Page 40 of Moonlit Nights & Northern Lights
“Afternoon. I believe my presence was requested? Or should I leave?”
“Detective Maxwell.” Sebastián’s Spanish accent rolled my name with surprising warmth. “Thank you for joining us. Felix is just preparing something, then we’ll begin.”
I nodded, grateful for the blank void where Sebastián’s thoughts should have been. Vampires were the only beings whose minds I couldn’t read—a small mercy.
Usually I’d stand, but after last night’s adventures with Rory, exhaustion weighed on my bones. I sank into the armchair furthest from him, avoiding eye contact.
Even at that distance, I caught Rory’s whisper to Flynn: “Nice scarf.”
Flynn was indeed sporting an eye-catching blue silk scarf that seemed excessive indoors.
“No wonder Seb was reluctant to cancel Saturday,” Rory added.
I couldn’t resist glancing at them, turning in time to see Flynn glaring at Rory. “This is just my outfit today.”
A flash of strong emotion leaked from Flynn’s mind—a vivid memory fragment of Sebastián’s fangs grazing his neck, strong hands gripping bare shoulders. I slammed my barriers up. Some things Ireallydidn’t need to see.
Thankfully, Felix scurried out of his lair, arms full of laptop and wires. Sebastián moved so Felix could connect to the projector—a feat the five hundred-year-old vampirestillcouldn’t manage. The moment Felix finished setting up, the room settled into expectant silence.
“I want to thank everyone for coming in today,” Sebastián began, as he straightened his already immaculate cuffs. “Especially Detective Maxwell, who has been working closely with Rory on this matter.”
I nodded curtly, trying not to notice Rory fidgeting across the room. I still couldn’t fathom how he’d convinced his level-headed brother to participate in that unnecessary excursion to Meridian this morning.
“As of now, we are treating the disappearance of Devraj Bassi as an official missing persons case,” Sebastián continued, his tone shifting to something more formal. “The evacuation of Meridian Medical Research Centre, coupled with their apparent connection to missing shifters, gives us sufficient cause for concern. We will be allocating resources accordingly.”
Rory’s face brightened instantly. “Thank you,” he breathed, relief evident in his voice. “I know I’ve been pushing this, but—”
“We all believe you,” Kit interrupted, patting his brother’s shoulder. “We always believed you.”
“Um, before we continue…” Felix’s hesitant voice cut through the moment. He hunched over his laptop, eyes fixed on the screen as if making eye contact might kill him. “I have a slight update for everyone.”
Sebastián’s posture stiffened almost imperceptibly—clearly this was news to him as well. “Proceed, Felix.”
“Well, I just managed to get into Dev’s phone,” Felix said, fingers flying across his keyboard.
Rory bolted upright. “What do you mean? You told me his phone was off the grid, and that you couldn’t do anything?”
Felix pushed his dark fringe from his eyes, swallowing hard. “Well, it pinged back to life about an hour ago…”
Rory’s face transformed, twisting into something crudely desperate. “What the actual fuck, Felix?” he snapped, launching forward to the edge of his seat. “You’re telling me his phone’s been active for an hour and you didn’t think to mention it? To anyone?”
Felix shrank back, his face flushing red as he hunched further over his laptop like a turtle retreating into its shell. His fingers froze mid-type, eyes wide with alarm.
“Rory!” Kit’s voice cut through the room like a whip crack. “That’s enough.”
“Buthe—”
“I saidenough.” Kit’s tone left no room for argument—the military edge to it made even me straighten up instinctively. “Do not take your anger out on Felix.”
Rory’s jaw clenched so tight I could almost hear his teeth grinding. His eyes, bright with anger, darted between his brother and Felix. The flush on his cheeks deepened, and his fingers curled into fists on his thighs, knuckles white.
…why does Kit always have to do this…
Something uneasy fluttered through me as I watched him. For all his irritating qualities, his relentless teasing and boundary-pushing, there was something genuinely painful about seeing him this way—wound tight, being scolded like a child in front of everyone. The urge to say something, to somehow ease that tension in his shoulders, was overwhelming.
Rory was clearly hanging by a thread over this whole situation with Dev. Heshouldhave been told first, privately, rather than have it sprung on him in front of the entire team.
I cleared my throat and narrowed my eyes at Kit. “Should we let Felix tell us what he’s found, then?”
