Page 75 of Cursed Love
“We don’t know. I’ve been interviewing the whole pack,” Xander told her from the doorway. “No one remembers seeing Ryan come in. About a minute after this frame, the cameras all failed.”
“What time was this?” Peter asked, his voice hard.
“We don’t know. When the machines were messed with, it jacked everything up. We were lucky to recover as much as we did.”
Peter pounded a fist on the desk, and his eyes narrowed. “Go back a minute and run it another after this spot.”
No one spoke as the three and a half minutes played. She inched closer to see what had drawn Peter’s attention.
“Wait!” he snapped, but the recording continued. “Here,” he said pointing at the screen when it stopped. “Zoom in here.”
The room stilled. Breaths were nearly inaudible as the man zoomed in on the edge of the screen. “What is that?” Brandy asked, unable to decipher the change in colors.
“Not a what… a who. Aja. It’s a bit out of focus, but her ring is one of a kind. She used to be part of Serena’s coven. She challenged Serena and failed. When do the cameras go?”
“Not long after,” the man said, and hit play on a different screen.
Peter shook his head and growled deep in his throat. “Ready to knock down that barrier, babycakes?”
“Um, yeah?” she said, trying to catch up with whatever thought-process train Peter was riding.
“Xander, can you grab one of the protein—”
“Oh God, no more please!” She whimpered, unable to stomach another bar.
Peter’s lips tugged up into a smile. “Protein shake from the kitchen? I’m assuming chocolate would appease milady?” he asked, a teasing tone to his voice.
The other men shuffled, avoiding her gaze.
“A chocolatemilkshakewould be amazing!” she said.
“We’ll be in the office. Come on,” he told her and guided her back down the hall. “We’ll need to let Serena know Aja is involved, but I need you to break down more of the barrier. Hopefully enough that you can talk to Ryan and figure out where the fuck she took him.”
“Could she be the witch working with the demon?”
Peter opened a door and ushered her in. “Exactly what I want to know, which means he’s the bait.”
“The bait? The bait for what?”
“For you.”
She spun on her heels and found Xander with a dark shake of sorts. “Ack! You scared me! That doesn’t look like a chocolate milkshake.” She pouted at the plastic container he was shaking.
“It has milk, and I’m shaking it. Ergo, milkshake!” Xander teased, but his lips did not tip in amusement.
“Drink up, babycakes. You have work to do.”
Chapter 29
Working under pressure sucked. Having two large good-looking men stare her down in a non-sexy sort of way also sucked. Knowing your failure means your baby’s daddy will die? Epic sucking factor.
The skin between her shoulder blades was damp from sweat. She guessed her shirt also exhibited the dark stain. One long hour later and she’d only budged whatever the hell this Aja witch had done.
“This isn’t working!” she snapped as the door opened and Xander returned.
He pulled his hand from behind his back, and her eyes widened. Brandy jumped to her feet and crossed the room. “Oh my God, I think I love you.”
Peter chuckled as Xander shifted uncomfortably. “A simple thank-you works for me.”
