Page 7 of The Sins That Bleed
A sharp knock at the door has me glancing away from the names and faces that have long since been etched into my memory. Nico stands on the other side of the glass door, grinning from ear to ear, holding two coffee cups and a bag of what I assume to be pastries.
I can’t help but laugh a little at the scene before waving him in. He knows me so well. I skipped everything but getting ready this morning so I could be in as early as possible to pour over it all again. Of course, he knew that’s what I’d do and wanted to feed me.
“Good morning, princess! I’ve brought you a big cup of sunshine and a bag of carbs. Everyone needs that before they dive into a big file of depression-inducing details.”
His cheery voice booms through my office and lifts my spirits. I can always count on him to lighten the atmosphere when it starts to feel particularly oppressive.
“Thanks man, I skipped breakfast this morning, you’re a lifesaver.”
“I know you did. I’m like psychic or something because I was getting ready, and this vision came over me. You were crying while brushing your teeth because you wanted a coffee but needed to get to work. That you were so desperate to see me and give me a big hug for saving your ass last night that you would have to skip breakfast to do so.”
“Oh fuck off and get in here will you, I’m starving.”
He laughs and kicks the door closed before he slides into one of the chairs on the other side of my desk, placing the coffee and bag of pastries down. My stomach rumbles in anticipation. I really need to eat properly.
“Here you go. You know, next time if you wait for me to give you a ride you could eat these even earlier and then your stomach wouldn’t be crying out for help. As much as I love being your hero, you need to take care of yourself, princess.”
He hands me one of the cups and immediately tears the bag open to reveal eight different types of baked goods. Pain au chocolat, Danishes, chocolate twists, and others. My mouth waters at the sight as I remember I skipped dinner last night too—not the healthiest decision and one that occurs far too often these days and now Nico is noticing. I don’t respond because I’ll end up making a promise I can’t keep when my duty is to these people, to my sister.
“Eat up. I’ve got us two of everything and you probably didn’t eat anything last night after I left you. I think we’re going to have to start carpooling so I can keep an eye on you.”
My face must confirm his thoughts; so much for ignoring it because he grunts and shoves the pain au under my nose and I take it from him. I bite into the flaky pastry and moan as the butter and chocolate flavours burst onto my tongue.
“Fuck, you’re turning me on with all that moaning, princess.” Nico’s fake sultry voice breaks through my enjoyment and my face scrunches into a scowl.
“Dick.”
He barks out a laugh and I can’t help but join in because it’s better than worrying about everything else I’ve got to do today. We scoff down the pastries in no time at all, washing them down with our bitter coffees. After clearing up the mess we made, I turn the folder sideways so we can both see the contents.
“Right, let’s get started. I’ve gone over this folder a few times now, but maybe we can spot the missing piece. There’s got to be something in here that will point us toward the meeting spot.”
Nico’s expression turns solemn as he scans the pages. He might always be up for a laugh, but he takes this job seriously. He wouldn’t be my partner if he didn’t.
“Well, we know that this is a larger batch than normal, they’re taking bigger risks seeing as they’ve been slippery enough to not get caught. And they have a mixture of people this time so who knows what they plan to do with them.”
I hum in agreement with him, all things I’ve assessed from reading through the files, too. I lean back in my chair and stare at the ceiling, frustrated that nothing is jumping out at us. It’s hard to not feel like I’m letting all of these people down. They’re probably stuffed into containers somewhere with no access to food, water, or sanitary conditions until they are taken to some building that I assume is used to clean them up, but we have yet to find any of these places.
“What’s this? Holy fuck, it’s a parking ticket for one of the lowlifes we suspect to be involved. Jai Coltrane, do we know about him?”
I immediately sit up. How can that be? I’ve scanned these documents enough times to have memorised it front to back and I don’t remember seeing a parking ticket, nor do I recognise the name. My heartrate picks up and my hands grow clammy, hope blooming in my chest that this could be the breakthrough we desperately need.
“Let me see.” My words are sharp even though my mouth is dry.
Nico passes the piece of paper to me and I nearly rip it out of his hands. I scan the page quickly and then take my time going through it. The licence plate and a photo of the car illegally parked are clearly visible, along with an address and date stamp.
“Where did you find this? It wasn’t in the file the last however many times I read it. How the fuck has this gotten in here? How did we not know about this, Nico?”
I’m pissed now, if this has been here the whole time and I’ve missed it, then I’ll never forgive myself. I fight the panic threatening to bubble up, words swirling in my head about how I’ve let everyone down.
“It was tucked in at the back. Look, I don’t recall seeing this myself, either, so you definitely didn’t miss it. Could someone have put it in here and not told us?”
I consider his question. “No way, it was locked up in the cabinet. I put it in there last night and unlocked it this morning, nobody else has a key.”
My mind runs a million miles an hour and I land on only one conclusion. Of course, I can’t say it out loud, Nico will think I’m batshit crazy. It had to be whoever or whatever I saw last night, the thing with the red eyes.
Logic tells me I’m insane, but the thought settles into my mind and aligns with my gut instinct. And I always trust my gut; it’s never steered me wrong in my thirty-five years of life.
“Then we must have missed it,” Nico states with a nod, the move at odds with his expression. He’s not convinced we did either.
