Page 81 of They Call Me Wicked

“That I can…trust him.” My voice is weak as his irritation sparks, but I dig my heels in. “I know, I know! Before you say anything else, I know!”

“It’s Alan! Of course we can trust him!” Nic’s tone takes on a steel sharp edge and I wince.

“Can we though?”

“What the fuck do you mean by that?”

“Well…it was pretty convenient of him to get into a car accident right when we needed him to catch the guy, right?”

“He was with us at the other crime scene! If he was the stalker, he would have cleaned out the scene with your mom and been long gone. He knew we were going there!”

“Well maybe he-”

“No! It doesn’t make sense. There wasn’t enough time for him to leave the first scene and get to the second and do that much damage by the time we got there.”

“He could be workingwiththe stalker!” I verge on shouting as Nic’s voice grows louder as well, his anger spiking with each word.

“He wouldn’t do that!” Nic denies, his loyalties clear and rigid.

“I’m not saying he would. I’m just saying it’s a possibility and it’s best to play it safe until we know for sure.” Ezra and Kai’s hands on my legs have gone still, though they haven’t removed their touch, which I think is a good sign that they’re at least listening to me and not ready to throw me into the looney bin.

“It wouldn’t make any sense…” Nic has gone quiet, his aura flashing with a calm, deadly sort of rage.

“Wouldn’t it, though? Think about it…what has Alan always wanted? For me to stop putting myself in danger, right? To only be a good little psychic and do my vision thing and bounce. He’s never wanted me to actually work on the investigations or be in the line of fire. That was all my choice. One which, as you know personally, he has fought me on every step of the way,” I challenge, my back straightening and resolve growing with every word. “So isn’t it mighty convenient for a very overprotective murderous stalker to come out of the woodwork and force me into stepping back? Isn’t it pretty convenient that the stalker has never threatened me personally or the people I care about? He hasn’t even shown the same process of growing attachment that people like this are notorious for. He hasn’t escalated at all! He just sits back and waits for someone to wrong me and takes them out, while putting me in just enough of a crosshair for Alan to justify benching me.”

Nic’s aura falters, a sliver of unease shining through as I talk. His rage starts to die down and settle into a ball of irritation and hesitation as he considers what I’m saying, his mind swirling through everything he thinks he knows. Just when I think I’ve got him, he shuts me down with one word.

“No.”

“What do you mean no?”

“No.” His aura stops spinning, stopping solidly on determination. “I have worked with Alan for years. He’s not the stalker, nor is he working with him. I’m disappointed in you for even entertaining the idea that he might be. Alan has shown you nothing but love and support since he’s known you and he doesn’t deserve this level of disloyalty and suspicion. We’re going to the office first thing in the morning and telling him everything we know.”

He stands and walks away as my anger spikes.

“Don’t you fucking dare! This is my life we’re talking about. My decision!” I bang my hand against my chest, ignoring the fact that one of the guys removes my glass of wine from my other as I stand and face off with Nic.

“Don’t be such a fucking child, Izabella.” Nic sneers as he turns his attention back to me.

“I’m not being a child, Nic! I’m being cautious. Which is a lot fucking smarter than just ignoring a clear motive without even giving it a second thought!”

“I did give it some thought, and I decided that it’s fallacious. We’re going to tell Alan everything we know first thing tomorrow and that’s that. End of discussion.”

“Kai!” I round on him, feeling him jump under my sudden attention. “Tell him not to be stupid.”

“I…” His attention flicks between me and Nic for a moment, hesitance and uncertainty broadcasting off of him like he’s a neon sign. “It has merit-”

“Don’t you fucking dare, Zhao! We know Alan! We’ve worked with him for years!” Nic rounds on him, his anger growing into a tumultuous storm.

“And I’m not saying that he is the stalker–orworking with him–I’m just saying that Wicked is right in a way. We should play it safe. It’s the smart thing to do!” I smirk at Kai’s defense of me and spin towards Nic once more, my arms crossing in front of my chest.

“You were saying?” I cock my eyebrow up, knowing he can feel every smug bone in my body from here.

“Grayson!” Nic practically spits as he tries to get someone to support him, focusing on the last guy in the room.

“Rather safe than sorry.” The massive giant shrugs, or at least I assume he does based off of the shuffling motion from his direction, spiking Nic’s anger past anything I’ve ever felt before.

“Are you…” Nic trails off, momentarily at a loss for words, before his ever-growing storm of rage and denial seems to combust and shrink dangerously, like a predator who’s caught sight of delicious prey. He clears his throat and snaps his feet together with a click of his expensive leather shoes. “I see.”

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