Page 81 of Son of a Witch

Fuck. The implications of this set in. Someone had fucked with us, big time. Ruined our chance of getting the bounty and out of that place. Someone with a beef. Two names came to mind. I locked them tight, waiting for Vartros to give them to me.

Vartros gestured to the USB in my possession. “All the evidence I pulled is on that hard drive. A magick pulse from the device the vampires used destroyed the data held on the computer. Whatever back-ups I collected beforehand, and some hard copy files that I was able to salvage are all there.”

I twisted the USB drive between my fingers like it was a piece of gold. This tiny piece of plastic contained data that might help us catch not only the missing prisoners, but also the person behind all our sabotage.

Steam hissed from the iron press and the disinfectant tub, and he glanced over his shoulder. Smart place to conduct a meeting. No cameras. Smothered by noises.

Confident that the coast was clear, he went on, “It took me months to investigate. Communications to or from the prison by phone, text, email. Checking into staff and inmate bank accounts. That’s how I discovered Tor’s little side hustle.”

“Fuck,” Astra muttered and shook her head.

I jerked her to silence her. He was an ally, not an enemy.

The warden glared at her with brows drawn sharp over his eyes. “Ben and I reviewed months of security footage of who was where and when. Everything that hadn’t been deleted.”

Deleted, all right. Months back when Devon stabbed me, the shank in his hand was somehow scrubbed from the footage, making it look like he sucker-punched me in the gut and chest over and over.

“I conducted interviews. Systematically fired guards. Slowly though, to avoid attention.” The warden’s voice came out on speed dial, like he was high on something. “Digging to the source of the bribes.” He stopped and took a long breath. “I’m not proud of it, but I paid bribes myself for information.”

I pinched my brow, aching from the onslaught of revelations. “Let me guess, that same person is behind your disciplinary action?”

Vartros’ eyes softened with a pleased smile, one I hadn’t seen in so long. Stress of long hours and little reward took its toll and beat the smile out of him.

“You’ve always been clever, Knoxe. Sharp instincts. Attention to detail with evidence. Natural talent to lead. It’s what makes your team elite.”

The compliment warmed my chest. This past year was nothing but threats to remove my team from the Styx case if I didn’t get a lead, discipline for Tor’s fuck-ups, and meetings for Raze’s violence against Slash. Fucking headaches to deal with. I thought the warden was done with us when he discovered Raze’s secret identity, but he showed him mercy and released him before the Guardians investigated.

“I appreciate the compliment.”

“I mean it, Knoxe. The Guild needs good Tollens like you and your team.”

Astra patted my thigh to reaffirm the tribute.

Time was fleeting and I had to steer this back to the matter at hand. “Edwardo and Devon are involved in this, aren’t they?” I thundered.

Vartros raise two palms to bring my surging rage down. “I can’t prove it.Yet. But I’d put money on it.”

“So would I.” I rolled the USB in my palm. The burning hot anger in my gut told me this was our ticket out of this shithole. “Why are you giving this to me?”

The warden set a firm hand on my shoulder. “Knoxe, you don’t give up until you find an answer. Neither do you, Miss Nomical. If anyone can prove this, find more clues, the missing weapons, it’s you.”

Astra glanced up and smiled at the sentiment. “Why don’t you take it to the Guild, sir?”

He gave her a grim smile. “I’m afraid someone wants me dead too. Someone set this up to make me fail.” His brow puckered and his mouth trembled. “They’ve got tails on my wife and kids. They’re leaving threatening messages on my cell, sending me aggressive letters. There are too many eyes on me.”

I clapped a hand on Vartros’ quivering shoulder. “Fuck, warden. I’m sorry.”

He glanced up at me with red, misty eyes. “Be careful, Knoxe. You don’t know who is watching.”

I crunched the USB in my palm. “How can I access the files then?”

Vartros’ gaze drifted to the sentry standing guard by the junction. “Speak to Ben. He can set up a firewall to protect you from prying eyes.”

“Can I trust him?” I didn’t need him going to the warden with evidence to slam us.

“He’s one of the few good guys in this place. He’s loyal to me.”

“Good.”

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