Page 95 of For Dear Life

VIOLET

From our place close to the vacant entry booth by the factory gates, I survey the Sawyer Industries factory, and the warehouse set further away across a graveled area. I’d seen the monolithic building in the distance from the Sawyers’ house, but close up the corrugated metal gleams below unhelpful security lights.

Rowan’s suggestion we check out the Sawyer Industries site came as a surprise, although no doubt a tactic to keep me away from the police station tonight. Still, an idea I’d suggested in the past. If Sawyer’s home contains runes and magic, and witches are assisting him in some way, there must be more evidence of such at the factory site. Somewhere. The place is huge—at least the size of the academy—and I hope our magical detection won’t be interfered with by tinned soups.

I’m aiming to find Sawyer’s office first. Dorian told us his meeting with Sawyer took place at the warehouse, which means his office must be located there. There could be plenty to connect Sawyer to supernatural influence tucked away in the room. Rowan wouldn’t find every single link between the man and supes online—nothing on the internet is private the moment it’s shared. Non-public information must be hidden, as this situation is more than threats to kill Kai due to a business deal gone wrong.

Rowan and Grayson stand beside me, Grayson facing back towards the main road as he watches and listens. We waited for the final truck to leave and now only need to worry about security—human or machine.

I assess our options. Although the factory has numerous windows and several exterior doors, along with metal stairs attached to fire escapes, the warehouse appears to have a singular entry point. A spacious paved lot acts as a zone for trucks and transport vehicles to park, load, or unload goods, wide enough for two trucks to park. Annoyingly, the bright floodlights cast pools of light onto the ground, ensuring safe maneuvering of non-existent vehicles.

“Security cameras?” I ask Rowan.

“Looks like some are already vandalized, as a few of the lights are out already.” He gestures at the closest part of the factory. “Saves me half a job.”

“Shifters did that?” I ask and Rowan nods. “Are there any around, Grayson?”

“Nobody,” he replies.

Three days. Three useless days waiting to hear more about Leif while resisting the urge to go to that station and get him. More so because authorities still refuse to allow Dorian entry, and he isn’t pushing the issue, which led to some heated words between us. Dorian doesn’t want to overstep if he may need human co-operation to apprehend the witches concerned.

Not that he’s making much headway with that, either. Dorian didn’t achieve his planned one-on-one meeting with Sawyer alone, since Josef insisted he attend. Josef agreed to inform Dorian if either he or Sawyer heard from one of the witches, and we all know what that means. Frustratingly, the arrests had distracted Sawyer while at the meeting, his head full of that development and there was barely a glimmer of the witches for Dorian to pick up on.

Dorian insists the meeting was ‘amicable enough’ and that he didn’t confront Josef alone but with so much unspoken heavy in the air between them, I’m surprised.

Every supe involved knows what’s really happening next—apart from perhaps the witches. And if Josef’s lying, they could be aware and cooperating too. Grayson hasn’t heard from his uncle about the ‘co-incidental’ meeting he’s arranging and the more time that passes, the greater the head-thumping frustration grows that Josef might be playing us.

So now politics trumps fact-finding and prevents Dorian poking too far into human matters, but he has promised that he’ll again try to gain access to Leif tonight.

I’ve spoken to Leif briefly. He’s understandably despondent but didn’t say much, worried who might be listening. The elders haven’t taken Oz but have visited him several times, and there’s no sign of ill health again. The strength of the emotion gripping me when I spoke to Leif stayed with me for hours afterwards, an odd aching in my chest because I’d wanted to hug Leif and promise he’ll be alright. Perhaps a hug for Leif would’ve wiped away a little of his distress and reassured him he’s important. Instead all I could do was reassure him I’ll do everything to ensure he’s free and safe.

How is it that only when I’m apart from these guys am I aware of how significant they’ve become to me? I’m perfectly conscious about how self-absorbed and selfish I am, but I’m also acutely noticing strange gaps in the world around me when Leif, Rowan, and Grayson aren’t around.

Despite my promise to Rowan, and then Grayson, who annoyingly agreed with him, I’m close to ignoring the pair and going to Leif on my own. One simple blood rune spell and we’d be out of that station. Hidden. Safe.

But finding the witches and holding them accountable has to happen and interfering could jeopardize that. Dorian and his men never discovered where the witches’ meeting with Maxwell was held, having waited at several locations at the allotted time. A failed meeting that’ll now confirm to the witches that Maxwell is missing or dead, adding another layer of complication.

If I can’t help Leif directly, I’ll find something that can.

I shuffle from foot to foot as Rowan uses a spell to freeze the cameras, taking them below a temperature they can function at, and breaking the screens. He then focuses on the floodlights above the loading zone, and the area plunges into a darkness after a satisfying number of cracks.

“This way,” I say and creep towards the empty loading bay, then up the stone steps to the left where there’s a metal keypad on a wall by the door. A sign above reads: Refuse to be stored in black bags and placed in dumpster

“How very odd.” I gesture. “Why would somebody not refuse?”

Rowan snickers at me. He indicates the half-full dumpster to the left of the steps. “Refuse. Trash.”

“So nobody’s in the dumpster?”

“No, Violet,” says Rowan, still amused. “Nobody allowed themselves to be placed in a trash bag.”

Stupid English language. I poke at the worn keypad. “Good. I can’t sense anybody else around. Grayson?”

He steps up beside me. “I can’t either, but there could be night staff inside.”

“If they’re human, that won’t be an issue,” I reply. “But I’ll be pissed if we don’t find anything, otherwise, I could’ve tried visiting Leif again.”

“Who Dorian told you to keep away from,” Rowan reminds me.

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