Page 74 of You Only Love Twice
"Please," Gemma protested, "the man is an extremely fine specimen, but ever since I found out he has a cock on him like a battering ram, I can barely look him in the eye."
"And all the things he says to you!" Ingrid clapped a hand over her eyes. "You mademeblush, and I don't have a chaste bone in my body."
"You're just jealous because Byrnes wouldn't know poetry if it bit him on the ass. Between you and Byrnes, you're the one with a gift for rhyming slang," Gemma pointed out.
Ingrid clinked glasses with her. Last month, she'd finally confessed to a certain risqué bet between her and Byrnes that had apparently ended with him tied to his bed, naked, with a poem scrawled across his chest.
Considering he'd been found by several of his former Nighthawk brethren, he'd spent a year vowing revenge upon Ingrid.
According to Byrnes, he could no longer show his face around the Guild of Nighthawks, because every time he did, they started singing the poem.
"What Kincaid was whispering in Ava's ear has little to do with poetry," Ingrid continued.
Ava blushed. "I blame the pair of you. I'd never imbibed so much before. I cannot believe I even admitted he says such things."
The three of them collapsed in laughter.
Gemma felt the weight of the last few days slough off her as she laughed. This was exactly what she'd needed. "So what else have I missed?"
"Well, while you were off seducing the enemy, Malloryn's had the whip in hand," Ingrid admitted. "No rest for the wicked. Ava's been busy with the autopsies of the three victims from Thorne Tower; Malloryn and Kincaid have been trying to organize the guard protection for the queen; and Charlie, Byrnes, and I have been scouring the streets trying to find you."
Malloryn's best trackers. It surprised her, for he should have had them on the Carlyle case.
"Did you find anything unusual in Jonathan Carlyle's autopsy?"
Ava shook her head. "No. Most of his brain was mush, unfortunately. He'd been tortured and starved, and he was emaciated. You were right though. The bullet in his head was etched with a diamond."
That itch was back. The one that said something about the Carlyle murder struck her as wrong.
Obsidian's lack of memories. Carlyle's lack of memories. How were the pair of them connected?
"Uh-oh," Ingrid murmured. "I recognize that expression. What thought is bothering you?"
Malloryn hadn't understood. He was such a cold bastard; he could barely look an emotion in the eye and respect what it was telling him.
But these two....
Gemma let the entire story of her past spill from her lips.
By the time she'd finished, both of them were frowning.
"I can have another look," Ava said. "Cause of death was fairly easy to ascertain, so I wasn't searching for anything else." She hesitated. "WhatshouldI be looking for?"
"I don't know," Gemma admitted. "Something just doesn't feel right about this entire case."
"Trust your instincts," Ingrid said, "and have another drink."
"At least someone believes in my instincts."
"Everyone knows you pick up on things we don't," Ingrid protested.
"Unless, of course, you're the Duke of Malloryn, in which case I'm merely conjuring theories to try and rationalize my overly emotional decision-making processes."
It came out a little harder than she'd expected.
"He's been on edge ever since you were taken, Gem," Ava said hesitantly. "I wouldn't take his words seriously."
"Malloryn sent us searching all over London for you. He even joined us in the end, when there was no sign of you. I won't say I thought you were dead, but the tracking device was silent for two days. Even I was starting to...." Ingrid gave a shrug, unable to complete the sentence. Her irises flared bronze as the wolf roused within her. Verwulfen were incredibly protective of those they considered their own.
