Page 71 of Suspicions on the Stage
“Because Lucas,” Jackson says, deadpan, “just stepped in the evidence for the second fucking time in three months, dragon. Your rotten luck is a bit out of the skill set of the normal supernatural agencies, especially if anything else makes this worse.”
Slade’s nostrils flare at Jax’s mild rebuke, and I watch the tic in his cheek. He didn’t like our lawyer criticizing Lucas, and he doesn’t want to cause trouble by saying anything. I meet thesiren’s eyes, thanking him for keeping his anger in check so we can continue the conversation without getting derailed.
“If we do this, we need to move fast—before the police sniff around. The last thing we need is for the faculty to catch wind,” Jackson adds as he looks at me. “And now that you’ve contacted security to allow them on campus, that’s a foregone conclusion.”
For a heartbeat, I want to burst out laughing like a maniac. So many things happening one after the other, and we can barely deal with one before the next comes barreling at us.
We just contracted Celestara to get the unicorn so we can clean up SU and focus on the bigger danger. Kaspar is finally trying to be less of a dick. We didn’t need this shit right now. But that’s irrelevant—it’s done, and we’re contemplating hiring a mysterious organization that ‘fixes’ problems for fees and favors.
I turn to Kaspar, studying him before I say, “You’ve been awfully quiet.” I meet his eyes in a challenge, but for once, he absorbs it without so much as a smirk.
Maybe he is actually trying.
Kaspar smiles a slow, glacial smile, baring his fangs. “I think if this doesn’t work out, the King will come for your legal companion.” His eyes say more than his words; he’s deadly serious.
“True as that may be—” Jackson starts, but Liam cuts him off.
“I’ve heard of The Serpent. They don’t come cheap, but their results are—legendary.” The prince glances at Slade, then at Lucas, then at me, before he sighs heavily. “The question isn’t whether they can help. It’s more like… do we want to owe them?”
I feel my anxiety spike at his words. If Liam’s heard of them, the royal courts of Faerie use them. That means four of the five men in my life are tied to people powerful enough to interest this sort of group. That fact is likely why we’re being targeted, not my sordid murderous past with Magnus Corona. If both things are true, then we’re going to have to take the risk.
We need more firepower on our side before this gets worse.
Jackson looks at me expectantly, and I nod. “Alright.”
“They say the Serpent always collects,” Lucas says from the stage. “We need to figure out what we’re willing to barter again before Thorne hears from them.”
I’m about to make a joke—something snarky that will let everyone breathe again—when I notice Slade’s right hand, the veins bulging out, fingers digging into his palms. He’s absorbing a lot of the negative energy in here and has been since he found the body. He needs relief.
“Slade, love. I need you to breathe.” I tilt my head at his clenched fists, and the siren drops his head to comply. “We’ll get you out of here soon; I promise. Just hold on, okay?”
His voice is soft when he replies, “If it’s the Serpent or the police, I’ll take my chances with the snake. While I’ve been rounded up by cops plenty of times because of theSons, I know this goes deeper than a local station. I’d rather us take the chance, even if I know how dangerous it is.”
Iggy glances at me, his expression concerned. He knows Slade better than anyone, and if he’s worried, we all should be.
“Okay, Slade.” I turn to Jackson, swallowing hard as I say. “Get us a meeting.”
Before he can respond, the doors to the theater fly open and Detective Kowalski and a nervous-looking sidekick enter. “Of course it’s you freaks. That’s what happens when you put a convicted murderer in charge of a college instead of dealing with it the right way.”
Jackson spins on his heel, his posture ramrod straight. “What did you say to my client, Detective? Did youdareto malign her character while suggesting the Society made amistakein its judgment? Oh, I cannotwaitto bring this case to them. It’s making me just a little giddy.”
The walrus shifter goes white beneath his bushy mustache, and I have to hold back my chuckle. Thorne certainly knows how to threaten the cowardly shithead, and I enjoy seeing him reduced to a babbling mess every time. “See here, Thorn, I’m an officer of the law and?—”
“You aren’t above the law you serve.” Liam’s voice makes me turn to smile at my mate gratefully. I don’t care what Kowalski says about me as much as I want him to get shit moving, so Slade and Lucas can get off that damn stage.
“Uh, Detective?”
I arch a brow as the forgettable partner gets Kowalski’s attention.
“What, Sanders?!”
“Should I call the forensics team and the coroner?” The small shifter steps back from the angry aquatic asshole, and I frown. I hope that dick doesn’t actually abuse the people he works with like he does suspects.
“Yes! For fuck’s sake, Sanders. Get it together.”
I don’t think Sanders is the one who needs to get his shit together, but I’m not willing to interject and drag this out. My gaze flicks to Lucas and Slade, who both look tired as fuck, and ready at least to be able to sit down. “That’s a good idea. We haven’t touched the cloth or the body at all. We waited until you arrived so nothing has been disturbed.”
“As if I’m going to believe that the bear who found Pierre LaMount after a public disagreement has now stumbled onto another dead body with no connection to the murder. You people must think I’m stupid.”
