Page 15 of White Raven
“What have we got?”
She sat the bag down on the corner of his desk. “This was left outside Sarah St. James’s apartment Christmas morning. I was hoping to get prints or DNA off of it. I need clearance.”
“Why is it sweating?” Foley asked, scooting his chair away from it.
“It was in my fridge. Thanks for reminding me.” She mocked a gag.
“Do I want to know?” He drew his brows together.
“Probably not.”
Foley pushed the bag back towards her with his finger. “Bring me the form and I’ll sign off on it. You’ll have to take it down there yourself, though.”
“Thanks, sir.” She picked the bag back up and stood quietly at the edge of his desk. A thick silence stretched between them. “Are you alright, Malcolm?”
Foley nodded softly. “I’m good, Gloves. Just a lot on my mind.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
It took a moment for him to come up with an answer she’d be satisfied with. Seeing no other option, he leaned forward, lowering his voice. “I wanna find them.”
“Find who?”
“The others. I know there’s more. Don’t you ever wonder where they are?” He could swear he actuallyheardher swallow.
“What would you do if you found them?”
Foley considered her question carefully. He understood then why she asked. Rhaena Northwood had been born into this life and managed it as well as she could. He hadn’t been. He’d been attacked. Turned. Robbed of his partner, and his former life. She wasn’t just asking out of curiosity. She was asking because there was a good chance he could be looking to make the wolves pay for what he’d become. She was good at her job. She was careful, and wary. He respected the hell out of her for it.
“I don’t wanna hurt anybody, Northwood. I know what you’re thinking. I know your uncle is the reason I am what I am…but whatever happened there…you told me it was very out of character for him. I believe you. Maybe he wasn’t in his right mind. But if that’s true, then why? What happens if I can’t control myself one day? What happens if I go off the rails like Kane did the night he killed his own girl?”
“You won’t—”
“How do you know that? You said yourself that you couldn’t see your uncle doing something like what he did to Lindsay. He’s the one that gave me this life. What if there’s a chance that whatever snapped in him was passed on to me?”
There was another long silence, and Rhaena seemed wholly conflicted. She pursed her lips. “I have a file.”
He raised his brows, and the tension in his face eased. “A file?”
She nodded once. “There isn’t much in it, but I’ve kept a small file of tidbits of information ever since I had access to the system. I never dug too deep. I was always afraid of how I’d feel if I figured out too much. The longer I waited in between research, the more peace I felt. I guess—I guess I felt safer burying all the secrets.”
Foley eyed the box that was wrapped in the plastic she held. “If you’re sending that to the labs, then I’m assuming that box is full of secrets too. Are Kane and his girl being targeted?”
She swallowed again, her eyes dropping to the box in her hands. “Possibly.”
“You think they’re gonna wait for something bad to happen again, before they start digging?”
It was difficult not to feel bad for approaching it like this. But now that he knew for certain that he wasn’t alone, how could he not ask her about it? Understanding flickered in her eyes when she finally raised them to meet his own.
“You’re right. I just—” she paused, shoulders tensing.
“You’re not alone anymore, Gloves. Neither am I. Whatever we find, no matter how uncomfortable…neither one of us are alone in it. Will you help me?”
She didn’t seem at all hesitant after that. A soft smile crept across her mouth. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll help you.”
They were quiet for a long moment, but he felt warmer. Less heavy.
“Thank you.”
