Page 103 of You Only Love Twice
"What's wrong?" he asked, turning deadly serious. "You look as grim as an undertaker this morning."
Gemma shook her head swiftly. Then paused. She and Charlie had a special connection. They'd both kept each other's secrets in the past. Gemma met the dangerous blue of his eyes and whispered, "I think I know why Jonathan Carlyle killed Lord Randall. I think I know how the Chameleon is never caught."
"How?"
"I can't say."
"You need to tell Malloryn."
She stole a glance toward Byrnes and Ingrid. The pair of them were looking at each other in that heated way they sometimes did, as if nobody else existed. It seemed the argument had drawn to a stalemate. "Ican't."
She swiftly explained the situation with the Chameleon and Obsidian.
Charlie's face paled. "An implant in his head?"
"I think that's how the Chameleon is deployed."
"Then who would they be sending after the Queen?"
"I don't know. I don't even know how to look for signs of it."
Charlie's brows drew together thoughtfully. "You need to get the truth out of him."
Easier said than done. Obsidian had made it quite clear he didn't want her involved.
"I need Ava to find that implant," she breathed in his ear. "Then I can push the investigation without revealing Obsidian's role in it. You know Malloryn won't let me near him if he realizes the truth, and I can't watch him die. Please, Charlie. I need help."
He nodded brusquely. "Keep an eye on Obsidian. I'll head to the Guild and see what Ava has found."
"What are the two of you up to?" said a sharp voice. "He's a little young to corrupt, isn't he, Gemma?"
Caught. Gemma stared over the top of her cup of bloodied tea, her vision finally focused on Isabella. The baroness looked terrible as she pushed her own coddled eggs across the plate.
"We were merely discussing how long Malloryn intends to keep me out of the field," Gemma murmured. "You should be getting some rest. Have you been sleeping?"
The baroness looked up, her eyes bloodshot. She stared at Gemma for such a long time, Gemma began to feel a little uncomfortable.
"Is everything all right?"
A faint, mocking twist of the baroness's mouth. Of course. She must have heard about the debacle at the wedding.
"Would you care to take a stroll?" Isabella finally murmured. "I feel the need for some fresh air."
"That sounds perfect."
She wasn't the only one suffering from heartbreak—though hers had an entirely different cause.
Gemma shot Charlie a significant look and he nodded.
"I'll go prompt Ava," he mouthed, and Gemma eased out a sigh of relief that at least she had one ally.
This afternoon, she intended to track down a certain elusivedhampir, but first she needed to discover if her suspicions were correct—and Jonathan Carlyle had a neural implant in his head.
* * *
They strolledarm in arm through the park nearby, though Isabella remained strangely quiet.
"The ceremony was canceled," Gemma murmured, squeezing Isabella's hand. "I'm so sorry I haven't been there for you in the past few days. Everything has been so hectic."
