchen counter.

“Rhaena eats like a starving child. I brought a little bit of everything. She said to make yourself at home if you’d rather stay at her place,” he said through the nook.

“Are we staying?” Sarah asked, watching him plunder through the kitchen.

“We’re gonna talk about everything. You should eat first. Oh …” He paused, opening a pill bottle, and coming around the corner to hand her a bottle of water and a couple aspirin. “She had this, too.”

“God bless you.” Sarah smiled, accepting them, and drinking them down. Poe watched her and she poked him in the belly. “Is it okay to smoke in here?” she asked, not realizing he was already sliding one into his mouth. He tossed her the pack and the lighter and she lit one, blowing gently away from the bird.

“He really likes you. That’s odd for him,” Kane said, sliding his jacket off and laying it on top of the bird cage. He wore dark jeans and a white t-shirt well. Since she’d met him, she didn’t often get to see his arm tattoos, and he was nearly covered with them. He sat in a leather armchair on the other side of the wall and took a long drag off his cigarette. Sarah did the same.

“Are you gonna tell me what I did?” Sarah asked, continuing to pet the friendly raven on her knee.

“What do you remember?” he asked.

“Not too much. Wren and I were having a great time. We danced and fucked off.” She took another hit. “I made a little friend, I think. But that’s when things started to get a little fuzzy.”

“You made more than one. Wren called me saying she had been trying to get you to calm down, but …”

“I’m …” She couldn’t find the right words. “Is that when you came?”

“I didn’t get her call right away. When I finally got there, you were um … pretty bad off.” They were silent for a moment and didn’t look at one another. “Sarah, you need to be more careful. I’m positive you had shit slipped into your drinks last night.”

“It’s not that. Well … part of it I’m sure was because of that, but … it’s something else.” She couldn’t look at him. Poe gently nipped at her fingertip.

“What’s going on?” he asked quietly.

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