Page 139 of His Fury

Later as I took control over the sobbing birthday girl who seemed to bethatkind of drunk, I knew I would never complain about Gerard and his eccentric ways again. Elixir was thrilling, and I enjoyed it, but all theextraelements weren’t for me.

I led the birthday girl from the club to the car waiting for her, Mikhail at my back. When I turned to go back into Elixir, two policemen and another plainclothes male were at the door.

“Officers?” I saw the stone faces of the security guards on the door and knew that if I looked up at Mikhail, he would look the same. “Can I help you?” I walked towards them, calm and collected while inside my nerves tingled.

“Ms. Wells, I’m Detective Hill. Can we talk inside?”

I didn’t react to the fact that they knew me. There was no reason for the local officers in Gracemont to know me. I felt relieved when I saw Jayden appear at the door. I flicked a glance at Jayden, who nodded slightly. “Of course, come with me.”

In reality, I followed Jayden while looking like I was theone who was taking them into the club. The noise engulfed us immediately, and I saw two of them wince as the music assaulted their ears. Jayden led us to a quiet pocket, the hall that led to the office upstairs, and I noted we were beside the storage cupboard I’d once been in with Zayn.

“What’s going on?” I asked the officers as I stood tall, flanked by Jayden and Mikhail.

“We’re looking for Zayn McCabe and Rye Nowak.” His words were clipped like he didn’t already know exactly where they were. “Are they on the premises?”

My heart thumped hard against my chest. They were off-site. Handling something that I didn’t know how long it would take. I didn’t know exactly what, and I didn’t want to know. But I knew this wasn’t just a casual check-in.

“Do they know what this is about?” I asked, careful to keep my tone neutral.

Two of them glanced at each other. “We can get a warrant to search the premises,” Detective Hill, the only one who had spoken, said.

“I don’t think there’s any need for that,” I told them with a smile.

One of the other officers smirked. “Let’s just say it’s not a social call. We need to speak with both of them immediately. Please step aside.”

I didn’t move.

Every instinct I had screamed stall. Just for five minutes. Ten. Enough time for Zayn to get back. For the world not to come crashing down around us.

I saw the look the detective gave the other guy, and I stalled.

“You don’t have a warrant?” I asked smoothly, folding my arms. “Don’t you need one?”

Hill’s eyes narrowed. “Ms. Wells, don’t play games. We can get a warrant.”

I nodded, my eyes wide with surprise. “There were four of your colleagues in earlier. They never mentioned they were looking for Mr. McCabe or Mr. Nowak. In fact, they seemed to be quite content to enjoy the music.” I looked between them, feigning confusion. “So…I don’t understand why you’re here?”

The other officer stepped forward, clearly the type who enjoyed making people squirm. “We can walk through that club and start asking questions. You want that?”

My stomach turned. I couldn’t stop them. But I could buy time.

“You’re welcome to do that,” I said, gesturing toward the hallway. “Once you get a warrant and come back here.”

They exchanged a look. Suspicious. Calculating. One of them stepped away, bringing a phone to his ear.

“Can I get you some water? Coffee?” I asked, pretending to be unaffected.

“We’re not staying for brunch, Miss Wells.”

I gave the detective my most harmless, sweet-as-sin smile. “Suit yourself.”

They stood. And waited. And watched me. Every second ticked like thunder in my ears.

Detective Hill eventually ran out of patience. “We’ll be back with a warrant.”

I heard the footsteps coming from the side as Zayn walked down the stairs. Sharp suit. Cool gaze. Calm, like he had all the time in the world. And beside him was Rye.

Zayn’s eyes flicked across us all—saw me, saw the officers, saw the tension—and didn’t flinch. “Officers,” he said, his voice smooth as glass. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

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