Page 36 of Black Bird

“Who? Your father?”

“Mmhmm … I’m not looking forward to this lecture.” Brent ran a hand through his hair.

“Is that why you came? He’s not here.”

“What? Where is he?”

“Not sure … you know he never tells me much of anything. We’ve seen a lot less of each other lately. I don’t think he can bear to look at me. Especially during chemo. I can’t blame him, though. I do look a bit like a husk.” She chuckled.

“Stop, Mom … no you don’t.” He stared down at the book in her lap. “What you reading?” She lifted it up and smiled.

“What you should be reading. A Bible.”

He swallowed hard and tried not to tear up. “You trying to tell me something?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to tell you I’m reading the Bible.” She chuckled.

“Stop, Ma. You know what I mean.”

She stilled and her smile faded. “It’s coming whether we like it or not, Brent. I need to prepare for that as much as you and your father do.”

He couldn’t think of a way to continue the conversation without bursting into tears. What a shitty week. What a shitty situation. Everything just seemed like it was falling apart. One thing had to go right. Just one. He blew out a deep breath and bent over to lay his head into her lap. Pat brushed his hair back and stroked his face, saying nothing else as the nurse crept back into the library.

“Sir, Detective Kane is here to see you?”

“Shit …” Nick Specter palmed over his face as he held the button down on his desk phone. “Send him in.” The door swung open and Athan Kane stormed in, every inch of him looking as if he’d rip his ass apart. Nick backed his chair up nervously as he continued past the seats in front of his desk and rounded the corner, heading straight for him. He raised his palms and dropped his mouth open, shaking as Kane grabbed him with one fist by his collar and raised him clean out of his chair as if he weighed nothing. “K-Kane! What are you doing? Please!”

His assistant stood horrified in the doorway, gaping at the two men, and pressing her hand to her chest. “Sir! Should I call someone?!” She gasped.

“You can call him a coroner in about five minutes if he doesn’t start talking,” Kane said, bringing Nick closer. His voice was guttural … lethal.

“Close the damn door, Kerah!” Nick shouted, waving her off. She quickly did as he asked, and the door slammed shut. “What is this about? I’ve done nothing wrong!” Nick nearly pissed his pants as Kane’s canines grew longer and he bared them with a growl that sounded anything but deadly. He could have sworn the guy’s eyes even turned from an icy blue to almost black.

“Lie to me again, Nick.” He seethed, hoisting him up until his feet raised from the floor. He was going to kill him … Holy shit, he was about to die. Nick gripped Kane’s forearm and patted at it when he started to struggle for air. “You ready to talk?” Nick gave him as good a nod as he could manage, and Kane dropped him back into his chair. The pride in him didn’t want to allow the detective a chance to see him clutch his throat, but his self-control had already been lost. He gasped for breath.

“What do you wanna know? I already told you I don’t know who broke into the labs, and I answered all your partner’s questions too!”

“Maybe you answered hers, but you haven’t answered mine. If you think the missing blood supply is a problem for you, then maybe I need to be a little more forceful, so you’ll understand your fate when you start fucking with something that’smine.”

“What are you talking about?!”

Kane leaned over him, bracing both hands on the arms of his desk chair and sneering into his face, his tone deathly quiet.“Sarah St. James.”

“Man, come on! You’re not the first person to ask me about this girl! How am I supposed to keep up with who’s laying claim to her?” He could feel his bladder about to fail him as Kane’s growl rumbled a breath away.

“You can start by giving me all the names of whoever came asking about her before me.” He flicked his raven black hair over his brow. “Or I can rip your sorry ass throat out and tear this office apart until I figure it out for myself.”

“Do you know what they could do to me, Kane?”

“I’d say your priorities are a little fucked, Nick. You wanna gamble your life on whether or not I’m bluffing when I say I’ll keep draining and slowly torturing you until you give me what I’m asking for? Should I start describing all the ways? Or is your imagination just as fucking bad as your judgment?”

“S-Stratford. Conrad Stratford. I don’t know why he wants her. He’s orchestrated this whole thing, I swear.” Nick shook his palms, pleading for some space between them and Kane gave it, conceding a step and straightening.

“Orchestrated what?”

“Her getting the position at the main lab upstairs. It wasn’t even available until he—” Nick pressed his mouth into a thin line and shook his head, hating to even blow this cover. He might as well be a dead man in every way after this conversation. And if he didn’t do it, there might not be anything left of him or anybody that knew Kane was here. He couldn’t risk anyone else’s life. And what was the cost of someone as crooked and awfulas Conrad Stratford if this coven he’d foolishly linked up with killed the old bastard?

“I’m waiting. And I’m not a patient man, Nick.”

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