Page 72 of Corpse Roads

“We’re so fucking screwed,” I mutter to myself.

Theo’s eyes narrow. “No. You’re fucking screwed.”

“What exactly is your problem?”

“You’re my problem, Hunt.”

“Watch your tone,” I warn him. “I’m still the boss around here.”

“And that’s exactly what’s wrong with you! Do you even care anymore? Harlow genuinely needs our help, and all you can think about is closing this case.”

“Says the man that abandoned his family! Since when do you care about any of us, including Harlow?”

I regret my harsh words almost immediately. His face shutters, moving back to familiar emptiness as he drops my eyes.

“I thought… you understood me,” Theo chokes out. “You and Enzo both moved on like nothing happened to Alyssa. I can’t live like that.”

“If you think we’re fine, you don’t know us,” I reply in a quieter voice.

“You could’ve fooled me. It was you who has moved Leighton into her old room, like she never existed.”

“It’s been five fucking years!” I shout again. “How long can I live in a graveyard? She’s gone, Theo! We have to move on.”

When I think he’s finally going to grow some balls, Theo’s mouth snaps shut again. He turns on his heel and strides from the room in a cloud of barely restrained anger, leaving the damned report with me.

I stare after him, feeling like the worst person in the entire world. That’s the most he’s said to me in a very long time. Losing our fourth team member nearly killed us all, in so many ugly and awful ways.

None of us knew how to deal with our grief; stuffing the skeletons into the closet was simpler and far less painful. But after that, Theo never came back to us.

Fuck!

I stare at the sealed report on my desk. What now? I have no choice but to tell Harlow… but this could very well break her. It will tear apart the fragile foundations of the life she’s started to rebuild.

Everything she knows. All the progress we’ve made. It will all be gone. But as fucking usual, I have no choice but to hurt the people I care about. It always comes down to me.

Absently rubbing at the pain in my chest, I snatch up my phone to text Enzo. Harlow should be in her weekly therapy session with Richards right about now.

I’ll go and pick her up myself. Before I unleash a new level of madness upon us with this revelation, I need to know if this was all some elaborate lie.

Would she really lie to us?

Is she protecting the monsters that kidnapped her?

Do I know her at all?

Not bothering to wait for Enzo’s response, I toss my suit jacket back on and storm from my office. Her appointment is being held back at the hospital. Richards agreed to meet there after Harlow’s check-up with her consultant.

After running every red light in a storm of impatience, I camp out in the waiting area upon arrival. I’m in a foul mood. Harlow would be better off with Enzo, but he’s been compromised.

I can see it in his eyes, the way he looks at her like she’s his goddamn saviour after years of emptiness. One of us has to remain objective and treat Harlow like the client she is.

Someone slides into the empty seat next to me, ignoring the handful of other chairs in favour of invading my personal space. I run a hand over my ponytail and straighten.

The redhead is a familiar nemesis. She wrote a hit piece about my hearing loss after we took down Incendia Corporation, and scored herself a promotion in the process.

They’re lucky I was too busy dealing with my entire life falling apart to sue them for being so fucking heartless.

“Care to give me a statement, Mr Rodriguez? Your press release this morning was deliberately vague.”

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