Page 80 of Slay Me

My dragon surges to the surface. I bend over at the waist, the pain of a change burning my body as my fingertips extend into black claws.

Someone slams a fist into my side, and I hit the wall. It does the trick though, enough of a shock to give me a chance to overtake control. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Bracken grumbles.

“We don’t know that they took anything,” Killian continues as though I didn’t nearly shift and take this entire place down with me. He heads up the stairs, and I follow, hands clenched into fists.

“It was that fucker, Ernesto,” I growl. “It had to have been. Apparently, my message was not bloody enough.”

“We think so. Duncan’s going to bring her up after her performance so she can tell us if anything was taken.”

I nod even as I hate the idea of her knowing someone violated her private space. “Any idea how they got past the wards?”

“None,” Killian replies. “We should have been alerted the moment anyone even tried. Somehow, they bypassed them. Unless, of course—”

“It was an inside job,” I finish.

“Which is unlikely since everyone’s been performing tonight,” Bracken adds.

“An outside job,” I growl the words, fury igniting the power in my veins. Whoever did this—I take a step inside her apartment and survey the damage. Her bed has been sliced open, the innards scattered on the floor. Both pillows are shredded, her clothes completely destroyed.

There isn’t an inch of her space that hasn’t been touched by this fucker. I’m going to kill him for it.

“Can you sense them?” I ask.

Bracken shakes his head. “Whoever did this got in and out without leaving a single trace. Even when I shifted, I couldn’t sense them.”

“Just like with Thomas and Jenny.”

“Exactly.”

A low growl leaves my throat. “Which means whoever killed them likely did this, too.”

“What are you saying?” Liv’s voice fills my ears moments before she steps into her apartment. “What happened!” she yells and rushes forward, face paling. Eyes wide and shimmering with tears, she rushes straight over to her dresser and rips the drawers open. “No, please no,” she whispers.

“What is it?” I race to her, searching despite not knowing what it is we’re looking for.

“They took it.”

“Took what,” I ask, reaching for her. My hand closes around her forearm, and I turn her toward me.

“My grandmother’s necklace,” she whispers. “It was the only thing I had. The only part of my childhood.” Her voice wavers, tears spilling from her eyes. “It had to be Ernesto,” she snarls. “He’s the only one who would have known to take it.”

“Is it worth anything?”

I glare at Killian.

“Trying to figure out if there was any other reason to steal it, boss. You don’t pay me to be gentle.”

He’s not wrong, but the brokenness on Liv’s face is enough to send me into a murderous rage over the slightest thing.

“It wasn’t worth any money,” she replies softly. “It’s just a silver chain with a copper penny my grandmother found when she first came to this world. She died the same month my parents brought me here.” Liv crosses her arms.

Through our bond, I can feel her anguish. Her fear that Ernesto is going to get to her.

“I thought he couldn’t get in here?”

“We’re not sure how he managed it,” I tell her. “But you’ll stay with me until we know.” Truthfully, I was planning on moving her in anyway, but this just moved the timeline up and gives me even more of a reason to keep her close.

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