Page 61 of Fallen Stars

Pushing back from my desk, I drag my fingers through my hair. “No need to apologize.” I suck in a ragged breath. “I detach from everything while working on this shit.”

“Find anything new?”

With a subtle nod, I turn back to the screens and pull up my latest discoveries. Tymber stands behind me and scans the screen as I pull up the images. I don’t miss his sharp, strangled inhale.

“Identified three. They’ll apparently be up for auction, but I don’t know when or where.”

“Fuck…”

“My thoughts exactly.” I shove away from my desk and spin around again. “Without seeming desperate, I’m trying to weasel my way in. But they have the auction site locked down. Someone probably needs to vouch for you to get in.” Doesn’t mean I will stop trying to gain access. Doesn’t mean I will give up on these people or their families.

Tymber sits in one of the guest chairs in my office, rests his elbows on his knees, and drops his head in his hands. Frozen for minutes, we sit in silence and mull over how dark and fucked up this entire situation is. How we have taken on such a colossal job, unaware of how it would affect our lives forever.

I’ve read and seen some monstrous things. Gruesome and heinous things I’d love to permanently erase from my mind.

If only it were so easy.

After several hour-long minutes, Tymber straightens in his seat and levels me with his gaze. “I don’t want to give up.”

“Me either.”

“But I don’t know how much longer we should work this case.”

My brows pinch in the middle as my pulse picks up. Molars gnashing, I shake my head. “Fuck no, man.”

“Levi—”

“No,” I bark out, rising from my seat, agitated and fidgety. “I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know how much more I can handle.” Heat blooms in my chest as anger flares in my veins. “But I’m in too fucking deep to cower.” Eyes on him, I point to my screens. “All that shit…” My fingers ball into tight fists. “That’s surface level.” The backs of my eyes sting. “Imagine what those damnkidsare going through. It’s only going to get worse.”

“Fuck. I know.” Tymber rises from the chair and paces the length of my office.

“If we give up, we might as well say they don’t fucking matter.”

Tymber covers his face with his hands and rubs his eyes. “I know,” he says, exhaustion evident in his voice.

“This is bigger than us, man.”

My mind drifts to Oliver, and I think about what it would feel like if I lost him. If he vanished without a trace. If he was one of the countless people missing in the area.

The sting behind my eyes grows tenfold as a relentless, breath-stealing pang expands beneath my sternum. My vision blurs as the nightmare plays out in my head. My breaths come in jagged bursts as my heart beats in stutteredth-thumps. An unfamiliar wave of dread pulls me under and suffocates me.

The room swirls around me as I try and fail to catch my breath. My pulse echoes in my ears in a deafeningwhoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Inch by inch, the room darkens, shrinks, becomes an inescapable coffin. A chill settles in my bones as my limbs shake uncontrollably.

“Levi.”

Distantly, I hear my name as my body jerks back and forth.

“Levi, can you hear me?”

The voice is louder but still out of reach. Foggy. Indistinct.

Thwack.

I jerk back, stumbling as the room slowly comes back into focus. My hand goes to my cheek as a sharp sting blooms on my skin.

“Shit. Sorry.” Tymber winces as he studies my face. “I had to.”

“What?” I ask, confusion lacing my tone.

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