Page 51 of White Raven
“Stop, before you make me lose my wits in front of your woman, child.” Sarah approached her next, offering her arms, which Nell took graciously, squeezing her too. “Congratulations, dear. I’m so grateful he’s found you.”
“Thank you for being something bright in his life,” Sarah whispered, pulling back. “And for having my back. Because I wanted to burn that damn book since he got it.”
Nell cackled. “Well? What are we waiting for? There’s a lovely bin in the back alley!”
“Oooo, fire!” Wren clapped, tinkering with a brush set that she likely shouldn’t have been touching. “Nell, maybe you can fill me in while we watch it burn. My interest is piqued. I could spend days in this room.”
“Is that right? Hmm…” She scuffed over towards Wren and placed a hand on her arm, grabbing the ledger on her way past the desk. “Why don’t you tell me how you know so much about art? I’m always eager to meet an enthusiast.” They started muttering back and forth to each other on their way towards a back door, and Sarah tugged on Athan’s elbow, turning him to face her.
Staring at him seemed like it was always gonna take her breath away…even if she were pissed. “Hell of a date, Athan Kane. I’m gonna remember this when we get to Seattle.” Her hands slid into his open jacket and the feel of his arms around her seemed more precious now than it had an hour ago. Those blue eyes seemed twice as intense, and that insufferable hair dangling over his brow was…delicious.
“There’s priceless shit in here, St. James.”
“You’re the most priceless thing in this room,detective.”
CHAPTER 10
TOUGH LOVE
“I need access as it pertains to another case,” Foley argued, tapping his fingertips on his desk. “I’m the captain of a precinct, I don’t understand the problem.”
“The problem, Captain, is that these reports were redacted, and that information is sealed. You have about as much clearance as I have authority to release it to you. There’s absolutely nothing I can do. I’m sorry, but that’s the reality of the situation.”
“Who can I speak with that has that authority then?”
“That’s above both our pay grades, Captain Foley. Again, I’m sorry. If there’s nothing else, then I hope your day gets better, and good luck with your case.”
“Thanks for nothing,” he ground out, slamming the desk phone on the receiver.
“Conduct unbecoming…and don’t feel bad. That was used on me recently, too.” He turned in his chair to see Northwood propped against the door frame, her hand still resting on the handle.
“That’s surprising to hear,” he tightened his mouth and tossed a pen he was clicking relentlessly, down on top of the desk.
“No luck with Lindsay’s dirty secrets, then?”
“None.”
It was already a potentially treacherous road…knowing damned well that what he might find out might have him grieving his partner’s loss all over again, and for completely different reasons. But somehow, not knowing was a festering pustule that threatened to explode and infect, and dammit, he just wanted to limit the casualties when it did. Part of him felthollow with gnawing regret for even asking Rhaena to dig into their vague existence. Maybe he should just throw in the towel and accept that he was what he was, and it was all he’d ever know. Maybe it was all they ever trulyneededto know. But the “need to know” fine line of truths never sat well with him in the military, it didn’t sit well with him when Kane and Northwood kept their secrets hidden at his precinct, and sitting on it now didn’t feel good either. Who did it actually help?
“Well maybe I can brighten your day.” Northwood stepped in, closing the door behind her and tossing him a file. He turned it around, opening it and skimmed through the first couple pages.
“This is about your uncle?” he asked, looking up from them to meet her eyes.
“I had sort of a female moment yesterday, and let my emotions get the best of me. I said something that sparked a fire in my mind and did a little digging myself.”
“I’m listening.”
Rhaena scooted one of the chairs out on the other side of his desk and plopped down in it with a sigh. “My uncle was killed right after he attacked you and your partner. He was hit by a transfer truck. Remember?” Foley nodded, rubbing the scruff of his chin. “Well…it got me thinking. As long as he’d lived out in the woods…as long as he’d been alive, he'd been a wolf. I only ever knew him to turn on full moons. You know just as well as I do that we don’t have a lot of control when we change. But some of our instincts do remain sharp as a tack…some of those senses even more so when we’re in wolf form.”
She was onto something. There was a determination in her eyes that he only ever saw when she had a good lead. Hope started flooding his chest.
“My uncle was a brilliant tracker. Some winters, especially when we were broke, had it not been for his expertskills, we might have starved without the game he hunted. He could sense it if I was eventhinkingabout stealing cookies out of the pantry, I swear it. He’d sniff me out in a flat second. There’s no logical explanation for his sudden lack when there’s a loud ass truck barreling down the nearest road.”
His brows sprung up on his forehead and he leaned over his desk. “You’ve got my attention. You’d know better than anyone if there was something off about him. What exactly are you suggesting?”
“Look at his blood sample from the autopsy and toxicology reports,” Rhaena nodded towards the file. “Page eight. Tell me what you see.”
Foley turned to the results she specified and narrowed his eyes as he read over it all. Several unidentified samples of DNA were found within blood taken from his body. “Why so many? This looks just like—”
