Page 88 of White Raven
Somehow, it meant more to him than he would ever admit. Athan smirked. “Thank you, sir.”
“Anything I can help you with?” he asked, pointing to the papers in his hand.
“Not really. Kind of a dead end.”
“Well, I’ve got some good news for another case Rhaena, and I have been working on, but she’s been in and out. Any idea what’s going on?”
Shit…yes. He may have knocked her up.
“I—I don’t, sir. Kinda had my head in the ground lately.”
“Well, now that I mention it, Agent Foster reached out. I thought I should tell you. Seems she’s been chasing a lead on Sykes separately. Wanted me to tell you to back off.”
Athan dropped the papers to the desk and leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. You don’t leave threatening messages on my fiancé’s front door and think I won’t get to the bottom of it. With all due respect, sir…Foster can blow my dick.”
Foley chuckled through his nose. “I’m not saying I don’t agree with you. Foster and her team don’t determine what happens at my precinct. I was told to pass the information, and I have. What you and Sarah do with it is your business. Just…don’t make me regret it, yeah?”
“Noted, sir.”
“You seem tense, Kane. Someone that intended to be spending some much-needed time with a new fiancée shouldn’t come off so heavy. Are you alright?”
No.
“I’m good, sir. Just wanna figure this out and put it behind us, that’s all.”
Foley straightened, fixing his suit. “Here if you need anything. Have a good night detective…and let Northwood know I need to speak with her if you could.”
“10-4.”
Foley strode off, and Athan peered down at the paperwork. The feathers were raven. The material from the blanket only really showed traces of Sarah’s DNA—and would have shown his own, had they had any way of determining that. All they did know was that it seemed the blanket was much older than Sarah may have expected. At least the material used was, if not the blanket itself. He knew one person who could help with that. Nell. And it just so happened Sarah was there with Wren this afternoon. Wren had been learning the tricks of Nell’s trade for a couple of weeks now, and ever since he’d taken Sarah to the back room, she’d been hard to pry away. He couldn’t blame her. In fact, it gave him joy to give her something that made hersmile. It was like leading a small child into Boston’s biggest toy store and savoring the magic of the elation thrumming through their face.
A child…a baby. Christ, keeping this from her was an awful idea.
He was chewing a hole in his lip the entire ride to Nell’s shop, not even realizing by the time he pulled up that he hadn’t lit a cigarette in about two hours. Funny how stress can either go one way or the other. You either burn through a pack or forget that they exist altogether. Sarah, however, hadn’t forgotten about hers. She was puffing away at the back door in the alley with a paper coffee cup in the other hand.
“Hey, you.” Her smile seemed…off. He approached her, sliding an arm around her back and pulling her close. “You look tired.”
“You look beautiful,” he replied, accepting her cigarette when she turned it and placed it in his mouth. The taste of her lingering on the filter made his heart speed up. She really was the most beautiful creature. That hair had gotten longer, and immortality suited her. Her body in some ways felt different these days. Stronger. Sexier.
“Better day?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee. Her slender eyebrow raised while the other stayed put…as if she were fishing for a bit more than how his day was.
“You could say that. Jenkins had the lab results ready. I just came from the precinct.”
“And?”
He took another hit off the cigarette, turning it and handing it back to her as he lifted the plastic bag with her blanket inside. “They’re raven feathers. Not much else to go on as far as the blanket, but I thought about handing it over to Nell. She knows appraisers and people that could possibly figure outwhere it originated. She’s a master at finding answers for old things.”
“Hmm…interesting choice of words,” she breathed, dropping the cigarette and snuffing it out with her foot.
“What do you mean?” He ran a hand through his hair, looking at the crack in the door when he heard Wren and Nell laughing about something inside.
“I thought finding answers from old things would be easier these days. Especially when one of those old things swore to tell me the truth from here on out.” She pulled away from him and crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall beside the door.
Fuck…she knows. Wren must have said something.
“You’re talking about Rhaena?” His teeth were clenched so hard that they started to ache. Sarah only nodded, and his stomach churned. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know, Sarah.”
“I’m not worried about why you didn’t tell me Rhaena might be pregnant. I’m worried about why you’re not telling me the reason it’s bothering you. Do you still have feelings for her, Athan?”
