Page 20 of King of Tides

I glance at my phone on top of the dresser and see it’s Carson. My heart begins to race. This is it.

“Hello,” I say into the phone as I answer.

“Hey, I’m sorry, Billy. We did catch him in the act. I mean … we had him. Everything was going as you said it would. Then …fuck,” he roars into the line.

“Car, what happened? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, but none of this makes sense. One minute, we had him with the vic. The next, all our surveillance and comms failed. I’m talking about total blackout,” he says in frustration.

“Is she safe? Is she still alive?”

“Yeah, she is, but Candido got away and she’s not talking. Billy, I swear there was another woman there. Then puff she was gone.”

“What? Did she escape with Candido?” I breathe as I knit my brows in confusion.

“No. I called in some pretty big favors for this. I look crazy as fuck right now.”

“So they’re shutting it down?”

He sighs. “No, lucky for me, the rest of the team saw what I saw and had the same questions. The FBI wants to continue looking into Ricci.”

“That’s good, right? That’s what I wanted.”

“Yeah, Billy, but how do I explain the things you told me?”

Oh shit. I groan. Carson had trusted my word when I asked for the favor. I had been so sure Candido would be caught red-handed, so I didn’t think that far ahead.

“Shit, Carson. Let me cancel my plans. I’m on my way. I’ve got you.”

“You better. I’m looking at losing my job if I don’t come up with some answers tonight.”

“I promise I’m coming. Hold tight.”

I hang up and dial Lee. She was the one to suggest we all meet. I’m disappointed I’m not going to make it, but I can’t let Carson go down for helping me. I’ll figure something out to help him.

I have to.

Our Time

Ihate weakness. Since I was a boy, I’ve learned to find it and cut it out. My master can’t count on me if I allow weakness to distract me from the course I’m on.

The fact that I’m still chasing this task because somehow, I’ve been made blind to where those bastards are digs in deep, but I will never give up. It is my life’s mission to find them and free my lord once and for all.

Once he’s free, we can right all wrongs that have manifested over the course of time. Everything has gone to shit. My kindaren’t the only ones who have suffered. There’s no longer a species that’s pure among us.

I bare my teeth as I get lost in my thoughts and not the release I’m supposed to be enjoying. I grab Azar by her red hair and tug her head back.

“I summoned you for business. You offered this release to relieve the stress. Can’t you do better?” I snarl as I glare into her eyes.

“You have to allow me to do better. You’re making me work without my hands. Relax, focus on me. Not what needs to be done. We will get to business once I give you a much-needed release,” she purrs.

“You used to be able to get it done without your hands. Figure it out,” I hiss.

Azar is one of those weaknesses I need to get under control. If not for that curse, I wouldn’t even have a mate. I wanted to ignore her from the first time I ran across her. I didn’t have time for her then and I barely allow myself to indulge now.

I already know I can’t trust her fully. Never again will I allow myself to let my guard down around her. If I didn’t know I would be ending my own life, I would have taken hers then.

I nearly did until I realized my life force was draining with hers. That’s when I healed her and allowed her to flee back to the fairy realm. That incident is where I got the idea of finding the mates of those bastards.

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