Page 44 of The Devil's Mercy

Calix cared a lot. He cared about how he was perceived.

Aodhan was fairly certain all they had to do to get him into line was threaten to expose him to the planet. The thought of everyone seeing him spread his thighs for Aodhan, seeing him beg to be sliced by Aodhan’s scalpel…That would be enough to make Calix accept them. He wasn’t above blackmail.

But apparently Mercy was.

“Fuck me,” Aodhan growled as he entered the elevator at the hospital and jabbed the button to the sixth floor with more force than necessary. He shifted on his feet as he waited for the doors to close, his ass smarting from how hard Mercy had pounded him over the breakfast table.

At least Aodhan got to be as loud as he wanted so they could tease the detective upstairs.

Was Cal as horny as he was?

“Hold the lift!” A pale arm slammed through the doors just as they were about to shut, and Aodhan almost cursed again when they opened to reveal Mitri Meadows. He bowed his head and stepped inside, hitting the button for the mortuary. “Good morning, Doctor.”

What an absolute nightmare.

“Morning.” Aodhan slapped the most welcoming smile he had in his arsenal on and turned to beam it Mitri’s way. “How’ve you been? I heard there was a pile-up on Sky Route four yesterday that kept everyone pretty busy.”

“Don’t even bring that up,” Mitri groaned. “The station is short-staffed and everything is falling apart without the chief around.”

He made a sympathetic sound in the back of his throat. “They still haven’t hired a replacement?”

“No, and with everyone capable on the hunt for Amory, it seems unlikely they’ll get around to it any time soon. Truthfully, no one is really qualified. Too many Emergents are joining the Academy straight out of high school. We aren’t getting enough new recruits here.” Mitri’s look altered, and for a moment, he seemed hesitant.

Why the hell was this elevator moving so slowly today?

“If there’s anything I can help you with, please feel free to ask,” Aodhan said, keeping his chipper tone despite picturing what the other man’s brains might look like splattered all over the shiny metallic walls.

“Well,” he adjusted his glasses awkwardly, “I was wondering if you’ve been in contact with Detective Valimir? I’ve tried to get a hold of him myself, but his multi-slate seems to be off every time I try, and he hasn’t responded to any of my messages.”

The bastard had been contacting Cal?

Aodhan slid his hands into the pockets of his white coat to keep Mitri from seeing the way he clenched his fists. “I haven’t spoken to him today. Why?”

“Oh.” He deflated. “It’s the hire-ups. Everyone knows that Calix quit the I.P.F. They’re hoping he’ll come back to Emergence and take Bruce’s place.”

Huh.

That wasn’t an entirely bad idea…

“An ex-detective would be the best candidate,” he agreed.

“My thoughts exactly.” Mitri sighed. “Unfortunately, none of us can get in touch with him.”

“Tell you what,” Aodhan said as they finally made it to his floor, “I’ll give it a shot later.”

“Yeah? Do you think he’ll pick up for you?”

“What are you implying? My own boyfriend won’t pick up my calls?” He flashed him a smile and pressed a palm to the center of his chest as though wounded. “Ouch. It hurts you think that low of me.”

Mitri’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t realize the two of you were dating…You said—”

“I haven’t spoken to himtoday,” he pointed out before the guy could finish. His hand shot out to catch the doors just as they started closing. “Looks like I have to go. I’ll let him know you’ve been trying to contact him.”

Like fucking hell he would.

If Mercy weren’t so strict about his kills, Aodhan would make the forensic scientist his next target. Cut out his heart and tear off the pieces the bastard had wrongly dedicated to Calix.

As soon as he’d stepped out and the doors closed, he turned on his heel and headed toward his office, selecting a number on his multi-slate as he shoved the earbud into place.

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